Overheating Atomic 4

One head gasket. I have owned many flat head engines, and absolutely swear by a single head gasket.
I have been able to crank over an A4 and a Volvo MD20 (I think that is right). It is great if you have no electrics in the boat, or if there is a battery problem. The Volvo never ran right, and I removed it, but it did start once. The A4 was a piece of cake.

[Morgan Paul]

Has anyone ever been able to start the engine with the hand crank? The whole idea just seems silly to me.

Yes when I was a kid back in 1972 I would start my fathers Atomic 4 by hand cranking it. He had an Irwin 28. When it fires up you got to get that hand crank off quick.

[Chief Engineer]

One Headgasket or two?

The answer is simple the old headkaskets are not available any more. When you order the headgaskets from Moyer Marine Atomic 4 Engine Rebuilding and Parts they will send you two. Don't make the mistake that you think that they sent you an extra one. Use both.

[Chief Engineer]

As far as the "dangers" of gasoline.

This was a popular ploy of a certain Diesel Engine Maker....that bought out Universal.

Kind of like the way General Motors bought up electric trolley companies and replaced them with buses.

In all my years, the common denominator for Gasoline Fires has been poor refueling practice, using a drill pump to evacuate gasoline from a tank (seen twice in Baltimore)
or just poor maintenance of fuel system.

IMHO anyone that goes down to a boat and "fires it up" like a car w/o checking is axeing for trouble

[BBF]

Backflushing an Atomic 4

I have an Atomic 4 and want to know how to correctly backflush the engine to remove any debris (impellar blades) from the system.

Should I attach a garden hose to the point on the engine where the water exhausts out of the boat or directly after the thermostat?

I assume that I also need to disconnect the hose after the waterpump to allow any parts or debris to exit.

Any comments?

[GordMay]

Greetings and welcome aboard the CF, BBF.

Here is Don Moyer’s procedure for Acid Flushing and Pressure Flushing the A4:
➥ Procedure for acid flushing and pressure flushing - Moyer Marine Atomic 4 Community

and

Hugh Straub’s Good Old Boat magazine article on Cleaning an Atomic 4:
➥ Cleaning an Atomic 4

[BBF]

Thanks GORDMAY!

What took so long? You are amazing! Between folks like you and a valid credit card, I may just keep this boat afloat.

Thanks again,

bf