Removing a Westerbeke diesel engine

Before beginning to remove the engine I will need to make room. The table needs to be removed and all the cushions removed in what could turn out to be a messy job in removing the engine.


Here is the Westerbeke 27 as it sits in what one mechanic called the tunnel. This is actually the rear of the engine which faces toward the bow of the boat. The V drive transmission is shown at the bottom of the photo. Not a lot of room to work in there so I will

How I began.

In order to remove the engine I decided to remove as many of the external parts as I could to make access and removal easier. In addition to the connected hoses and engine control linkages. The two major things I wanted to remove were the heat exchanger and the exhaust manifold.

This photo shows the engine with heat exchanger removed from the engine. The removal of the heat exchanger was first item to remove. It was not that difficult but, really is necessary in order to be able to access other areas of the engine to remove the exhaust manifold exchanger which was located under the rubber hose on the left side of the picture.

This photo shows three of the four exhaust ports that the exhaust manifold attaches to. I was not able to see most of the nuts that had to be removed. Which is why you want a much access as possible which removing the heat exchanger allows.


This is a before photo showing the exhaust manifold still attached to the engine. Note the overflow antifreeze tube which needs to be removed before removing the manifold.


This is a photo after the exhaust manifold has been removed. Note the paper towels shoved into the top of the exhaust port elbows to keep dirt, parts, tools etc... from falling in.




NOTES:
Some things I have found so far that may be helpful to others who may have to work on their engines:
1) I purchased a set of ratcheting box end wrenches thinking they might help in removing the exhaust manifold and it's hard to reach location. They are useless for this task they are too big and do not fit. I have found the most useful tool to be a 1/4" Sears Craftsman metric ratchet kit. It is small enough to reach into the tight spaces needed.

2) I was able to reach six of the eight nuts holding the exhaust elbows to the aluminum exhaust manifold after first removing the heat exchanger creating space enough to reach my arm in and feel my way around to remove the nuts. The two remaining nuts I was able to reach easily from the other side of the engine. It went easier than I expected considering the difficult location.

Next step: Removing the transmission

Removing my Diesel:The tools needed and not needed.

So after a season of frustration, waiting, phone calls, dealing with mechanics and writing checks, it still came down to me having to remove the engine. I needed to get it done soon since the boatyard was pulling boats and filling up the yard. My boat would soon be surrounded by boats and they would not be able to get the crane close enough to pull the engine off the boat until next spring if I did not act soon. I sat down and tried to figure what I would need in the way of tools to move the 424 pound engine. I made one mistake in ordering but, it only cost me about thirty bucks. That was in thinking that an engine leveler would be helpful in helping to move the Westerbeke 27 out from "the tunnel" under the cockpit. It turned out to be useless and unneeded. But, the two 18 inch chains that came with it were invaluable in moving the engine.
Well, maybe I made two ordering mistakes. The other mistake due to increasing age occurred in ordering a 2 ton hoist from Northern Tool. I was looking at the catalog online and thinking with a 424 pound engine to lift that half ton hoist would be too close in in weight to be safe. My thinking was clouded as I was in my mind thinking that ton equals 1,000 pounds not 2,000 pounds. So in order to add an extra safety factor I ordered a 2 ton hoist! Doh! But, it did the job a little on the big side but, got the job done even if it was overkill.
In addition to the usual tools like metric socket wrenches and box end wrenches, a hand held 3lb mallet and various blocks and pieces of wood. I found the following tools also enabled me to remove the engine by myself.

The above photo shows basically what I used to lift the engine. The two 18" chains at the left came with the unneeded engine leveler. At the top of the photo is the 3" gas pipe was bought at Home Depot. I had two end caps put on to prevent the pipe from sliding over the lip the hatch when lifting the engine. It was added insurance besides making sure the pipe was secure. One should always make safety a top priority when doing this job. Finally, there is the two ton hoist. Big and hefty but, it did the job with ease and did not complain.
Some other indispensable tools I used:

CROWBARS! In addition to the two shown above. I also used an addition smaller one about a foot long that I keep on board and a small pry bar. I used everyone of them a some point in removing the engine. Sometimes I used two at once. They all came in very handy along with some long ago forgotten physics lessons regarding leverage.

NEXT: REMOVING THE TRANSMISSION.

The first lift of the engine

The transmission was finally removed from the engine. I had spent most of the morning on the transmission but, things were about to move along. It was now time to do the big lift of the engine. In happier times I referred to the Westerbeke 27 as the "iron jenny" when it reliably started and allowed the boat to motor when the wind dropped. But, after a year of looking at it, dealing with mechanics scratching their heads at $75.00 per hour and more. I know refer to it now as the "iron pig" as it continued eat dollars from my wallet and prevented me from leaving the mooring all season.


So there it sat for over twenty years in the same place. With it's business end wide open like a mouth just daring me to come near. One slip up and I might have a crushed hand or 424 pounds of engine crashing down on the hull. In the back of my mind I'm thinking if there is an accident and I get my hand or arm caught between the hull and the engine would anybody be able to hear my crys for help. NOTE : Keep the cell phone handy.

The first thing to do was remove all the nuts to the bolts that held the motor mounts to the engine stringers. I had had conflicting information on how the bolts on the brackets that the engines mounts were sitting on were made. So I would need to find this out. I also removed the nuts and bolts that went through the side of the engine stringers that held the "L" brackets in place. Once this was done it was time to to lift the engine. I first took the two 18 inch pieces of chain and wrap them around the two arms sticking out from the engine and where the motor mounts attached. These chains were then attached to the hoist. As shown in the photo below:

Below is another shot showing both points of the lift.

I now lifted this end of the engine enough so I could then see how the angle brackets and bolts would come off of the engine stringers. They actually turned out be nothing but two bolts screwed or spot welded into the metal brackets and they just lifted off the stringers. There was however a hole cut into the stringers to accommodate the head of the bolts that would have prevented the bracket from just sliding forward. If I had attempted to just slide the engine forward I would have done a lot of damage to the stringers. One of the "L" brackets is shown in the photo below: With new confidence that I could lift the engine by myself. It was now time to turn to the other end of the engine and do the same there. But, I would not be able to duplicate what I had just done in the confined space of the engine compartment. It would require a different approach.

NEXT: LIFTING THE OTHER END

The compression tests and other tips.

Having spent most of July 4th on my knees in front of the Westerbeke 27 in my boat. I discovered a few things. First I bought a DIESEL compression test kit and did another compression test myself. Contrary to Murphy's marine laws it actually contained a fitting that for the glowplug threads of my engine. The readings after two tests were as follows:

190 psi, 290 psi, 400 psi, 375, psi

These readings are in contrast to the mechanics readings of a few weeks ago 170, 170, 180,182. One of us is wrong. I kind of feel mine are more accurate especially since I did mine twice. As recommended by people and books I put a little oil into the cylinder reading 190 and did another test and the reading rose to 250 psi.

Back to square one.

Well, after carefully removing the injectors and numbering each one. I mailed them to a diesel injector shop here on Long Island to be tested and rebuilt. A few days later I got a call that they were ready, So I drove to pick them up and ask a few questions. I seemed to get more shrugs than answers. But, so be it. I was sure that this would be the problem as the books tell me "injectors are the cause of most of the problems on diesel engines". Well, when I opened the box instead on the meticulously number injectors I gave the shop I have different ones. Same model injectors but, different ones altogether. Oh well. I have once again remind myself never to assume anything especially when it involves a boat. So I carefully installed the newly rebuilt injectors. Cranked over the engine same problem, no starting. Only $250.00 poorer but, the learning experience of removing the injectors will be worth it in the future. So I am back to waiting for the phone to ring after contacting another mechanic. Shedding a little tear as the afternoon sea breeze kicks up.