Removing the transmission well at least attempting to.

The mechanic arrived on a 3:30 ferry. I thought this was strange that he would arrive so late. I had told him I would be available anytime from early in the morning. The boatyard workers leave around four or four thirty. So we would not be able to pull the engine off the boat today anyway and he would have to make another trip to pick it up. I thought coming this late would not make sense but, hey he is a mechanic and must have his reasons so I did not say anything. This was mistake one.

By the time we started to work on removing the engine it was after four in the afternoon. The first step was to remove the Hurth V drive transmission. It was held on to the engine by four bolts the top two bolts were removed quite easily. Unfortunately, the bottom two bolts were quite rusted due to twenty years of saltwater dripping down from zinc changes of the heat exchanger. These bolts are out of sight underneath the transmission and of course in a very difficult place to remove them.

The mechanic and I were able to get the one on the left in the photo out. but, the one on the right just would not budge no matter how much force we used. Heating up the area with a mapp gas torch did nothing but create a lot of smoke. Finally I had to get out my dremel tool and the bolt head was cut off. It was after about two hours of work that we were ready to remove the transmission. The only thing we had to do was slide the shaft back past the transmission lift off the transmission and then work on removing the engine. Should be simple right? Not in the world of marine engines. The shaft slid back only a few inches then stopped.

The photo above shows what the problem was. The boat was in the water and the shaft zinc was hitting the strut and preventing us from pushing the shaft back any further. This would have been a simple five minute fix if the mechanic had arrived earlier in the day and we could have had the boatyard put the boat on a lift, removed the zinc and continued to remove the engine. But, since it was seven o'clock at night the yard guys a had gone home and all work on the engine had to stop. Even the transmission had still not been removed. It gets worse.

The mechanic turns to me and says I need to get three hundred and fifty dollars from you. I say for what? Well, I really worked hard in trying to get this transmission off he says. But, I say part of the deal was you were supposed to help me remove the engine. He just shrugged. So much for deals. So work stops and I have laid out another three hundred and fifty dollars and the engine is still in the boat. Such is the life of a sailor.

NEXT: If you want something done....

If you want something done...

As the saying goes if you want something done you have to do it yourself. Now that I have reached the mechanical cul de sac with the transmission removal I will do just that. I've had my fill of relying on mechanics. I spoke to the boatyard who now say they will be able remove the engine with their crane when the boat is in the yard. Before they wanted to do it when it was in the water because they said it was easier to move the boat around than the crane. I wish they would have told me this earlier. It was now late November and after they pull the boat they want to put other boats in front of mine so I am under a two day time limit to pull the engine. Can I do it? If I don't I will have to wait until next spring before they will be able to get the crane near enough to the boat to pull the engine. Meanwhile the iron pig waits on board....

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.

REMOVING THE TRANSMISSION

I had all my tools and a two day time limit to move the Westerbeke 27 engine into the cabin area to be removed by the yard crane. If I did not get it done in that time the engine would stay on board until late spring at the earliest. There was no time to waste but, I had absolutely no experience in doing this either. I got some helpful advice and encouragement from fellow Nonsuch owners at the International Nonsuch Association list serv. But, I would be on my own once on the boat. First I still needed to get the transmission off of the engine. So I set up my hoist system over the hatch as shown in the photo below:

Then I slid back the shaft that had been that had been the cause of the work stoppage in the previous attempt to remove the transmission.

I tied some strong braided line around the transmission and attached it to hoist. I did this to help lift the transmission slightly and hold it suspended while I worked it of of the engine shaft. Removing the transmission was harder than I thought it would be. It did not slid off the engine shaft as easily as I thought it would. I guess after being mated to the engine for twenty years the shaft and transmission get pretty attached to one another. I had to pry and tap it off for about 45 minutes. All the time thinking that I might be doing something wrong because at first it hardly budged. But, finally it came loose after my gentle nudging. once the transmission was removed it was time to tackle the rest of the engine

NEXT: THE FIRST LIFT

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 Cruel Summer

Well the summer has ended and Bianka has not left the mooring. The boat had no mast, no sail, and a non working engine. Still I spent many enjoyable days on board. Swimming and observing the wildlife on and around the boat. The season without a sail has ended. The next project is to remove the non functioning engine then pull the boat. All this is about to begin.

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.

The second opinion.

Well the injector solution did not work. So it was time to call in a pro. I never realized how long it would take to get a diesel mechanic to come take a look at the problem. I finally got someone to come by and after going through all the things I did with no more luck. It was time for a compression test the readings were all in the 170-180 psi range about half of what they should be. Not good. but, curious that all four cylinders should be so low. I have one more thing to try before I give up on this engine. That is to remove the head and see if it is a blown head gasket. Since I have come this far and have an engine that no longer starts I have nothing to lose. So I think I will be spending July 4th down below with the service and parts manual, tools and some cold beers learning more about this engine. There is a possible clue that someone mentioned to me when I first discovered the oil leak in the first photo here (which can be enlarged) that the oil seems to be leaking at the point between the engine block and the head. I had originally thought that the oil got sprayed up in that part of the engine by the a broken oil sensor but, now maybe it was actually leaking from the gasket area. Stand by I'm going in

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.

Waiting for the water but, not diesel repair mechanic.

Well winter has come and gone and so has most of spring and Bianka is still not in the water. The engine problem from the end of last season is still there. I have wasted three weeks waiting for several Diesel repair mechanics whom I contacted to call me back and tell me when they will come by to look at the engine. I don't mind if they can't come because they are busy but when I leave a message and ask them to call me back and never do that just really, really pisses me off. So much so that I decided to keep my money in MY wallet. I have concluded that my problem is with fouled injectors and spent the afternoon removing the four of them. It went well though of course one injector's screws were giving me a hard time but, I managed to remove it without stripping the head of the screws or damaging my knuckles. The next step is to send it to a diesel injector repair shop for testing and rebuilding if my hunch about the engine problem is correct.