Transom assemblies and engine room makeover

reneechris14

Home sweet home

LaRea

Very nice!  (Except for the drain plug.)

I started demo on my engine room today.  Transom assemblies are out, along with most of the wiring.  The transom itself feels very solid with no evidence of water damage, so that's a relief.

Here's the port steering pin ... stbd not quite so bad.

Aqua_Aura

@reneechris14 I went back to look but I can't see or remember as to why you are pulling your engines? 

Handymans342

Aqua_Aura said:

@reneechris14 I went back to look but I can't see or remember as to why you are pulling your engines? 

He is installing new Diesels

Aqua_Aura

Yeah I bet 😆. 

oscar1

I was thinking my transom assembly was bad, but I was wrong. 

LaRea

Yeah, I'm probably 3-4 years late addressing this problem. 

reneechris14

Aqua_Aura said:

@reneechris14 I went back to look but I can't see or remember as to why you are pulling your engines? 

Low compression on #5 and #6 on both motors. Always do compression check before you do anythi ng

reneechris14

LaRea said:

Very nice!  (Except for the drain plug.)

I started demo on my engine room today.  Transom assemblies are out, along with most of the wiring.  The transom itself feels very solid with no evidence of water damage, so that's a relief.

Here's the port steering pin ... stbd not quite so bad.

Do you see any damage to the inside of the assembly it self on the inside or just dirty 

J3ff

So I guess the question is - does anyone ever not have a problem with Mercury transom assemblies? 

Willhound

J3ff said:

So I guess the question is - does anyone ever not have a problem with Mercury transom assemblies? 

Considering there are literally hundreds of thousands of them out there the failure rate is not that high. We only hear about the bad ones, not the majority of boaters that have never had to touch them. The old Evinrude/OMC ones were way worse (In my opinion). The way the bellows were set up a failure was pretty much an instant sinking.

Liberty44140

LR you must be doing some salt water boating for the arm to look like that?

LaRea

No complaints here.  Transom assembly years are like dog years.  Who has transom assemblies with 13 years/800 hours and no leaks?  Nobody.  On my 342 it was eight seasons.  It's the price of going fast.

I have a new theory on boat maintenance.  If you want to make ANYTHING easier, start by removing the engines.  Holy smokes -- I love it!  I think I might just leave them out.  

Shown below is Phase 1:  engines and transoms out, guts out, first pass with Purple Power and a brush.  What a cathartic experience.  The starboard deck is ready for rebuild with major changes.  I'm totally reconfiguring and rewiring.  Stay tuned for details.  Painting starts this week.  

LaRea

@Michael T I'm taking your advice regarding the old screw holes:  hit them with a shop vac to pull out any moisture, then fill with 5200. 

Handymans342

@LaRea how are you keeping the hatch open?

raybo3

And speaking of @Michael T where has he been?????????

Dream_Inn

@LaRea that is going to be one awesome engine room when you are done!  I want to have a beer (or something stronger) in that engine room with you next summer!!

davidbrooks

to quote the movie Step Brothers..." There is so much room for activities"

LaRea

First coat of Bilgekote white on the starboard side.  Before you guys start wailing that I'm OCD for painting parts that will be hidden by tanks and appliances ... consider that it's only one coat.  And there are brush marks. Plus, that's just how I roll.  (Get it?  Roll?)

Handymans342

Handymans342 said:

@LaRea how are you keeping the hatch open?

LaRea

It's propped open with the fold-down leg on the underside of the hatch.

LaRea

This just in:  If you get a big dollop of 3M 5200 smeared on your pants, and then you drive your Audi and smear 5200 all over the seat, and then you discover it two hours later and have a complete mental meltdown, the damage is not permanent. 

"Goof Off Pro Strength" will dissolve partially cured 5200.  Apply liberally, rub gently with a towel, then clean the seat with a mild detergent.  

Liberty44140

Hey that’s pretty good to know especially since it didn’t ruin your seat as acetone surely would have. One of the perks of 5200 curing so slowly I suppose...

reneechris14

I did a compression ckeck on the port now that it is home and maybe did not need pull this motor. #3 bad wire I do believe. But #5 was wet and port was rusty. 

Aqua_Aura

Well you already were pulling one and got a good deal on the boat. Now you can really get things perfect for the spring. You should do this write up in a separate thread. 

aero3113

@reneechris14 , next season you will be happy you pulled both. Great piece of mind and everything will be spotless!

LaRea

One good thing about tearing up my engine room is finding and righting some wrongs in the wiring.

Example 1:  At some point in history, somebody connected both engines to the same starter battery, and the genny to the other starter battery.  That's how it has been ever since.  Sounds logical, right?  Unfortunately, it disables the "combine" feature of the battery switches.  

Example 2:  The terminal for the wire feeding the windlass was loose -- not even finger tight.  I'm lucky it never overheated from having such a poor connection.  

Example 3:  The 12V power feed to the helm goes to a loose terminal block that is wrapped in electrical tape and hanging loose in the bottom of the helm.  Not exactly ABYC-compliant.  

So, all you twin-engine boaters:  do you really know how your batteries are wired?

LaRea

Here's the engine room just before I applied the second coat of paint.  I'm impressed with the BilgeKote white.  Easy to apply, looks beautiful, nice hard finish.  I used two quarts to cover the entire ER with two coats (including walls).  I have a few ounces left for touchups.

(I also love the iPhone 11 wide-angle lens!)

YYZRC

Are both your starting batteries on the same side?  On my 330 they are on opposite sides so someone would have to be both industrious and willing to spend a bit of $$ to have messed up the starter battery wiring.

Aqua_Aura

She's a real beauty.