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engine re install
rasbury
Member Posts: 8,238 ✭✭✭✭✭
My motor is coming out Monday am which I would think the easy part. Shop at one of the marinas has a high long bridge crane I think it is called...how do they line up the engine mounting bolts to re install when 800 lbs of motor is swinging round on that crane?
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once sitting on engine mounts aligning and install begins
Funny (actually not so funny) story - helped a friend R&R his engine. While he had it out he called me to say "guess what? I decided to lay down some glass mat over the stringers and re-paint the engine bay".
When I arrived he had done a beautiful job.....then my heart almost stopped. He hadn't put any pins/lags in the original engine mount holes to mark them. THAT re-install took some time! measure, measure, measure........ :-(
i don't have the luxury of a crane or a gantry with adjustments; what i do have is a gantry i built out of dimensional lumber. the business end is two 2x6 build ups braced with two 2x8 buildups. then i tacked a couple 2x6 3' sections across center, and dropped a chain over it to an electric 1200# wench. it works, but i have to take several shots to get the boat under it right.
IF you're putting in the same engine you pulled, it's no big deal. if you're not, there could be issues. those issues are addressed by pulling the feet of the mounts off the block doing an alignment before you reattach them... this could mean two pulls of that engine.
but anyway...
the mounts on both my engines are the same, and the blocks are the same... i had relative assurance i wasn't going to have to pull the mount feet off the blocks (the lags)...
this is the trick to installing an engine, and it is this simple (or hard) : the transom plate only goes on one way- there is no other way for it to mount properly. those are what matter...
1. lower the lower mount nuts all the bottom...
(so, having an engine crank-level connecting the wench to the engine makes life a lot easier.)
2. lower the engine in (and if you're reusing the mount feet- stab them) carefully in small increments-
3. check the transom mounts. when the engine's transom mounts marry the transom plate with the little pad in between them, the bolt falls through without resistance, and the threads are easy to get a nut on. hand tighten those nuts (they're HARD to get to, stand by for that)...
4. while the weight of the engine is still on the wench (and transom plate, now) raise the lower front mount nuts until you can't anymore (by hand)...
5. spin the top front mount nuts to flush, making sure the little plate that keeps the lower one from moving is properly oriented.
6. lower the engine until the full weight is on the mounts- if you did this right you shouldn't lower much at all.
7. reach back and get a hold on the transom mount bolt, and since they're only threaded on a few threads they should slide up and down easily... again, they only mount ONE way- if they don't freely move with the weight of the engine on the plate and the feet, your 'rough alignment' is wrong.
8. it should be^ if you did this right... so all you do now is tighten the rear (transom mount) bolts to spec. I think it's 45#'s. Also note: mecr no longer uses those things that look like a valve spring and a lockwasher had unprotected sex- they simply use a lock washer. it doesn't matter what style you have, I guess.
9. stab the alignment rod- which should take a whole new ten step list. adjust FRONT MOUNTS ONLY accordingly.
10. stab the outdrive.
it sounds difficult, but this is only about an hours worth of work.
if you're installing a motor that is different than the one you pulled:
the variant to the above is:
remove the lag bolts and remove the lower mount feet from the mounting block. fill the holes properly. if you have concerns about the location of the holes in relation to the holes the new feet are going to stick into, buy some problem solver mounts- they are wider/longer so you have relative assurance you're not going to go near the same holes again.
attach the feet to the mounts on the engine... sit the engine into the hold following the above procedure making certain the transom mounts are properly connected. they don't have to be tight, they just have to be seated the only way they can be properly seated.
once that is done- spin the lower feet (you may have to bump the wench up JUST a touch) to their proper position, and mark the hole location....
remove the transom plate bolts, lift engine... toss back enough beer to sooth the nerves, and drill holes slightly smaller than the lags.
set the engine back in.. check transom plate/rear engine mount alignment again- follow the procedures above again... then spin the feet to match the holes- use a screwdriver to make sure they're aligned if you must... once they are set the weight down... lather a lag in 4200, and drive it in.
then break out the alignment bar and have at it.
the engine left-to-right leveling is tricky... it's tricky because you can't account that the boat is sitting dead level- it could be the surface the trailer is sitting on is crowned, it's not on the trailer dead even, or the straps (if slung) aren't absolutely flat.... could be one tire doesn't have the pressure the other side has, or the springs under one side sag a bit more... you get the idea.
the transom plate doesn't lie. if that engine is sitting on the transom plate properly, and there is no resistance to the bolts sliding up and down in their slots, you're good. if the engine is not level, one side of the transom plate mount may freely slip in and out- but the other side may have a 'rough spot' where it doesn't. if it's on that plate dead level (in relation to the engine/plate), both bolts will align accurately and the bolt slide up and down without any resistance or 'rough spots'. the good news is the engine 'wants' to sit on those transom plates properly.... if you move slowly and carefully, it will seat right up.
for instance, my positioning of the boat and size of the hold required me to park slightly forward of perfect transom alignment so i could clear the steering hydraulics.. once the shaft was below the strut, i backed up (the truck) ever so slightly, but STILL had to push/pull the engine backward to align the transom plate... i used the crank engine level to achieve the angle i needed- and once i found it, two feet on the front of the engine and wench control in hand, i bumped it lower in increments.. when it rested on the transom plate properly (still had the front of the engine weight on the wench/gantry) i could tell it was right as the weight didn't yawl- it rested side-to-side simultaneously. i could 'feel' it seat... i still checked it with the bolts, though...
6x6's to the rescue... i put them under each leg and made the gantry 5.5" taller. disaster averted.
Dream 'Inn III -- 2008 400 Express
+1 on @Dream_Inn's idea to look at bilge pump. In fact for the price I'd replace it and run new wires.
Also I'd check any wiring that was hard to get at later, particularly grounds. If in doubt and there's enough slack, cut the end off and look for corrosion, if none re-attach. If you find corrosion replace with tinned wire.
how do you know it’s one owner
paper trail ?
boats have no traceability unless it’s documented by owner or dealers.