It's possible that Westerbeke took a page from MG and used porous cast iron
for the block. Those spacious "boots" on the 1950s models were not for
luggage, they were for cases of oil.

Roger

http://home.earthlink.net/~derbyrm

"Terry Spragg" wrote in message
...
MMC wrote:

"Every boat's got it's own personality, eh?"
Very true!
Do you have enough access around your engine to clean off the oil and
inspect with a inspection mirror?
Worked for my when my timing gear cover gasket was leaking.
MMC

Finding and inspecting the leak scared it dry? Makes me think of Medusa in
a mirror!

Do you also have an atomic two engine? Officially, its a westerbeke
universal medallion atomic two. The crank main bearing shells cost 65
bucks per half shell! Userious? I ground down some cheapies that were a
little wide, and cost 6 bucks a pair.

The companionway engine compartment has a glassed in bulkhead between it
and the main cabin, about 6" tall, with front engine compartment hatch
cover removed, with a limber hole plugged with a cork. I could chainsaw
that down, but then oily bilge could overtop it and mess up the carpet in
the saloon.

I would need to chop it somewhat to get the flywheel off while the engine
is at home and get a peek under the engine from the front. The engine beds
protect the privacy of the bilge rats below the engine. What the heck do
bilge rats want to play around down there for? We keep sending
Christian-white evangelist protheletizers down there on missions to save
them, but our missionaries all get corrupted and come back with those
stains from the devil's excrement darkening and flooding their souls;-)

The engine, only 9.99999.... horse, is light enough I can yank it by
myself. I like being as self sufficient as possible. So, it's going to
pieces on the stbd quarter berth, as we dally here. The timing gear train
cover may go next, as I have got the flywheel off but can see no sign of
leakage there. The front crank seal was replaced 3 years ago by a mech.
In all probably hasn't 100 hours since then, but something has been
continuing to leak while running ever since.

I thought it was leaking around the Wico magneto lower mount bolt, but
epoxying a stud in it's place made no difference. I found that the tapped
hole for the mounting bolt was broken out at he bottom of the hole,
leaving a chance for the oil to come out there. I tried many things,
sealer etc, to stem that, to no effect.

It must be coming from somewhere else. The valve cover plate is off, and
the gasket seems good, with a new one whittled ready to put back on. The
oil pan gasket is new, and tight. Once the tranny leaks down to it's
gearshift shaft level, there is no more oil coming out there. Anyway, that
leak is red, not black.

I'm going mad thinking what next. I finally have the engine and
carburettor at a state of reliability and manageability that
I can tolerate, except for this.

After the oil leak, perhaps a thermostat and even hot water for the head
basin?

It seems I am the only A-2 owner out here. Is there anyone else that is
savvy to these engines?

Terry K


"Terry Spragg" wrote in message
...

MMC wrote:


I think people are naturally assuming it is a much more difficult

problem

that getting water out of an open boat (as your original post indicates)
since you wrote and asked advice.

"Rick" wrote in message
...


Peggie Hall wrote:


wrote:



There's several gallons of sea water in my aluminum bayrunner and I
can't figure out how to get it out. When I'm in the water on full
throttle the boat doesn't tilt enough to push all the water to the

back

where the bilge pump is located.

Even on the trailer with it fully tilted up on the boat ramp I can't
empty it out. It's not flooded but there's several gallons and I'd
like to get it out. Does anyone have any suggestions?


A shop vac or dinghy bailer (manual pump), a bucket, a big sponge and
some manual labor.

Even if the bilge pump could get rid of most of it, bilge pumps can't
get all the water...some runs back down the hose when the pump shuts

off

that should always be pumped out/mopped up each time you put the boat
away. If you don't, it'll sit and stagnate into a stinky "primordial
soup" in your bilge.


Am I missing something here? My Bilge is self-Draining when the boat is
out of the water.

R.

Mine drains well with the plug out too, except that the engine bilge
limber hole is plugged to contain dripping oil and stop it moving to
the bilge under the cabin.

So the cabin bilge doesn't drain that way, not that it would because
it's up hill from the cabin bilge to the prop and engine compartment
bilge.

So I occasionally need to pump a gallon or two of what can only be
condensation and elusive overhead drips accumulated under the cabin,
which is not enough to start the main bilge pump until the water is
an inch or more deep in the cabin, as the main bilge is only an inch
deep and wraps closely under the concave cabin sole. Our cabin sole
is like a submarine's in that no matter how the boat rocks and
rolls, you always can stand in the bottom of the boat, like it was a
sewer pipe, or submarine. The engine compartment bilge gets pumped
by hand into a pop bottle for oil seperation from packing box drips
and recycling, as every day of moderate engine use, it drips half a
liter of oil from I can't figure out where. It's an atomic two, any
experience out there?

With the engine apart in the cabin now, hopefully by spring it will
no longer leak oil, and then I can re-open the limber hole and pump
clean prop shaft drips normally, but by hand, as the automatic bilge
pump will never get that last gallon. That we get with a manual
suction line snuck down under the lowest point under the cabin.

Every boat's got it's own personality, eh?

Terry K