A man figures that if he puts a 32 year old carbureted engine out to pasture (for at least 1 season. . .) that he will have trouble starting it when he returns.
You approach the machine on the ASSUMPTION that there will be a laundry list of issues including chewed wires, rats nests, rotted hoses, clogged jets, stuck needles, stuck floats, rusted fasteners, clotted ethanol gas, hungry spiders, wet rot, corroded electrical, dead batteries, parts missing, flat tires, rusted bearings, etc ………….
What you dont expect is that some bandit came in the night and repaired your carburetor. Lol… right? Like, the one thing you can count on in life…. is that nobody is going to rebuild your 4bbl carburetor under cover of darkness without consent. I mean, it happens, but only in hippy communes and military bases. Anywhere else a man can safely assume that if he puts something away fucked… that it will be fucked when he brings it back out.
I guess the Roulette wheel rolls 00 sometimes.
- Boat Started with no issues
- Choke appeared to work perfectly (on camera)
- Idle Fuel Adjustment no longer shows waterfall
I have been around long enough to be more BAFFLED than Pleased. A man who is pleased by such a thing has yet to encounter the hardest lesson available….
INTERMITENT FAILURE MODES
So lets review
How I stored the Engine
I dont recall with great clarity but I did stow it knowing that it would be 2 years until next service. I am positive that I got 2 year stabilizer in the 1/4 tank of gas. I am positive that the cooling system was washed out with fresh water (but not coated, my conditioner spilt out).
I cant remember if I ran the carb dry, probably not. I can remember that I did not shoot any oil down the carb. I am positive the boat got swamped by rain at least once (before we built the frame above). I am positive the plug was out and draining properly.
I approached the engine as I always do… with a can of Spider Killer and skepticism. I checked all the fluids, even those I cant identify. All fluids were at the top of the stick (this one cold) and I saw no immediate indication of water ingress.
That’s the Power Steering Pump, FYI
Even tho we had a Rats Nest on the rear deck. . . no rats got into the boat! I am pretty sure it has been TWO seasons… because Season 1 I had rat traps set. Season 2 I did not. So … 2 years and no rats. That is Double Zero for certain.
- Bilge Pump turns on
- Engine Cabin Vent turns on
- Trim goes up and down…..
So Suspicious….
Two Two Marine Batteries (wired parallel) were resting around 7V but totally sulfated. The system was set to OFF and there was a 4.5A trickle on there, but… nobody plugged it in. No power where the boat was parked (sigh)… and I had not yet built a Solar Charger for it.
The spiders left us exactly this much silk (above). Most of them were hiding in the Engine Compartment. I dispatched with them immediately. NOBODY wants to take a ride in a boat that has random large spiders crawling out at full clip. The spiders around here get big… like… See it in your pocket big.
Hmmm… No rat traps yet no rats in the boat
A singular STARTING of a nest outside of the boat…. but not complete. In fact, that does not even look right. Looks like it came from somewhere else and was placed there. No idea. Animals in the woods do strange shit.
Coolant was good….. even Green?
Oil was good…. even clear?
Its not all perfect. The ratted out 12V electrical is still waiting for my loving touch.
Somehow water is getting past the Engine Compartment and pooling on the top of the engine. Usually I suspect rat piss, but this time condensation. Only thing it could be… unless some how it is soaking thru the engine compartment and following something down.
Could be
There are a few decroded turds from Yester-Year. I am positive that at one point I pressure washed ALL TURDS from the engine. Those look to be quite seasoned.
Above you can spot standing water with brown rust below the Main Coil.
There is that Power Steering stick, right up to the cold line
Hmmm… Something must be wrong. There is always something wrong….
That above looks awful but its not as bad as it looks. 4 years back I removed all that, cleaned the contacts, and over-coated with grease. It now attracts particulates but it performs its duty well.
Long story short I fired it up, it ran, and now its time to learn a lesson out in the open water.
Below is a trick I learned while helping a man who lost a $70k boat at a stop sign. Pin fell out. He made it almost a mile, up a steep hill, … then Crack. Saw it happen in real time. Boat came off the back, gave two wags, then harpooned the back of his SUV.
He had a floor jack but no stick. While he brought the boat up with his finger, I ran home and got him a hitch pin. The lesson I learned is to keep a FLOOR JACK with your Boat Trailer for when you have to park on uneven ground. The scene below is all too common! You cant get an aftermarket trailer jack to stand up with this little clearance.
Hence the Jack
Next post I go thru the Video Footage
-Schindler