Engine Vibrating Excessively

This is the place for information on the important systems on your boat, including sails, rigging, engines (if applicable), and other systems.
Triton106
Candidate for Boat-Obsession Medal
Posts: 392
Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2003 4:51 pm
Location: San Francisco Bay Area

Re: Engine Vibrating Excessively

Post by Triton106 »

After dropping off my two older kids off at Berkeley Youth Orchestra (where they both play the violins) bright and early this morning I was once again back on the alignment project. Unlike the previous several weeks I could see light at the end of the tunnel now.

While waiting for my friend Rob to show up and help I adjusted the valve clearance (.012 for exhaust and .010 for intake). The last time I adjusted them was about five years ago. The clearance were not off by that much. I also cleaned up the cooling water chamber. Since I have not upgraded to fresh water cooling the water chamber was pretty disgusting. For some reason this time the water chamber was dirtier than the last time I cleaned it (also about five years ago). The cover plate was corroded pretty badly with couple of thin spots. I cleaned it up with wire wheel and coated it with Kleen Strip Rust Converter.

Rob showed up around noon and we immediately went to load the engine on the stringers (see picture below). With two people loading the engine is really pretty easy process. Once the engine was on the mount we pried up each corner of the flanger up and slided the home made fender washer sandwich (one rubber washer sandwiched between two stainless steel washers) under each corner. We also put washer sandwich on top of the flange to further cushion the engine vibration (see picture below). We then inserted the bolts but did not tighten them. We then adjusted the position of the engine to align the coupling. After a few tries we were pleased find that we were able to get the alignment within .003" tolerance as specified by Universal Motors (see picture below). I plan to put the alternator, starter, water pump, manifold, fuel pump, carboratuor all back tomorrow and hook up water, fuel, and electrical connections. Maybe I will be able to start the engine tomorrow! That's exciting.

Image

Image

Image
Ray D. Chang
Triton 106 in Berkeley, CA
Triton106
Candidate for Boat-Obsession Medal
Posts: 392
Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2003 4:51 pm
Location: San Francisco Bay Area

Re: Engine Vibrating Excessively

Post by Triton106 »

Well it did not happen today (i.e. I was not able to put everything back). Due to my kids concert with BYO in the afternoon I only had a few hours in the morning to install starter, alternator, manifold, distributor, and fuel pump back. I also rebuilt the old mechanical fuel pump with Moyer rebuild kit and thoroughly cleaned the carburatour. So I still have a little more to complete before I can test how well aligned the engine is.
Ray D. Chang
Triton 106 in Berkeley, CA
Triton106
Candidate for Boat-Obsession Medal
Posts: 392
Joined: Fri Apr 18, 2003 4:51 pm
Location: San Francisco Bay Area

Re: Engine Vibrating Excessively

Post by Triton106 »

Well, I finally did it today but it was not without a final bit of battle with a stuck valve tappet.

On Saturday I put back the final appendages and connected the fuel, cooling, electrical, and control cables. I cranked the engine and it almost caught on right away. But I noticed that engine was running rougher and it could not rev above 1000 rpm under load. I adjusted timing under load and it did not make any difference. I attempted to adjust idle and it did not help either. As it was getting late I reluctantly gave it up and went home.

On Sunday, I was to able to get out to the boat in the afternoon. I tested the compression and found the last cylinder did not have any compression, a sure sign of a stuck valve. So off comes the carburetor, fuel pump, chock and throttle cables, and finally valve cover plate. Sure enough the exhaust valve tappet was stuck in the up position. I sprayed it with carburetor cleaner and it did not help, I sprayed it with BP Blaster and it did not help. Finally, I squirted it with Marvel Mystery Oil and worked the tappet up and down for about 15 minutes and finally freed it up. After I put back the appendages and hooked up the control cables once again I crossed my fingers and turned on the ignition. Vroom, it fired right up and the engine never sang so sweetly. I adjusted the idle mix and then idle speed to get it to run around 800 in neutral. Under load idle is closer to 600-700.

Oh, I forget to mention that under load in forward and reverse the engine ran considerably smoother than before the realignment of the propeller shaft which is the reason I started this thread. I am pleased that the project has concluded satisfactorily.

Here are a few pictures of the final installation.

Final engine Installation on the modified stringers - the red dot on the new exhaust wrap is blood. I did not clean it up to serve as a reminder that it take blood, sweat, and tear (almost) to complete the project.
Image


A view of the properly aligned propeller shaft - through the newly installed cockpit hatch (another Tim Lackey inspired feature)
Image


A view of the new Racor primary filter and the new location for the water lift muffler. You can also see a corner of the new fuel tank (Moeller Marine 3118 fits snugly under the Triton cockpit).
Image
Last edited by Triton106 on Tue Apr 06, 2010 11:19 am, edited 1 time in total.
Ray D. Chang
Triton 106 in Berkeley, CA
User avatar
Chris Campbell
Candidate for Boat-Obsession Medal
Posts: 422
Joined: Tue Jun 06, 2006 9:18 am
Boat Name: Luna
Boat Type: Yankee 30
Location: Chester, NS
Contact:

Re: Engine Vibrating Excessively

Post by Chris Campbell »

Congratulations! A long project has a satisfying end. Enjoy the smooth running!
bigd14
Skilled Systems Installer
Posts: 211
Joined: Sun Jan 25, 2009 12:56 pm
Boat Type: Ericson 27
Location: Portland, OR

Re: Engine Vibrating Excessively

Post by bigd14 »

Good work Ray. Its amazing how much effort these things can turn into! So what's the next project (hopefully go sailing)?
Doug
1972 Ericson 27
Twice Around
Bottom Sanding Grunt
Posts: 1
Joined: Fri Jul 24, 2009 12:42 pm
Boat Name: Twice Around
Boat Type: Catalina 30

Re: Engine Vibrating Excessively

Post by Twice Around »

Hi Ray,
I made it thru your thread. Now, I just need to work this alignment procedure on my A-4. My wife is probably wondering why random coupling pictures are shooting out of the printer from the other room :-)

Cheers...great thread!

-Shawn
"Twice Around" - Catalina 30 #511 with original A4 power!
Post Reply