Motor Maintenance Question

[jbgibbs99]

I have a Tohatsu M50D that is kept on a salty swinging mooring in the summer and only flushed once at end of season.

When I first got the boat the engine kept cutting out and it turned out to be the thermostat and housing were salted up - a good clean and it's been fine ever since (I check once a year as it's an easy place to spot salt build up). I reckon the PO didn't flush much.

I've been thinking for a while that I should take off the exhaust cover as there is probably salt build up in the channels that I should clean out.

But I can't figure out how to get to the couple of bolts at the bottom of the cover as they are very close to the plastic cowling and I can't fit a socket in there. I may be able to find an angled spanner/wrench to fit but I wouldn't be able to use a torque wrench to do them back up.

I was thinking of cutting a pannel out of the plastic cowling for access then gluing/fixing it back somehow.

Has anybody got this cover off while the engine is on the boat and got any tips or tricks?

[133bhp]

save hassle and use the spanner - only use a torque wrench on things that really need it, like high tensile crank/head bolts etc. even using low range wrenches, seen so many stripped threads on small alloy parts/cases as tendency is to keep turning to achieve torque not sensing thread is going, common sense nip up will be fine.

[jbgibbs99]

Sounds like good advice. I'll stop overthinking it and just get on with the job.

To prove your point - last weekend I broke a crankcase bolt on a Z1000 engine I'm rebuilding. I was merrily pulling away on my torque wrench not "feeling" that the bolt was at breaking point - and it broke!

[seahouse]

Sounds like good advice. I'll stop overthinking it and just get on with the job.

To prove your point - last weekend I broke a crankcase bolt on a Z1000 engine I'm rebuilding. I was merrily pulling away on my torque wrench not "feeling" that the bolt was at breaking point - and it broke!

Hey jb –
Something to know... tradesmen, when asked to “guestimate” by hand the torque on a threaded fastener, will over-torque bolts less than 1/4” dia. and under-torque bolts over 1/4” in dia. It helps to know this – so you can adjust your guess accordingly.

A tip - if you're concerned that the bolt might come loose and fall into the drink if you under-torque too much, then put a drop of threadlocker (if you're rebuilding an engine you'll have some on hand) underneath the head only. It'll hold it fast, but still be easy to remove and put no excess torque on the threaded part of the fastener that might result in a head broken off, had you threadlockered the threads.

Z1000. Hmm. A nice litrebike – gonna race it when you're done?
-Brian.

[133bhp]

Sounds like good advice. I'll stop overthinking it and just get on with the job.

To prove your point - last weekend I broke a crankcase bolt on a Z1000 engine I'm rebuilding. I was merrily pulling away on my torque wrench not "feeling" that the bolt was at breaking point - and it broke!

theres a lot UK bikers into sailing it seems, I've a couple of bikes still, recently packed in racing a GSXR K6 1k, to "relax" sailing, but have screwed up more than one crankcase/other over the years, we've all done it.

take some pics, have the same lump, be interesred to see what you find?

[Dimitri-2000X-Tampa]

If you put a pressure water system in and your motor has the ability to backflush through the pee hole, then you can flush your own motor with boat water. I do this every now and again because I really want to avoid the kind of overheating problem I had 7-8 years ago caused by salt buildup....

See this gory thread for all the details...

http://macgregorsailors.com/forum/viewt ... f=9&t=5045

[jbgibbs99]

Thanks all. It'll be March when I get it from the boat yard and put it on my drive for its pre-season sort-out. Pics will follow then.

Interesting thread Dimitri - hopefully I just find a little cleaning is all that's needed!

Hey Brian - No racing I'm afraid - it's part of me embracing my mid-life crisis:-

Always wanted to learn to sail so brought a boat and teaching myself – check
Missed having my Z1000 from my youth so bought one and doing it up – check
Used to play drums so bought a kit for messing around at home – check

That should keep me out of mischief for a while!

Cheers,

Bruce

[bartmac]

Sounds like bucket list material......motorcycle....boat etc etc

Same here....Ducati st2....xr600.....Mac26x and the ultimate thrill a "Blokart"....landsailer....when the tide and wind co-operate on the beach a couple of inches off the sand doing 40-45k's...better that a good set of twisties and no plod....police to take away your license