I ran my Suzuki engine for a couple of hours after Rolf fixed my temp sensor and it seems to be OK now. Thanks everyone for input. Rolf said to change the thermostat every couple of years as Dave's and mine did not look so good. Rolf showed me how to change the spark plugs as required at 200 hours so it is running great.
Another advantage of having a mobile mechanic come out to your boat is that you can watch him perform the work and next time do it yourself. I now know where these temp sensors are and will replace them myself next time if it goes bad.
For you Orange County, Ca. residents, Rolf at Audiss Mobil Marine no longer advertises as he gets work from referals. His number 714-655-7736. $60 for trip charge to your boat. I am getting him to do my impellar change next.
Suzuki overheating
Suzuki Water Pump
Well the N. Calif. weather broke today so got to the job of changing the
water pump. Problem encounted was the 6 flange bolts on lower unit.
Two of the 6 snapped off. Hard to believe this could happen with a quarter
inch drive with 8 inch bar. Broke two easy outs off trying to get them out.
Any suggestions? A few threads remain and could probably get a nut started and weld on. Trouble is what effect will arc have on case which
looks to be aluminum. The blue lock tite must really hold. What would
heat do to loosen? Thanks in advance to any of you metalurgists.
Paul Drew
water pump. Problem encounted was the 6 flange bolts on lower unit.
Two of the 6 snapped off. Hard to believe this could happen with a quarter
inch drive with 8 inch bar. Broke two easy outs off trying to get them out.
Any suggestions? A few threads remain and could probably get a nut started and weld on. Trouble is what effect will arc have on case which
looks to be aluminum. The blue lock tite must really hold. What would
heat do to loosen? Thanks in advance to any of you metalurgists.
Paul Drew
-
Theo
- Engineer
- Posts: 189
- Joined: Sun Mar 27, 2005 9:18 am
- Sailboat: MacGregor 26X
- Location: Huntington Beach, CA
Hi Guys,
Just a note to thank you all, (especially BK) and to let you all know how my situation turned out. Last episode I was doing a course of SaltAway to see if that would unclog my engine and make it pee properly. After five days of running SaltAway through, I noticed some improvement but not to where I felt it should be. So I broke down and called BKs mechanic Rolf.
Long story short, he showed up late last Friday evening. He started by going through all kinds of things on my engine; sensors, spark plugs, etc. Then he ordered me to start her up. He took one look at my weak pee stream and muttered, thats not right. According to his experience it could only be a bottom end water pump problem. We proceeded to pull the lower end off and examine it. Rolf is fast! We found some restriction due to the rubber seal on the gearcase and Rolf removed it. He then pulled the impeller out and put it all back in. He could find nothing else wrong with it.
Now this is good. To test the top end, he ran a garden hose up the back, up the water intake tube and had me turn it up full blast. Actually looked kinda painful to me. Lo and Behold! I had a fantastic pee stream. I felt ten years younger. Rolf muttered something like, see, the top end is fine. We reinstalled the bottom end and (did I mention Rolf was FAST!) and sterted her up again. Perfection, no problems at all! I was peeing clear across my driveway.
Rolf could never say for sure exactly what my original problem was. He suspected that I did not bolt down the water pump housing enough. The mating of the water pump housing and base plate is metal to metal. If air gets sucked through, you will have a weak stream. A delicate job since it is only a ten mil bolt and can easily be overtorqued. He examined my old parts and felt they were not in bad enough shape to cause any problems. Either way we all agreed my problem was solved.
Rolf is a super guy. He is extremely knowledgeable but has zero attitude. He is not one of those techs that zealously guard their knowledge. He is more than willing to explain what he is doing and give input and advice to the shade tree mechanic. He is a little pricey, $85 per hour but delivers full value. He is very willing to point out little jobs that you can do yourself and save the money. Also he is fast. His whole field visit took just over an hour. Definitely a fantastic resource for us SoCal guys.
Again, thanks for all your help. Now all I need to do is jettison my life so I have more time to go sailing.
I will be lurking.
Theo
Just a note to thank you all, (especially BK) and to let you all know how my situation turned out. Last episode I was doing a course of SaltAway to see if that would unclog my engine and make it pee properly. After five days of running SaltAway through, I noticed some improvement but not to where I felt it should be. So I broke down and called BKs mechanic Rolf.
Long story short, he showed up late last Friday evening. He started by going through all kinds of things on my engine; sensors, spark plugs, etc. Then he ordered me to start her up. He took one look at my weak pee stream and muttered, thats not right. According to his experience it could only be a bottom end water pump problem. We proceeded to pull the lower end off and examine it. Rolf is fast! We found some restriction due to the rubber seal on the gearcase and Rolf removed it. He then pulled the impeller out and put it all back in. He could find nothing else wrong with it.
Now this is good. To test the top end, he ran a garden hose up the back, up the water intake tube and had me turn it up full blast. Actually looked kinda painful to me. Lo and Behold! I had a fantastic pee stream. I felt ten years younger. Rolf muttered something like, see, the top end is fine. We reinstalled the bottom end and (did I mention Rolf was FAST!) and sterted her up again. Perfection, no problems at all! I was peeing clear across my driveway.
Rolf could never say for sure exactly what my original problem was. He suspected that I did not bolt down the water pump housing enough. The mating of the water pump housing and base plate is metal to metal. If air gets sucked through, you will have a weak stream. A delicate job since it is only a ten mil bolt and can easily be overtorqued. He examined my old parts and felt they were not in bad enough shape to cause any problems. Either way we all agreed my problem was solved.
Rolf is a super guy. He is extremely knowledgeable but has zero attitude. He is not one of those techs that zealously guard their knowledge. He is more than willing to explain what he is doing and give input and advice to the shade tree mechanic. He is a little pricey, $85 per hour but delivers full value. He is very willing to point out little jobs that you can do yourself and save the money. Also he is fast. His whole field visit took just over an hour. Definitely a fantastic resource for us SoCal guys.
Again, thanks for all your help. Now all I need to do is jettison my life so I have more time to go sailing.
I will be lurking.
Theo