Can anyone provide me with a logical reason why the nuts that secure the engine to its mounts would not be tightened all the way down? Mine are all (two on each) about an inch up the bolt and tightened against each other. Makes no sense to me, but before I tighten them all the way down, I wanted to check and see if there is some secret I should know. I have only had the boat a short time, and noticed this when I was repainting the engine.
I appreciate any help!
Robert Perkins
[I]Andante[/I], Hull #450
Cleveland, OH
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Robert Perkins
Andante
Cleveland, OH
Possibly someone was in the process of aligning the engine/transmission to the prop shaft and got interrupted mid-stream. That's very poor procedure. They should be secure, but before you tighten them make sure the engine is aligned properly. This alignment should be done and the nuts tightened before you next use the boat. If you have never done the alignment, it's a bit fussy, using feeler gauges. If you're handy at this sort of thing you can do it, but if you're not it would probably be an hour or so's time of a professional maintenance tech. Might be worth letting a pro do it so you can get out on the water.
Larry Brandt
S/V High Flight #2109
Pacific Northwest, PDX-based
2002 C-36 mkII SR/FK M35B
Thanks for the quick response....I have never aligned the prop before, so what do I use to align it? I am pretty handy, but just need to know the procedure. Help would be greatly appreciated.
Robert
Robert Perkins
Andante
Cleveland, OH
Are you sure the nuts are not clamping the engine brackets between them the way they are supposed to?? It is highly unlikely your engine is not being held in place by something. Most engines do not rest on the bottom of the mounts, but are held some ways up the mounts once they are aligned.
Dave C
"Corvus"
Mk II #2116
Dave, thanks for asking the question. I misread Robert's initial post, I think, but Dave put my brain back on the rails. See photo below that shows a typical engine installation.
The process to align the engine is to uncouple the prop shaft from the transmission and ensure that (a) the shaft and transmission output flanges are in alignment and (2) they have the same feeler gauge spacing around the circumference of the flanges. If either of these conditions is not met, the engine mount bolts must be adjusted to achieve this compliance.
Larry Brandt
S/V High Flight #2109
Pacific Northwest, PDX-based
2002 C-36 mkII SR/FK M35B
Thanks, Larry and Dave, for your input. Here is how my engine mounts appear....The "adjuster" nuts on the underside of the front and rear engine mounts are adjusted up the bolts in tandem (front and rear) but different positions with the front being higher, indicating that the engine has possibly been aligned. The two nuts above the engine mounting brackets are tightened against each other, but about an inch above the lock washers.
So I am considering these possibilities...
a. perhaps the adjuster nuts have vibrated down the bolt, leaving the two
above still locked together, but I can't imagine that the angle of the
engine would need to be adjusted up to this extent.
b. someone aligned the engine, then didn't tighten the nuts all the way down
c. the PO left the engine mounted this way to reduce vibration against the
hull (least likely, but not unheard of!)
Noneltheless, I don't trust that the engine is aligned and want to get it done. Since it's something I've never done before and need it to be done right, I'll probably hire it out. Thanks for the help and the pics!
Robert Perkins
Andante
Cleveland, OH
What you describe should certainly not be the case. It may be that your engine is in line as it rests on the nuts below the brackets, or maybe it was lined up and the lower nuts worked their way down, but normal torque would move it around quite a bit in the space above the brackets. Impossible to say. I agree you should have it properly aligned and then have the nuts tightened to spec. Good luck.
Dave C
"Corvus"
Mk II #2116
You got my curiousity awakened - Here is what mine looks like.
Haro Bayandorian, 1999 C36 MKII, Sail La Vie #1787, M35B,
Coyote Point, San Mateo, CA.
Ok, imagine the nut on the top side of the mounting bracket being unscrewed up the bolt about an inch and you would be looking at mine, except it has two nuts tightened against each other and yours only has one. Essentially, the engine is just sitting free atop the adjuster nut below the bracket without being tightened down. I makes no sense to me that someone would intentionally leave it like this.
Robert Perkins
Andante
Cleveland, OH