Honey Do Time .... been putting off replacing the lounge and hallway flooring (carpet) but some pet accidents and a broken carpet shampooer forced the issue
almost finished putting down nice wood look tiles.
hooked up a small temporary gas can to supply fresh fuel turned the motor over a few times without the coil connected (get some oil flowing) put the coil wire back on a quick squirt of starting fluid
and it purrrrrred like a kitten Surprise Surprise Surprise
so surprised that it started first go....... didn't know what to do next (was in shock)
turned the key to OFF and the motor said "nope gonna keep running!"
somehow a gremlin got into the ignition circuit hmmmm
only way to stop the motor pulled the battery + wire to stop the electric fuel pump motor died a couple minutes later just hope I didn't damage the alternator
next step a) remove that gremlin b) set timing c) attach the out drive d) splash her
splashing now delayed... looks like the starter motor burned out (I guess I should have bought a new one) farkkkkkkkkkk scuse the french
at least I found why the motor kept running when I turned off the ignition... wired up the alternator incorrectly purple wire goes on the right dummy
going to get an air ratchet wrench and see if it can get at the starter bolts without lifting the motor I can get a wrench on the bolts but there is no room to turn it ...
Alaskaguy thanks for the offer .... when I do splash it will be on Lake Tarpon 5 minutes drive very quiet ramp so can take some time next door neighbor has a chase boat
Post by Mackerelman on Dec 16, 2017 18:22:00 GMT -5
Aussieguy, You think You have it bad. That Girlfriend of mine has Me putting in a Hardwood Floor at this time & says that I better not be Fishing until the Tile is in. The Tile in the Kitchen is after the Hardwood Floor. She is counting this Remodeling as Her Christmas Present to Her. Heck, Maybe on Christmas Day I might be able to go Fishing.
That D_ _ _ Santa Clause Crap ! Ho Ho Ho !
I Just Hope the Fish that I Catch Pays for My Rods & Reels & Tackle that I Have Bought.
your GF and my Missus been secretly colluding? I just finished putting in over 350 sf of wood look ceramic tile in the lounge hallway plus new base boards ... just finished the base boards yesterday
And thanks to a couple of my neighbors parking their boats on the road and across driveways we got a visit from the city inspector and got issued a ticket I need put in a driveway / pad under my boat or chop down 4 large pine trees so I can move the boat all the way into the back yard up to this point been meticulous in making sure no weeds etc around my boat
had to transplant a 12 foot Plumeria tree last weekend in prep for the driveway have to put in a crushed stone driveway next / maybe will cut gown one smaller 20 foot pine tree
Last Edit: Dec 17, 2017 6:55:11 GMT -5 by aussieguy
Post by yankeeredneck on Dec 17, 2017 8:38:46 GMT -5
Being a mechanic myself, I DON'T WANT TO FIX ANYTHING !Yea a fuse or water pumper, boat maint stuff is ok but projects ain't no fun, but thats me. My GF says I'm lazy, good luck partner, enjoy.
Post by Mackerelman on Dec 17, 2017 17:05:05 GMT -5
Aussieguy:
I do think that Mrs. AG & My Girlfriend must have been doing some talking without Us finding out. The Ideas & the Time they come up with to do it just does not make sense. I want to GO FISHING. You have to watch those Inspectors when You own a boat. In some Localities You don't need a drive way & in others You have to have them on driveways. Keep Your head up & We will go Fishing soon again !
Last Edit: Dec 17, 2017 17:06:53 GMT -5 by Mackerelman
I Just Hope the Fish that I Catch Pays for My Rods & Reels & Tackle that I Have Bought.
Being a mechanic myself, I DON'T WANT TO FIX ANYTHING !Yea a fuse or water pumper, boat maint stuff is ok but projects ain't no fun, but thats me. My GF says I'm lazy, good luck partner, enjoy.
project was aimed at getting a relatively cheap boat which is an oxymoron i suppose it is also aimed at getting my fat behind off the couch, it certainly worked for that!
trying not to drop too many 100 dollar bills in the water, but that isn't working real well but I still havn't spent over the NADA value for the darn thing , but it's creeping up there
have enjoyed doing a lot of stuff not done in the last couple of decades, was a blast that the motor I built from the block up, started right up
in the meantime dropped another 300.00 yesterday but it was too good a deal to refuse new chart plotter / fish finder was on sale for almost half price
my last boat had a roll of paper and stylus for the fish finder (not kidding) can't wait to try it out but still have to put in the new starter which requires some pretty strange positions that even "twister" didn't think of so the new gadget will sit under the tree for a few more days reminding me it's likely the only present I'll get.
starter is in place (again) wasn't as bad as I was expecting, the air wrench made pretty short work of putting in the 2 long bolts
if anyone ever attempts to do boat repairs in tight spaces.... get a air ratchet(wrench) the 20.00 cheapie works great
so that electrical gremlin appeared again... motor won't turn off with the ignition switch found a perfect no tech solution ..... tied a string to the center coil wire. Pull string... motor stops
Did work out what is happening ... getting feedback into the coil from the electric fuel pump relay
will need to solder a blocking diode into the wire from the starter to the fuel pump relay but my soldering skills are pretty lame and I picked up the hot soldering iron in the wrong spot may take a day or two for the burns to heal ... but it's ok was my left hand , only need that occasionally
motor won't return to idle correctly will need to make adjustments to the cable bracket I made up.
new timing light I bought isn't flashing, makes setting the timing pretty difficult will try again when I get the wring set up correctly. but I reckon the light is faulty cause it connects straight to the battery.
get these 2 items done and can put on the out-drive and and start sea trials
replacement timing light worked... it has a dial so I can set the advance as the block does not have provision for a timing tab (plastic crap) cheapie light from Harbor Freight, the advance dial won't stay in place. have to constantly check / recheck it
had to remove the distributor to re-tap it's clamping bolt took out all the plugs and the valve cover to set the motor back to TDC
But motor ran like crap! with an occasional nice big backfires up through the carb ran out of gas too.
didn't double check the plug wires when finished the repair 2 & 4 were swapped (ooops)
got gas last night... did a fast U turn on US19 gas can fell over spilling some gas out of the breather hole all over the wife's Jeep, I'm in trouble now! soaked it up ... used water/vinegar mixture ... wet vac'ed it up (twice) ... used two boxes of baking soda still stinks this morning, Mrs AG stole my car to go to work
The Jeep is running like crap too, so will do a quick tuneup while airing out the smell new plugs and air filter check plug leads and coils
Santa gave me the fish finder / chart plotter yesterday tested it out on the patio using a car battery for power , no transducer hooked up so was in test/store mode
very very very happy with the quality of the charts shows all the channels / markers etc it even has a fishing chart showing known reefs / structure
haven't yet worked out how to change the default color for shallow water why the heck would they use Blue for shallow water? this model has the ability to add different shading colors for varying depth ranges
took it outside into the sunlight... screen was readable even with the sun directly shining on it Going to have so much fun with this gadget
so today's goal work on Jeep......... then can play with the boat,
it should run a whole lot better now, but still need to: adjust the carburetor a bit more. double check timing, set the correct idle speed test the shift assist
motor is setup as best as possible final adjustment will be needed when it is floating just need to adjust idle speed when in gear and prop is in water.
so now have turned my attention to putting the stern drive together bought a new drive when I picked up the boat, it was in 2 pieces upper and lower I assumed it was a complete drive all I need was to bolt it together
assume = make an ass out of u and ME
missing the drive shaft, water tube and guide, little tiny plastic washer for the shaft , anodes and all the bolts
could have taken them off the old dive ... but months ago I ASSUMED I could get rid of it
oh well I ASSUMED that I could just buy stainless bolts from Ace hardware nope.... it requires some funny designed bolts especially made for the drive the 2 long ones they want nearly 20.00 each all up a new set of bolts they wanted $50.00 anode ... add anther 25.00
found an anode, a full set of bolts plus the small plastic washer from a fresh water boat up north for 25.00 ... thank you Ebay
for the water tube I found a great listing on Ebay that gave the exact dimension and a good photo it's just a standard piece of 1 inch copper pipe ... got a piece of pipe from my local plumber 5.00 and no shipping I cut and filed it to the exact length (as specified by that nice Ebay seller) and it fitted perfect
now the shift rod MUST be set at an exact height, I ASSUMED that being a brand new drive the manufacturer would have set this up, got out my trusty calipers ... yup they DIDN'T lazy buggers!
So yesterday I put the two halves together attempt #1 ended up with all fingers caught between the two halves and no way to turn / line up the driveshaft there's no lifting points unless you grab it from the bottom
attempt #2 put two blocks of wood on the lower unit rest the upper unit on the blocks then fiddle with the shaft and shift rod until they line up Bingo ... that was easy. BUT there's no way to tell if the water tube went into place. can't see it
I ASSUME it did go in ..... warning .......that ass word again!
worked out a simple test, hook up the garden hose to the drive If the tube is out of place water will come out of places it shouldn't
passed that test with flying colors
today.... pressure test the whole assembly and hopefully bolt it to the transom I assume I can lift it... yeah right!
took about 8 hours to put the outdrive into the transom mount, should have been a 20 minute job at most!
couldn't get the u-joints to go through the bellows I had well greased the bellows and u-joint, but not enough oooomph to lift 90 odd pounds of metal and guide the floppy u-joints and Pushhhhh
had neighbor helping but still not able to get it done
on closer inspection the u-joint sleeve thingy..... wasn't machined very well , the leading edge needed more bevel and the whole sleeve was covered in crud (pretty good for a brand new unit!)
got out my trusty old bastard (file) and got all the bevels uniform and smooth wet/dry sandpaper removed all that crud until it was as smooth as my great grand baby's bum
it was real cold weather so heated up the bellows a bit to get it more flexible used the wife's hair dryer... boy am I glad she don't read these ramblings!
a good coating of grease plus used a ratchet strap to put a small amount of tension wallah! it popped through the bellows. why they designed it so tight is beyond comprehension? once the u joints pass through the bellows mouth they have all the clearance in the world ! gonna find the designer and slapping him behind the ears a few times....
got the motor running on muffs and adjusted the tuneup a bit more
last couple days have been doing the final tidy up of the cables and wiring harness plus tracking down a couple minor electrical issues
today will install the propeller and using a large plastic storage box as a test tank will set the final idle and make sure the forward /reverse shifts easily with the prop/water loading
Mrs AG's Jeep was to be used as the tow vehicle. It's towing capacity is just enough to pull the boat as long as I don't try and take long trips.
Stupid transmission is playing up just as the boat was almost ready for it's first splash I don't feel comfortable pulling the boat even a short distance with it.
So spent the last couple weekends looking for a decent (used) tow vehicle. Decided on looking for a full sized SUV V8 .... so I can have the extra room Can load it up with passengers, my doggies , some luggage etc and go on vacation
Short listed either a Tahoe/Yukon or Expedition. and preferred one with a cloth seats. Mrs AG don't like hot sticky leather. Didn't want to spend a fortune either!
So on Thursday/Friday will take delivery of a 03 Tahoe 93,000 miles, one FL owner, factory tow package, no 3rd row seats and it has leather seats sorry dear... but I'll buy you some nice sheepskin covers.
We are going to keep the Jeep so can anyone recommend a GOOD HONEST transmission shop located in the northern Pinellas
Now can concentrate on final prep for splash day put back on the trailer lights. fix the stern navigation light look for an annoying short or rewire the interior lights (don't really need these for now)
I did confirmed that the drive shifted in and out of gear with some load on the prop using a large plastic tub although only got the prop submerged 80% before the tub buckled and started to split. I promise to replace your tub, dear.
It's here... it's here consulted my experts and they all agree this weekend is the time
modern technology is so great can get advice at the touch of a button 1-800 ask gary........ I'm legal 1-800 ask tarot....... all my cards look good 1-800 astrology ...... stars are all lined up
Go fer it!
Took delivery of a nice Tahoe 03 with 93,000 mils ooooops it's got LEATHER seats sorry dear but we can get seat coversa new fitting for the nav light
next door neighbor bringing a chase boat.... now there's confidence for ya!
just need to remember how to back up the boat at the ramp without looking like a complete goose
ohhh need Gas and gotta remember that plug thingy in the transom hole
who the heck designes a boat with a hole in the back forget that plug.. and the designer worked out that ya can get about a mile from the ramp before you know what.
Last Edit: Feb 17, 2018 6:40:20 GMT -5 by aussieguy
all hooked up with a couple minor jobs to do spent the morning putting new registration numbers on one side
Tahoe pulled like a champ.... but the driver was nervous as all heck it's been 30 years since I pulled a boat and that one was a lot smaller did I tie it down good enough? .... what was that noise?
got to the ramp on Lake Tarpon about 2:30pm figured it should be quiet time only had to pull forward once to straighten her up a bit
everything looked promising ... shifted into reverse and away from ramp shifted into forward and away we went.... little did I know that was the last time it would shift properly
Mrs AG got to drive while I checked out stuff and once motor was good and hot did a final tuneup check timing and adjust idle but then the boat refused to shift gears
Disconnected the cable from the hand control and it shifted by hand ok ...ish adjusted the lower shift cable till it would shift by hand easier tried the controller .... nope couldn't get it right
had left the motor cover off for today cause I knew I would be playing in there hmmm where does this thingy go?
I'm figuring the hand controller is the culprit and will have to pull it apart and give it a once over but while were here and in gear .... GO FOR IT
holy heck... it moves pretty good gets on plane pretty nicely and goes a heck of a lot faster than anything I ever owned before no idea of speed as haven't connected up the new Garmin just yet spent a bit of time on plane enjoying the ride and watching the gauges temp and oil pressure remained nice and stable
now getting back to the dock was going to be tricky no reverse ..... judged the wind and get my timing just right killed the motor to drift exactly onto the dock where I wanted it
getting it onto the trailer was the next hurdle of course I dunked the trailer way too deep and had to pull the boat up by hand lucky there wasn't any people waiting for me to move
got her nicely on the trailer after moving it forward a couple of times the replacement bunks and rollers did a good job of centering the boat was a pleasant surprise ... next time, not so deep stupid!
overall happy with the first test run more importantly.. was Mrs AG impressed "Hurry up and get the shifting fixed.... I wanna go out more ...."
YESSSSSSSS a success!!!!
Last Edit: Feb 19, 2018 8:44:06 GMT -5 by aussieguy
Nice pictures aussiguy. Glad you finally got your splash day.
Aussieguy: Great to see your success! You have enough material to write a book with lots of humor thrown in. Might be able to recoup the cost of the project!
so getting the boat to shift into neutral has been a royal pain in the you know what the outdrive is a OMC cobra and they have very strict guidelines on adjusting the cable
my cable appeared to be good it moved in and out pretty easily but just could not get reverse gear lots of instructions on measuring cable etc with a rule / straight edge plus checked my shift rod height 3 times
no matter how much I played with the adjustments still no reverse must have removed / replaced the outdrive 6 times doing this so lashed out and bought 30.00 special adjustment tools to hold the cable in exact place waited days for the tools to arrive.. but it sure made setting up the cable a breeze
installed the drive (7th time).......... No Bloody reverse arghhhhhhhh!
this made no sense at all can move the shift rod in the lower unit into Forward / Reverse cable moves in - out goes into forward WTF
now had do dig deeper .... pulled the cable all the way out of rubber tube Ohhh interesting
wonder if this could be a problem of course had to drop another 100.00 for a new one
New cable is in plus a new bellows chewed up the lip of the old bellows each time i pulled the drive had bought a bellows a long time ago so now would be a good time to put it in
spent 3 hours trying to get that new bellows on.. it was aftermarket crap back to the boat parts store for a OEM
10 minutes to put that one in !
plus as a bonus the new oem one lets the drive slide in like butter no grunt needed !
everybody cross fingers .. tomorrow I try the boat in the lake again.. tested everything at home shifts into forward / reverse let's see what it does in the water with load on the prop...
still some minor adjustments to be made to idle and test shift assist module but that has to be done when motor is at full operating temp and in the water.
still running a bit rough and shift still needs tweeking but... WhatTheHeck we decides good enough for today and have fun for 2 hours some times just idle speed looking around other times around 3/4 throttle
didn't push it hard but real happy with todays' run