Head On The Mend

I got good advice from several sources about the use of a helicoil to repair the stripped thread on the SABB engine head. The message from Port Townsend was that it was not a big problem which put my mind at ease.

I checked my email at 8 AM this morning and saw that Colin had responded to my message of the previous afternoon and he wanted me to meet him at the boat ramp at 8.30 AM. Fortunately I had stripped the head of injector and studs so it was ready to go. I was in a hurry but remembered Mark's advice to take the banjo bolt and fuel pipe and I'm glad that I did because they were required to explain the job to the machinist.

Colin had not seen my late confirmation but was wise enough to check at the ramp and found me there waiting. As I was about to step in he unzipped a bag on the seat and out came his poodle. This required an explanation which was that pets are not allowed in his apartment so he sneaks the dog in and out in a bag. The dog has been trained to not bark at home.

Anyway, we went for a ride. On the way Colin explained that he had not been able to get his hands on a helicoil that would repair a small 8mm diameter thread so it was going to be a machine shop job. We stopped at one place where he got a thicker bolt - 12 mm I think. Then we went to the machine shop where he went to great lengths explaining what was required.

The plan is to bore a hole large enough to take the larger bolt, then drill and tap the new bolt to take the 8mm bolt which will be a new one that they will machine with a fuel groove along its length because the original bolt had been galled when the thread stripped.

The job is supposed to be completed tomorrow afternoon and Colin asked me to telephone him at 4 pm.

Colin has done me good. He responded amazingly fast and knew where to go and how to explain the job in Spanish. I would not have had a hope trying to do it on my own.

One the way back Colin explained one problem of the design of the SABB. Because there is a section of fuel line inside the rocker space a fuel leak in one of the connections will not be directly detected and will wind up in the engine oil. It will be up to me to keep a regular check of the oil level and make sure that it has not gone up. I mentioned my plan to run the engine for a while without the rocker covers to look for fuel leaks but he pointed out that the splash type rocker lubrication would spray oil all over the cabin.

Along the way we stopped at other places where he was trying to find bits to fix things that in the USA or Australia would be thrown out and replaced with a new one. One of the items was a thermostat that had had a very hard life. In fact it looked like a piece of junk. But Colin said that in Mexico it would take months to bring in parts like that and he has no choice but to fix them.

He said that I was very lucky to have rotated my engine soon enough to prevent a complete seizure due to the salt water invasion. One of his customers went on a trip not realizing that he had a salt water problem and the engine was so seized up that Colin had to break the piston to free things up. (He got the engine running again after a bore job, new piston, rings, head, etc.)

We discussed the torques that I had been using on the injector and fuel line bolts. He thought that they were too high, even though it is what the book said. To be honest, they seemed too high and next time I'll use an ordinary short wrench and go by feel. If I get a leak I'll simply go back in and tighten some more.

I returned to the boat, cleaned up, changed clothes, then went back to the marina to see either Mac or Neil. Neil was there and we had a good chat. I told him about my selection of the Volvo engine and asked him if Joel's shop would install it. He replied that he could see no problem because the installation process was similar for most marine engines. This was a relief to me because I knew that Joel had been Yanmar certified and I feared that there was a slim chance that he might install only Yanmars. Neil mentioned that Joel is very good with the alignment process, which was another relief to me.

My other question also had a favorable answer. He could see no problem in having the engine delivered to the Mexican trucking firm Columbia in San Diego.

Neil then spoke at length on techniques for producing good drawings of the new engine on my boat for the mechanics. He said that the better descriptions I produce the faster the job goes. So I'll be spending a lot of time in the next few days on this documentation effort.

He quoted a labor charge of $35 per hour which was somewhat higher that what Mac had said but is still OK with me.

I am purchasing the Volvo D2-40 from Mark's Shoreline Marine Diesel in Port Townsend. Mark knows me, my boat, and the diesel marine engine business very well. He has been extremely helpful in helping me through the issues and choices in this engine selection process which a boat owner will trivialize at his peril. Mark will prepare the engine, pack it in a robust crate, then ship it to San Diego.

I then went on a long walk to Ace Hardware at Cinco de Mayo street to address my need for a torque wrench. My preference was to purchase my own torque wrench but they did not have the brand that had been recommended to me and the one on offer was priced at just under 3,000 pesos (about $240 USD). That was a bit rich for my blood. I then asked for an adapter so that I could use the 3/8" torque wrench on my boat with a 24mm socket requiring a 1/2" drive. They couldn't help me there either. I wasn't too upset because I had another day in which to find something, otherwise I would ask Joel for a loan of his, which I'd like to avoid because they are not supposed to lend out tools.

I arrived back at the boat and had a disgustingly healthy fruit lunch of an apple, a banana, an some strawberries. It was my third day without beer (sigh).

After a short nap I telephoned Mark. He answered my outstanding question on access to the oil filter, which will be obscured by the end partition of the galley drawers. He reckons that I will be able to reach it from above and there should be enough room for backing it out of the threads. On that basis we proceeded to the details of the process. We discussed some options (e.g. instrumentation, harness length, high rise elbow). We each have things to do. I'll send him some measurements of my exhaust system and visit Seamar about the transportation of the engine from San Diego.

Mark sent PDF files of the engine installation manual in two flavors: Spanish for the installers, English for me. I had a quick look at the English version and I think that I will find it very useful during the next few months.