Diagnosing the Engine

Bill called me back this morning and we spoke for a few minutes about my ongoing engine problems. When I mentioned to him that it sounded like it was making a "new" ping or clanging noise when I winterized her yesterday, he said that might indicate a more serious problem with the engine itself and not the transmission.

He suggested a few ways to diagnose it, and recommended I try them before pulling the transmission. I'm on land and since it's winter, there's no running water, so he suggested I pull the hose off the mixing elbow and run it in the bucket with my intake line so I could recirculate coolant instead of pumping it out the back. Unfortunately, I didn't have a spare 3/4" heater hose on the boat -- I've added it to the list -- so I just filled a 5 gallon bucket up to the top with fresh water and used that.

But before I did anything, I gave Boston another call and discussed it with him. He said it was a good idea to do what Bill had suggested, but also said that even in neutral, a transmission problem could still produce some noise, so that might account for what I'm hearing (actually, I might just be hyper-sensitive right now -- the noise I'm hearing could have been there all along).

So I ran the engine, and even after throttling her up, she sounded fine, which was a great relief. It does seem to have a bit of a ping or clang, but that seems to be a separate issue I'll have to handle later. Perhaps it will go away once the transmission issue has been taken care of.

Bill also suggested I loosen the engine mounting bolts and use a pry bar to raise her up enough to get blocks under her. Boston told me that he's done this before himself and it works pretty well. I think I've got enough room to do it, but plan to wait till I get the boat covered so I can work with a little heat.

I ordered a set of service manuals today, so I'd also like to wait till I've had a look at them before I start taking her apart. I've got plenty to keep me busy, and the engine isn't going anywhere, so it really doesn't make a whole lot of difference at this point.

One thing I am going to do right away is finish cleaning up and organizing the cabin. I'm not real anal about this sort of stuff, but it does sort of weigh on you after a while. It seems like I have to move half the boat to find anything. Plus, Zoe chewed a hole in her down comforter (actually several at this point, so many I can no longer fold it to hide them) and there are down feathers everywhere. It reminds me of that Dick Van Dyke show where he was showing the judge a pillow filled with chopped chicken feathers and they went everywhere. What a mess.

I don't want to throw it out, so I'm going to try to sew it up. Since I don't have anything to patch the holes, I'm going to try to use the technique people used to use to darn socks before they became disposable. I guess that will be my Christmas present to her, plus a nice long walk and treats of course.

My present will be a feather-free cabin -- and perhaps a little scotch.