29/11/2022 0 Comments Engine MountsEver since we got Seren we've thought she was noisy. Partly it's exhaust noise, so one day I'll try to find a better muffler to fit in the small space available, but worse than that is engine vibration that is transmitted through the hull and can be heard and felt right at the back of the cabin. I've long suspected the engine mounts are too hard for a little, light weight engine but it's hard to reach them so I've been putting off doing anything about it. Until this winter. There are four mounts close to the corners of the engine block. But the weight distribution is far from even. The engine flywheel and housing makes the rear end of the engine heavier and behind that is the gearbox with no extra mounts to support it. Some basic mechanics shows that there's about 80Kg resting on the rear pair of mounts but only about 20Kg on the front pair. Investigating the mounts is a nightmare. The easiest to reach is the rear, starboard one. But I can't remove it without lifting/tilting the engine, which means undoing the others. I eventually got the front pair off and supported the engine on pieces of wood. One of the mounts was hidden under the alternator and when I took that off I could see that the bracket bolted to the engine to connect to the mount was snapped. Probably because the mounts weren't adjusted properly and the strain plus vibration was too much for it. So that's been welded. The mounts are similar but not identical. One has no identifying marks the other is marked CT 213 which is probably an early version of this (link) That's rated as suitable for a 75Kg static load, about double what I need on the rear and the other one feels harder. And these were on the front. I've bought a couple of 'bobbin' engine mounts from an Ebay retailer. Pretty much guesswork because none of them on Ebay give much in the way of specs but the recommended uses include small diesels, generators etc. They are certainly softer than the CT 213. You can get them with male or female threads on either end but this type seemed easier to mount. I've made mounting plates with hole centres to match the originals so they should go on 'easily'. I'll report soon... The plan is to fit both the front mounts but not fit the top nuts to them. Then remove the top nuts from the rear mounts and tilt the engine one way then the other to remove them. Meanwhile the hunt is on for mounts with the same footprint as CT 213 designed for about half the static load. While the engine is tilted to port would be a good time to fix the sump drain pump that's been capped off for nearly 3 years!
0 Comments
I've never had an anchor before, I carry a couple of home-made mud weights for use on the local rivers but only used them once when I was on the Nene, too tired to face another lock and nowhere near a mooring. However the plan for next year involves a trip down the tidal river Trent from Cromwell Lock to Keadby. I'll split it over two days with a stop probably at Torksey where there are moorings but just in case it all goes wrong an anchor is advisable. The photo shows my attempt at splicing a rope to a piece of chain. The other end of the chain will fix to the anchor. A bigger problem is where to store it on board. There is a deckfitting for an anchor rope/chain that leads down to the engine compartment in the bow, but there's nothing there to hold it and it's just where I fitted the hot water system expansion tank! |
AuthorPhil, owner, captain, chief engineer, electrician, carpenter, cook and comms manager of Seren Archives
April 2024
Categories |