Floor problem - Any idea?

While the stuffing box may be able to float (they do on our boat) this does not mean that the alignment of the engine to the propshaft can "float," too. That's a hard connection and the shaft is held solidly in place (or should be) by the shaft tube and the cutless bearings in it. The flloating stuffing box is to enable the shaft seal to work properly even if there is some wiggle in the shaft.


-- Edited by Marin on Tuesday 14th of February 2012 05:52:00 PM

Greetings,
Mr. Marin. I fully concur with your expanded explanation of my minimalist reply to Mr. Fotoman. In spite of the fact that there does not appear to be much vibration, from the appearence of the mounts, the alingment could still be WAY off. Once the condition of the mounts is determined, separation of the flanges may shed light on further issues.

RT Firefly wrote:
In spite of the fact that there does not appear to be much vibration, from the appearence of the mounts, the alingment could still be WAY off.

Click to expand...

Absolutely.* When we got our boat the alignment of the port engine and shaft was off by much more than the allowable amount, but there was no*vibration and not even a visual clue when watching the shaft that it was off.* The misalignment was apparently being compensated for by the ability of the shaft to bend a bit.

Fotoman, this is a little off the issue but I commend you for having the "courage" to post bilge shots that look a lot like mine! These 70's vintage MT's are just about impossible to keep clean, and I am not one of those white-glove boaters either.

Marin wrote:

RT Firefly wrote:
In spite of the fact that there does not appear to be much vibration, from the appearence of the mounts, the alingment could still be WAY off.

Click to expand...

Absolutely.* When we got our boat the alignment of the port engine and shaft was off by much more than the allowable amount, but there was no*vibration and not even a visual clue when watching the shaft that it was off.* The misalignment was apparently being compensated for by the ability of the shaft to bend a bit.





Thanks for the info. Now I can't wait to take that coupling apart and see what happens. Hopefully tomorrow if it's warm enough.

The more I think about it, the more I feel like taking the engine out of there and start from scratch. I could overhaul the engine, clean and paint the bilge and make sure everything aligns properly. Think I just found my off season project for next fall!

ARoss wrote:
Fotoman, this is a little off the issue but I commend you for having the "courage" to post bilge shots that look a lot like mine! These 70's vintage MT's are just about impossible to keep clean, and I am not one of those white-glove boaters either.

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You are right, it's an uphill battle. I did alot of work in mine to make it better since I removed the old fuel tanks. But the area around and under the engine is still on the to-do list.

Fotoman wrote:
Thanks for the info. Now I can't wait to take that coupling apart and see what happens. Hopefully tomorrow if it's warm enough. The more I think about it, the more I feel like taking the engine out of there and start from scratch. I could overhaul the engine, clean and paint the bilge and make sure everything aligns properly. Think I just found my off season project for next fall!

Click to expand...

*Now you are talking, there is nothing like fixing it correctly.

Start by getting some measurements from the top of the replacement stringers to the hull*and compare those members with a boat that has not been tampered with.* Then proceed forward until you find the problem.

ARoss wrote:
Fotoman, this is a little off the issue but I commend you for having the "courage" to post bilge shots that look a lot like mine! These 70's vintage MT's are just about impossible to keep clean, and I am not one of those white-glove boaters either.

Click to expand...

With you there Al...I feel so much better now...

But I'm not pulling out the old tanks - they are there now as emergency flotation buoyancy - and I'm not taking out the engine just to clean and repaint the bilge, no siree, it works fine just as it all is.

As I said before the simplest and easiest would be to change the level of the floor to match the hatch and/or change the hatch to be level with the floor, since you are redoing the floor anyway.** The quickest way to tell if the floor sagged*is to run a straight board across the width of the floor and see if there is any space under the* board.* Don't use a level as you will drive yourself crazier.*

Anyway, I would change the hatch cover to be level with the floor and/or change the floor level with the hatch as*there seems to be no known problem with the engine and/or running gear except the engine is too high.* It seem you could make a hatch that fits better and level?*

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Mr Fotoman,
Before you go with the "simplest and easiest" solution, do some detective work as previously suggested, take measurements, disconnect those flanges and try to determine if the motor is close to being aligned. The floor height "problem" may be rectified through adjustment as a result although from the appearence of the forward mounts, you don't have enough room to adjust out 1 1/4".* The flanges should be no more than .003" out of parallel to be within spec'.
From the few MT's I'm familiar with, I've never seen, as yet, one which came with a 4 cyl. engine installed.


-- Edited by RT Firefly on Wednesday 15th of February 2012 01:50:42 PM

I thought I would update this post since I am done with the floor project. Turns out I was able to raise the support beams enough to make them straight again. That was enough to clear the engine. Well, almost. I had to use a router to make the panel a little thiner above the expansion tank. I now have a clearance of about 1.5 inch. I did not investigate the situation with the flange just yet but I will at some point to see if there are some issues to address in that department. But in the meantime I have a nice even (and solid under the foot) floor. Not to mention it looks great!



-- Edited by Fotoman on Friday 23rd of March 2012 06:14:00 PM


-- Edited by Fotoman on Friday 23rd of March 2012 06:15:22 PM

It looks GREAT Eric. Thanks for sharing.

Much better.

Congrats!* Always GREAT when modification-items work out well!* Enjoy your boat!!

Thanks!

-- Edited by Fotoman on Wednesday 28th of March 2012 06:41:51 AM

Fotoman said:

I now have a clearance of about 1.5 inch.

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I know this is a VERY old thread but since I have the identical problem I thought I'd chime in.

From what I can see you could never get the rocker cover off the adjust the valves or pull the injectors for servicing. Is this right? Or can you actually get the rocker cover off with that little clearance?

I have twins and the floor above the coolant tanks has been gouged out (in a very unprofessional manner) to get very limited access to fill the tank.