Engine replacement
14 June 2014
Like everything else, installing the new engine has become its own adventure, to put it nicely. I've seen people install a new diesel engine in larger sailboats. The troubles they often go through are immense, like getting the old engine out, the new engine in, getting the shaft and transmission to work properly and in alignment. All I'm doing is replacing a 9.8 h.p. outboard, but there are so many steps and so many opportunities to muck it up. Just selecting the engine to buy is a major undertaking and act of faith. The thing arrived in a box the size of a refrigerator. I had to get it into the truck, bring it to the boat, and it took two of us to lift it on to the new engine lift. The new engine comes with a thick, well made, power cable to connect to the battery for starting and charging. Of course, this was too short to reach all the way to the batteries on Boker Tov. I planned to splice the engine power cable into the existing connector at the stern of the sailboat and then use the same upgraded engine wiring I installed previously to try and get the starter on the prior engine to work more reliably. The wires from the engine are a larger gauge than those on the connector, so this presented a problem. I spent much time with a toddler and a 5 month old searching through hardware stores for heavy gauge wire connectors. Long story short, I wound up cutting that beautiful power cable too short by not measuring the wire in all angles and positions of the engine lift, so I had to splice the power cable back together and start over. This presented another problem because it is thick wire and I did not have a crimping tool strong enough to crimp an 8 gauge wire and butt connector. My father and brother in law jumped in to save me from getting myself into it worse by taking the engine off the boat, bringing it into the garage, and properly soldering and then sealing and shrink-wrapping the power connector back together. We'll measure properly this time before cutting, then use the same technique to splice the power cord onto the stern connector. The special 4-stroke oil came today, so once the power is connected, the engine is ready to fill with oil and begin testing and break-in. I'm half-way certain the electric start will not work on the new engine due to whatever fault was preventing the electric start on the old engine, but maybe I'll get lucky.
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