Craftsman Marine Diesel Installation

Hi everyone,
Our new engine is now installed and commissioning nearly complete.  Later today we plan to fire her up for the first time.

On Sunday, and with the aft mounting nuts turned down to half-height and fitted, I was able to align the engine to the old shaft coupling.  Amazing.  I remembered to check the coupling was placed with the shaft centred in the stern tube.  This was with the engine sitting about 1cm forward of its correct position - where the correct position would compress the PSS shaft seal as required.  Finally I moved the engine back the required 1cm and checked all around the coupling with my feeler gauge's thinnest feeler - no gaps!

On Monday the Zainol the mechanic arrived and took a close look at the engine, the mounts and the shaft position.  He declared everything good and gave me the go-ahead to mark and drill the holes required for the mounting bolts.  He also suggested I cut back the engine bed sides adjacent to the engine bell housing which had only 2mm clearance each side.

On Tuesday I moved the engine out of the engine compartment onto the cabin sole.  I did it alone, which shows I just might be getting the hang of this stuff!  I drilled the required mounting holes and then got to work cutting back the engine bed sides.  Luckily I'd been discussing this job with Duncan of Sea Topaz and he loaned me his burrs, which made the job far, far easier.  I then fitted the mounts, happily finding that the bolts, with 4cm washers, could be fitted from below.  They passed up through the engine beds and the mounts and so I could easily fit washers and nuts above.  That made the job of finally tightening the nuts with the engine in place much, much easier.

Engine mounts in place

On Tuesday afternoon Zainol arrived and set to work removing the old shaft coupling.  It came out quite easily and revealed that the shaft end was tapered.  That caused momentary alarm until we lay the new coupling alongside and realised the taper was forward of where the new coupling would touch the shaft.  Phew!  Zainol then fitted the new coupling to the shaft and the flexible coupling to the gearbox.

Old shaft coupling off - note tapered shaft

Next we lifted the engine onto its mounts, which was made very much easier by the slings I'd rigged inside the compartment.  Zainol then aligned the engine and we finally tightened the engine mount bolts.  The shaft rotated easily with the only noises being the "clonk" of the propellor blades opening/closing.  Finally Zainol connected the exhaust system.  This was only possible with the old muffler/waterlock at an angle, but which he assures me is OK for tests in the pen.  We connected the 40mm engine exhaust outlet to the 50mm muffler by fitting a 50mm length of 40mm hose inside the 50mm hose to the muffler, which was a perfect fit!

New shaft coupling and flexible coupling

On Wednesday I connected up the electrics, water and fuel.  The electrics included ground to the lower starter motor mounting bolt, +12V to the starter motor and the control electrics to the instrument panel.  The water included raw water in, raw water out to vented loop and raw water from vented loop to mixing elbow.  Each of these hoses needed a tight 90 degree bend, and happily I managed to find suitable hoses at MultiQuip in Kuah.  The fuel included supply and return which was very simple.

Later in the day on Wednesday I filled the engine with oil and coolant, and filled the gearbox with automatic transmission fluid.  I discovered several errors in Craftsman Marine's Engine Manual, which I have advised them of, and may list in a future post.  One was an incorrect oil quantity in the Commissioning section, which resulted in my having to try out my engine oil extractor.

On Thursday I bled the fuel system and attached the control (morse) cables.  The gearshift cable was a challenge since the old Yanmar fitting is "welded" to the end fitting.  I tried releasing fluid and freezer spray to no avail, so kept the fitting on and managed to fit it.  Not ideal but appears to be functioning fine.  Lastly I lubricated the engine control cables, working them the ensure they're free, no to mention that the throttle has the correct sense (ie idle = idle, not full power) and forward lever selects forward gear!

Ready to run!

So the engine is now ready for final inspection and then start up!  Looking forward to that.