Anticipation

Carly Simon said, Anticipation is making her wait. For me, anticipation was getting me down.

Lesson Plan and I have traveled over 5,500 miles in the last year and the engine has logged 800 hrs in that same time. Most of the time the engine temperature runs about 165 degree Fahrenheit. But, I noticed coming up the river to KY lake Last June that the engine temperature was running about 20-25 degrees hotter than it normally does. At 190 degrees, it was still in the green range, but I knew something had to be causing the temperature increase.

About halfway up the Tenn-Tom waterway I stopped at the aptly named Midway Marina to investigate.  I thought it could be algae buildup on the raw water intake that supplied the sea water to the heat exchanger.  I tried to look at it myself, but couldn’t see much. I hire one of the marina guys who had a hookah rig for diving. He spent quite a bit of time under there. When he came up he said the algae growth around the intake was thick.

Raw Water Impeller

I was pretty sure that would take care of the problem, but I thought I would go ahead and change the impeller of the raw water pump just to make sure it was in top condition. I was confident that it was
in good shape since I had just replaced it in Mackinaw City (August 2017).  Confidence can bite you in the but sometimes. I pulled the impeller out and it had a vane missing. I checked the body of the pump and it seemed to be in great shape. I installed the new impeller and with a renewed confidence I headed up the river. All this work helped but the engine was still running about 10 – 15 degrees higher than the thermostat temp.

Lesson Plan and I got to KY Lake with the temperature running just above normal, but I knew I would have to figure out the rest of the story before I headed back down the river. Hmmmm let me think on that.

This is the anticipation (maybe anxious) part. I didn’t have to think on it long, there was only one place for the missing impeller vane to go, right up to the heat exchanger and it could be restricting water flow. To get this piece of rubber out of the heat exchanger, I must remove the alternator and then take the cap off the heat exchanger. Having many years of experience as a mechanic, I could only think of all the possibilities of what can go wrong when working on the engine areas that are exposed to heat and salt water (broken bolts, torn hoses, broken housings, etc.). I knew I had to get that piece out of there, but the thoughts of all that could go wrong invaded my dreams at night. There were a few nights I woke in a sweat after dreaming that a part broke and now I have to pull the engine from the boat to repair it.

Finally, one evening I told Theresa I am going to work on the boat tomorrow, it’s time to face this demon head on. Let’s get it over with, if I am going to have to pull the engine, I am ready. I need the nightmares to stop.

With determination and a so be it attitude, I disconnected the batteries, because my rotary switch does
not cut the power off like it should (another issue I need to investigate some day). The alternator came off with no issues. Now for the hose, it is a molded hose, so I was hopeful it wouldn’t tear as I tried to get it off the heat exchanger. Not as smooth as step one but it came loose without any damage. As I tiptoe through each step I have a tiny little internal celebration with each step completed. Now for the bolts in the heat exchanger. The screws that hold the end on the heat exchanger are small and I fear one would snap off if I even put the wrench on them crooked. I put the wrench on the first bolt, held my breath and carefully turned the wrench. It came loose, and I backed it most of the way out with little effort. One down two to go, with these bolts I am celebrating each one as a little victory. The second bolt was just like the first one. Now with great confidence I put my wrench on the third and last bolt and turned. My worst fears (at least the ones dealing with this engine issue) were laid to rest. The bolt came out with little effort.  I found the piece of rubber from the impeller and removed it. I cleaned and reassembled everything. It was such a smooth process, I may make that part of my annual inspection.

Now I am ready to depart to Demopolis, AL on September 7 (anybody want to take a ride on the rivers?)  I will give Lesson Plan a good cleaning and put a coat of paint on her bottom side when I get to Demopolis before heading back to Nashville. Heck I may even look into that rotary switch issue I have been dreading.

Lessons Learned (again):
Waiting, anticipation, anxiousness, whatever you want to call it, can be the worse part of your problem.

Do what you believe is the hard stuff first, it may not be as bad as you think (and if it is, it’s over with and the rest of the day is easy).

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