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I still entertain thoughts of reassembling the W-58. Maybe as an antique in a boat museum. They do show up once in a while on ebay, and I bet many more just die as scrap metal in boatyards.
At least on our engine, changing antifreeze is easier than changing the oil.
QuentHi Bob-
We have been tempting fate with a Seaward 18 gallon water heater for about 10 years without a problem. Has a stainless outside which doesn’t rust like the original. Got it at a scratch and dent event at West. When it goes, we will get something smaller and hotter with a tempering valve.
Saw the non toxic stuff at West. Was a little worried about using it because of the aluminum parts on the W-58. The W-58 in our garage upon which I did an autopsy showed a good bit of corrosion inside around the t-stat housing and exhaust manifold. It made a goo that clogged the cooling system and inspired the repower that got me the engine on Ebay.
QuentThere’s a company on Ebay that sells Westerbeke heat exchangers for less that Westerbeke.
Sounds to me like something is forcing small amounts of water into your cooling system antifreeze side and it is forcing coolant out the pressure release valve in the coolant tank cap. Maybe the heat exchanger in your water heater has a small leak. Water heaters have check valves and can build a lot of pressure when heated by the engine.
Try taking off the coolant tank cap and see if the level rises when you turn on the pressure water. If not, try then heating water tank on shore power.
QuentOne thing I considered was to have the bottom cut off and a new one welded on since the rest of the tank was fine. However, my welder wouldn’t work on a used tank even after I power washed it. Ergo, the epoxy and fiberglass repair.
I did have a pinhole leak on a welded seam repaired on an aluminum tank on a previous boat. That welder simply filled the tank with nitrogen first.
QuentDefinitely pull the Racor and those old motor mounts. I seem to remember trimming a bit off the aft end of the engine bed as well. Re the mizzen wires, one more reason I’m glad we have a sloop.
QuentI can only speak to the drive train on a 1981 P-424. The engine, a W-58 sits on four engine mounts, The transmission is bolted to the engine and moves with it. There is a jackshaft from the transmission output to the Walter v-drive, The jackshaft has two u-joints, one at the transmission end that is exposed, and one internal to the v-drive. Our v-drive is a Walter RV-20, an earlier version than the 26, which might or might not be original to your boat On our boat, the v-drive is independently mounted from the engine on its own mounts. Only the v-drive is aligned to the prop shaft..
You did not say if the v-drive on your boat is independently mounted, or it is rigidly and directly bolted to the transmission but the designation, 26D suggests that it attaches directly to the transmission.
If the v-drive is bolted directly to the transmission, then I suspect that the entire assembly, engine, transmission and v-drive will have to be aligned to the prop shaft. In this case, you might need an experience pro to do the job.
Quent
SV Clairebuoyant #132Hi Rich
Had the same problem with my Nexus wind spinner a couple storms ago. Replaced the spinner nose assembly which comes off with four screwa. Turned out that the bearing was ok, but the spinner assembly had screwed itself down tight. Perhaps you might consider taking it apart before you send it out or replace it.
QuentThere is a wiring diagram in the W-58 manual. Breaker probably also controls the fuel shut off on the fuel injection pump.
Suggest you check the integrity of the engine wiring.
QuentDan-
I suggest that you keep your fuel clean. Our tank corroded through from the inside. The outside was fine.
QuentFlexible tanks come in all shapes and sizes. See link here to a flexible tank company that advertises in Professional Boatbuilder:
http://www.atlinc.com/
I’ve heard of some people who simply cut the top off the old tank then installed a flexible tank inside. Don’t know what a custom sized flexible tank would cost, probably plenty. This arrangement would probably address many of John’s concerns and would have the additional advantage of no air vent.
We have an aluminum tant which I repaired by encapsulating it in fiberglass and West epoxy. About 8 years since and no leaks, kow!
Quent
Clairebuoyant, #132Clairebuoyant just fine in Whitehall Creek in Annapolis. Biggest problem around here was the widespread power outages due to fallen trees.
QuentIs there actually a Pearson 424 burgee, or are you talking about the generic Pearson burgee on her website?
Quent
Clairebuoyant, #132Good morning Patrick-
Actually, we have two HD alternators, a 100 amp Balmar replacing the original, and a 120 amp Ample Power where the refrigeration compressor used to be. One VR drives them both. Two smaller alternators are much cheaper than one big one. Two pulling in approximately opposite directions minimizes side loading on the engine.
It works well. We have seen 140 amps into partly depleted bank of 8 GC batteries, not really stressing either alternator. Pretty good redundancy esp. since we have another similar VR driving the alternator on the Kubota which is a simple change the plug exchange.
A few problems to avoid. Original alternator bracket on the W-58 is barely robust enough for the bigger load. The bolts are not. Replace them with grade 5 or 8 bolts. Do not use stainless, they will break. Watch the wiring harness harness that they give you with Balmar. It is not marine quality and connections will corrode and break, esp. at alternator. Use heavy power and ground cables and run them directly to battery bank.
About the only thing I’d do differently is use slightly bigger pulleys on the alternators. We used 2″ with double belts. I wanted to be able to spin the alternators pretty fast at idle, but 2.5″ or 3″ would work fine and be easier on the belts.
Quent
Clairebuoyant, #132
