A4 rebuild queston

[RayS]

I am considering rebuilding the A4 in my 1970 E32. It runs well enough but is still rather old. My concern is that it is rusting away on the outside, especially the starboard side. I had to take the generator off recently and the threads in the block, for the bolt that hold the generator bracket, were rusted out and I had to epoxy in a stud to get the part back on. Also, there are great flakes of rust falling of the block. Any suggestions on how serious this is?

 

[treilley]

Rusty engine blocks are not usually a big problem. Rusted threads are. Your best bet is to call Don at Moyermarine.com. He will give you an honest answer.

 

[rwthomas1]

Dead threads can be easily repaired with an insert like a Helicoil, etc. If you are planning on rebuilding I am assuming you are removing the block from the boat? If so, as part of the the rebuilding process, after the block has been hot tanked have it bead blasted or sand blasted and then cleaned again. Then when the rebuild is complete a thorough degreasing and quality engine paint. It'll look like new. RT

 

[Cory B]

Its been a few years since I've rebuilt an A4, but they are really thick, and aren't difficult to rebuild for a DIY'er. The bolts on the waterjacket side are notorious for rusting out, so don't let that alone scare you. As suggested above, talk to Don Moyer and buy his book.

 

[gene faley]

A4 rebild

I have a '76 boat with an atomic four. When I got it 7 years ago, I had the same concern w/ the flaking and did talk to Don Moyer at Moyer Marine. I was able to chip some of the flaking, the coated the engine as best as I could with a Moyer Marine rust inhibitor. It has slowed up and looks much better.
Gene, Fort Wayne

 

[tenders]

You would be shocked at how simple many of the A4 problems turn out to be to address, and how hugely rebuildable those engines are. The forums at moyermarine.com (in addition to the parts that Moyer sells, to say nothing of his complete rebuilding services) are quite remarkable.

The A4 on my '69 E32 had huge sheets of rust flaking off the bottom of the oil pan. I thought it was a goner. That was in 1993. After a 15-year-old rebuild I installed electronic ignition and I suspect it runs better than it did the day it was made.

 

[RayS]

A4 Rebuild Question

Thanks for the replies.
I had figured to helicoil all of the threaded holes that looked bad. The epoxy job was because I could not reach the hole to drill it out straight.
I am glad to hear that the block can take blasting.
I am hoping Santa will bring me a copy of the Moyer book this year. I have enough experience in rebuilding engines to not be afraid to tackle the job if I have the proper information at hand.
again, thanx--RayS

 

[jkenan]

I did a thorough rebuild on my A4 after my wife and bought our E29 in 2005 and sailed her to NC. We purchased the boat in Rock Hall, MD, then made our way down the Chesapeake, ICW, and North Carolina sounds to Oriental NC (400 miles), and had engine trouble the whole way. A lot of the issues were as you described, and rebuilding it, while successful and hugely educational for me, was still expensive. I tore the engine down to every last bolt and part. The shop service alone was close to a grand, which included hot tanking, magna flux, shaft grinding, head/block grinding, cylinder boring, and pressing new cam bearings in place. Then, the parts from Moyer for the rebuild were at least another grand. This included a couple of bigger ticket items including a new starter, fuel pump, and electronic ignition, and I decided if I was going to do this, it would be done right. The long and short thought, was that is still, all told, probably around $2500 for me to rebuild it. It is a great engine and runs fine, but you still can't deny the fact that a carbureted, sparked gasoline engine will succumb faster to marine environment than a diesel, and every now and then I have an issue with the engine underway that needs to be resolved, requiring me to tear down aspects of it to troubleshoot the problem. If I had to do it over again, I would seriously consider replacing it with a Beta Marine unit or the like for about twice that cost. It's a trade-off though, and I'm not saying I would have decided to go that route in the final analysis (or could have expected a troublefree unit from a repower), but I wish I had considered it then. Now I'm committed to A4 - not complaining, and Don is great!!!!!, but since your planing on doing an overhaul, at least look at a repower option.

This is only my advice, worth what you paid for it.

 

[tenders]

I could be mistaken but I think you'd have a difficult time going from an Atomic 4 to a Beta for $5k soup-to-nuts. Doesn't the Beta alone cost more than that? Then there's the mounts, the fuel tank, the engine controls, perhaps the shaft tube, the strut, the prop....

 

[jkenan]

You're probably right about the cost. I was lo-balling based on what a friend of mine did with his E29, which was to install a rebuilt Yanmar. I guess my overall point was that if you are facing a rebuild on your existing now, it's better to consider all options before committing $$. Call me a nut (just not a soup nut).

After sleeping on it since my last post, I don't think I would have had a choice but to rebuild my A4 based on $$$$$. Oh well. And like I said, the A4 runs well overall, just a little finicky sometimes....

 

[windjunkee]

We bought VOR with an A-4 the previous owner thought was completely shot. We considered repowering with diesel, but the cost of everything was prohibitive. I believe it would be more than $10,000 when all was said and done -- the engine room had to be retooled. The based had to be lengthened to accommodate a transmission -- everything from the fuel tank to the shaft had to be redone. Instead, we had it rebuilt and it has run well ever since. There are issues, but the fixes are all pretty easy.
Our primary contact is Moyer Marine. The information they provide is absolutely invaluable.

Jim McCone
Voice of Reason, E-32-2 Hull #134
Redondo Beach, CA