Decision time
Mike, I expect others to weigh in on this .....
Your concerns with the current donk are mostly fixable. Just bolt a
brand new tranny on the back (change the rear seal? why not!). It
doesn't smoke, lucky you. 25sec glow plug is normal for XP's I think.
You'll probably need to spring for a new shaft in the Oberdorfer.
Pricey. I went through the same decision process. You are still left
with an engine with it's best years behind it. Nurse it along for
another ten years or repower now in the off-season. Or wait till you
have a crisis far from home in the middle of summer?
Talking about best years, I am still able to do most of the physical
work that goes into an engine change. Ten years from now I might not be
so spry. I paid very few mechanics hours, doing most all the hookup
myself. In an E34, the deep locker has to be emptied to change the
harness and exhaust. (Pulling the holding tank was a great chance to
replace sanitary hoses). And the paranoia (how old is that PSS bellows?
Mine got changed). I like the Ericson and want to keep it, so why not
get a nice smooth running engine NOW.
Only I backed myself into a corner. They caught me in a moment of
weakness ("they" being the Nanaimo BC Westerbeke dealer, they had an
M25XPB in the crate, right there, looking very shiny). Straw that broke
the camel's back? The injector pump had started leaking fuel out the
top in a big way, this in addition to the weeping #2 injector. I'd just
pulled the bloody cylinder head last year and now this! In July.
Gartside in Sidney said they'd had good success changing the plunger
seals from the top, fishing them out with dental picks. Takes only a
few hours but they were booked solid. Spin on a fuel filter full of
neat Stanadyne was another tip. A good slug of the stuff might stop the
problem. Etc. Etc.
Why should the next owner get the benefit of a new engine ? So I took
the plunge. If there was a Betamarine dealer I might well have gone
that route. They do look a very good package, probably superior. (Their
28hp model looks to be the same block as mine, and I would say 3000rpm
max, no way 3600.) Just imagine, blissful confidence in the machinery,
for a few years at least.
Oh, you're questions.
My motor mounts are attached with lag bolts, 3" I think. Some engine
beds have a metal plate bonded in, so tap and use a threaded bolt. You
have to pilot drill to find out what you have.
The 0.7gph figure is high but I'm running it at a fairly high rpm.
Especially for the break in season I didn't want to lug it. It runs
beautifully at 2200-2300, low 6's for speed and probably 0.5gph, which
is what the old engine got. The law of diminishing returns really kicks
in when you go from 6.2kn to 6.7kn.
Rob