I was inspecting a Yanmar 2GM engine yesterday and spotted a couple of things worth checking before splashing boats this Spring.
The 2GM is a little brother to the 3GM in some of the Ericsons and first was this massive crack in the exhaust elbow. The owner said that he and his girl friend had smelled exhaust in the cabin and just kept the hatch open. Motoring for a long period while somebody slept next to this could have resulted in carbon monoxide poisoning. Not being a technical guy, he thought it was just a stain till I had him look closer. Fortunately, the crack was on the side opposite the water hose, because these cracks can lead to water going into a piston cylinder and destroying an engine.
Moral of the story is Yanmar, Universal, or whatever other engine - Look at the exhaust elbow from time to time.
Second item, other than the obviously loose alternator belt, was the braided fuel hose. It visually looks just fine, but is 34 years old and the rubber is hard as a rock. When they get this bad, the vibration of the engine can cause them to crack at the swaged end fittings. Since this is downstream of the fuel pump, a crack can result in a pressurized fuel spray and major fire hazard.
Simply press your hoses (fuel and water) to make sure they have some flexibility.
Didn't take a photo, but a third thing found was the positive output (red cable) of the alternator had rubbed through part of the insulation on the top corner of an engine mount. Simple enough to just bend the cable to create separation to prevent the impending short circuit.
The 2GM is a little brother to the 3GM in some of the Ericsons and first was this massive crack in the exhaust elbow. The owner said that he and his girl friend had smelled exhaust in the cabin and just kept the hatch open. Motoring for a long period while somebody slept next to this could have resulted in carbon monoxide poisoning. Not being a technical guy, he thought it was just a stain till I had him look closer. Fortunately, the crack was on the side opposite the water hose, because these cracks can lead to water going into a piston cylinder and destroying an engine.
Moral of the story is Yanmar, Universal, or whatever other engine - Look at the exhaust elbow from time to time.
Second item, other than the obviously loose alternator belt, was the braided fuel hose. It visually looks just fine, but is 34 years old and the rubber is hard as a rock. When they get this bad, the vibration of the engine can cause them to crack at the swaged end fittings. Since this is downstream of the fuel pump, a crack can result in a pressurized fuel spray and major fire hazard.
Simply press your hoses (fuel and water) to make sure they have some flexibility.
Didn't take a photo, but a third thing found was the positive output (red cable) of the alternator had rubbed through part of the insulation on the top corner of an engine mount. Simple enough to just bend the cable to create separation to prevent the impending short circuit.
