Hoo-boy. Got a call from Jacobsen's today. They wanted me to look at the Engine Holder casting. The one we replaced in 2008 because of corrosion around that inspection port? The one I talked about in the other thread back in 2008? THAT one!
So I stopped by to look. It has corrosion...not enough to break through, not yet. But when it does, it will be on the INSIDE, not the outside. So when it fails, it will not produce the "engine running rough because it's starved for oxygen because the engine compartment is filled with exhaust" problem. No, if it fails where it seems likely to, it will produce a DIFFERENT problem. Let's call it the "exhaust and seawater mixing with the engine oil and completely destroying the engine" problem.
So, yeah, as long as I'm already spending $1000 in labor to replace one midsection casting (Oil Pan), I've decided we should spend another $1000 to buy an additional midsection casting (Engine Holder) to ensure we don't accidentally destroy the engine in a year or two or three.
Not happy about it, but reasonably happy that Jack at Jacobsen's took the time to inspect it carefully and call me when he spotted the thin wall.
Once I get the part home I intend to put a caliper on it and measure the wall thickness there. My guess is that it's 1/8" or less, as opposed to the 3/8" or so elsewhere.
Heck, it might last three or four years without breaking through, but my fear is that I won't have any idea that it's failed if it breaks through at the beginning of a long run. I'll be leaving an oil slick behind, and the next time I check engine oil (which is every day when I'm running the boat), the oil won't be pure oil, I'll know what it is, and my trip will be over, wherever I happen to be.
But what if I've run the boat for 3 or 4 or 5 hours before I discover it? How much damage will I have done? That makes me nervous. So $1000 now for a fix I know I'll have to do within the next couple-few years anyway, saving the $1000 labor cost because I'm already incurring it for the CURRENT repair? I think it all pencils out. Do it now.
Feedback? Could I reasonably have waited? Am I overestimating the risk of waiting? Thanks, as usual!
So I stopped by to look. It has corrosion...not enough to break through, not yet. But when it does, it will be on the INSIDE, not the outside. So when it fails, it will not produce the "engine running rough because it's starved for oxygen because the engine compartment is filled with exhaust" problem. No, if it fails where it seems likely to, it will produce a DIFFERENT problem. Let's call it the "exhaust and seawater mixing with the engine oil and completely destroying the engine" problem.
So, yeah, as long as I'm already spending $1000 in labor to replace one midsection casting (Oil Pan), I've decided we should spend another $1000 to buy an additional midsection casting (Engine Holder) to ensure we don't accidentally destroy the engine in a year or two or three.
Not happy about it, but reasonably happy that Jack at Jacobsen's took the time to inspect it carefully and call me when he spotted the thin wall.
Once I get the part home I intend to put a caliper on it and measure the wall thickness there. My guess is that it's 1/8" or less, as opposed to the 3/8" or so elsewhere.
Heck, it might last three or four years without breaking through, but my fear is that I won't have any idea that it's failed if it breaks through at the beginning of a long run. I'll be leaving an oil slick behind, and the next time I check engine oil (which is every day when I'm running the boat), the oil won't be pure oil, I'll know what it is, and my trip will be over, wherever I happen to be.
But what if I've run the boat for 3 or 4 or 5 hours before I discover it? How much damage will I have done? That makes me nervous. So $1000 now for a fix I know I'll have to do within the next couple-few years anyway, saving the $1000 labor cost because I'm already incurring it for the CURRENT repair? I think it all pencils out. Do it now.
Feedback? Could I reasonably have waited? Am I overestimating the risk of waiting? Thanks, as usual!