M25XP Damper Plate replacement Pt.3

 Day 2 - Engine disconnection

Continuing with the engine disconnection process on Day 2.

Again, we limited out time at the boat to 3 hours and only just went over that limit, however, we got a lot done.

Removed the Alternator. That involved removing the Serpentine belt and disconnecting the +ve lead that connects the Alternator to the Main ( LiFePo4 ) batteries. I shut the Solar system down and then turned the master battery switch to off, disconnected the alternator cables, insulated the Main +ve lead and then turn be master battery switch on and then the Solar breaker. Also detached the Alternator Temperature sensor from the -ve connection.

Detached the Exhaust. It just took a gentle tap with a flat head screw driver and the exhaust easily parted from the exhaust manifold.

Detach the fuel hoses: Mindful that they would be full of diesel fuel, we had a disposable cup handy. The hose clamps that secure the hoses to the Primary Fuel Filter housing and the hose from the Injector return fitting were badly damaged by poor quality hose clamps, the perforations have left extremely deep cuts into the hose rubber. I'll replace them with embossed hose clamps when I put the engine back in place.

Detach the engine ground wire from the bell housing. It is held in place by one of the bolts that connect the bell housing to the backplate of the engine.

Detach the Coolant Thermostat temperature sensor and alarm from their housing.

Detach the Starter motor & Solenoid. This involves removing the starter cable ( which connects to the Stater battery ) The Solenoid cable There's also the cable that was used for the original 'Amp' meter on the control panel. It was easy to remove the two bolts that secure the starter by using two socket extensions to reach from in front of the engine back to the starter bolts.

Detach the Oil pressure switch connection. Easy using a short screwdriver.

Detach the Glow Plug power connection.

That pretty much detached everything that needs to be off in order to lift the engine.

My plan for the next part is to lift the engine out of it's normal position and move it forwards so that it can be rotated in order to work on removing the Bell housing. That will provide access the flywheel and the Damper Plate - the reason for doing all of this.

While the engine is out, I'll take the time to service the exterior of the engine, clean it up and apply some fresh engine paint. I'll also replace the primary fuel filter.

Not working on the boat tomorrow ( Wednesday 5/1/2024 )

Plan for Thursday: Protect the floor in front of the engine bay ( I know, that's pushing the concept of 'Engine Bay' :) ). I'll build a temporary engine mount in order to lower the engine. I'll use a simple 4"x4" beam with an additional piece of 4"x4" just bigger than the engine mounts.

That should provide plenty of room to get around the engine but also, it should allow me to remove the chain hoist used to lift the engine so that I can get out of the boat via the companionway.

I'll make the beam tomorrow ( Wednesday )