I talked to the mechanic today, and here is the news. First, the shop that the head was brought into checked it all out and found no cracks. Nothing wrong in fact. Best news I could have hoped to hear.
The transmission was simply the nut at the rear coming off. I’m pretty sure due to the engine not being aligned properly, but really who knows? No damage was done inside, so it’s basically a matter of putting in a new seal and a new nut, and attaching the tranny to the engine once again. Again, the news couldn’t have been better.
It’s looking more and more like we escaped any damage whatsoever. I can go back to the boat whenever I feel like it, spend a day or two putting things back together, adjusting a few things here and there, and splashing back into the water. I was pretty well stoked by this conversation today.
Last week we had a ton of rain here in Mazatlan, and that appears to have brought out every sort of critter imaginable. I already mentioned the bat in the house. We got rid of him and replaced him with a rat. The rat didn’t get in the house, but somehow got himself trapped in the courtyard after scaling a wall and a tree to get in (we assume). Attempts to neutralize the threat are ongoing, though at the moment it appears he’s found his way back out of the yard. Moths the size of our hands flying around inside the house are a nightly occurrence. A few cockroaches have shown up. I don’t think anywhere in Mexico is immune to them. And then Ali discovered this thing hiding behind the toothbrushes. I was out at the time, but amazingly she managed to trap it underneath a glass and leave it for me to dispose of when I returned. Because I had no stomach for smooshing something so big I carried him to the neighbors house and let him go there instead.
I’m joking. But I did take him out and set him free.
13 Comments on “Engine News”
oh, why did it have to be spiders?
Bad spidey to pets & lil ones. Relocate it well. They are stealthy.
I thought it was a Huntsman spider, which is harmless (similar to a Wolf spider.) What do you think it is?
Sooooo…….this seems to still leave the question of what blew the head gasket unresolved . My bet would be restricted flow thru the heat exchanger ? Stuck thermostat ? Bad impeller ? I’d sure wanna resolve that question before ya fire her back up.
Mechanic seems to think it was a slow leak for a long time, probably due to never retorquing (is that a word?) the head bolts. Something that’s supposed to be done quite often it turns out. Could be the oil cooler or heat exchanger too I suppose. I’m taking those into a shop on the next visit to have them cleaned and checked. Impeller is good. Thermostat is new now. That covers just about everything far as I can tell.
Omar is the MAN!
Hey Pat, you must be bummed that you didn’t have to replace the engine and the transmission like so many wanted you to do. On a more serious note, if you can find them, replace the head bolts (they may have stretched), torque properly, run it awhile and re-torque to specks. I also like to use Never-Seize, a kind of thick grease in every NAPA store (haha good luck), on every bolt outside the engine, I have never had a bolt back out on its own, but they will come out again when u want them too. Good luck and happy sailing
I used to lie in bed at night in Costa Rica and watch the wolf spider in the rafters above grab flying cockroaches and moths from the air as they flew past it. When I would shine a light up there, I could see the reflection in the spiders eyes. I usually had a mosquito net to sleep under!
That sounds horrifying. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
Call me names if you like, but a spider like that could cause me to burn the whole house down. Man, I friggin HATE spiders.
Even if it weren’t your house? 🙂
In Hawaii, we call those cane spiders… I once reached into a gutter to clean out the clog and a giant one ran down my hand and up on my arm, I didn’t know that I could scream like a girl, brush it off, jump up 4′ and backwards 6′ all in one motion from a crouched position. The giant mama was covered with about a thousand baby spiders that she was carrying around with her. In about a nano-second they all went to spider heaven courtesy of a size 10 flip-flop. Eeyuuuuu, creeps me out just to remember. Sorry spider lovers
Harmless spider, helps keep your indoor insects under control, you should be glad you have them!