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engine mount replacement(s) in the water

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bobct

Advanced Contributor
Is there any risk in replacing engine mounts in the water - doing one at a time? I'm envisioning a scissor jack to support the corner and I'm replacing and swapping one for the other. If the engine is 1,000 lbs, tranny is 200, than the max each corner is supporting would be 300 lbs which doesn't seem like a lot to me. Rears would be closer to 300, fronts probably less.

Mine are original (24 years) and I'm trying to do my final alignment. A couple of them are hard to turn but the side/side sliding adj on the trunions is a struggle.


Just wondering how practical it is to try this in the water and any scenarios which will take me out of commission. The boat has a 13' beam so access isn't too bad.


Bob
 
Bob:

The only suggestion I have is to use a 2 ton bottle jack in place of the scissor jack. you will find it needs much less clearance and will make things go easier.

The side-to-side adjustments are always 'interesting' due to the load on the trunnions. I found a 36" wrecking bar and some 2x4 blocks to be of benefit. Just be careful what you pry against.

BTW, when I started changing my mounts (same reasons as you), I worked some anti-seize into the threads of the eye on the trunnions. I found on the old ones that the height adjusters wouldn't turn due to the buildup of corrosion down in the threads. Also, I don't think the plastic used inside the mounts is good for much more than 15 years of use. Mine were broken inside - where you can't see - and had been for a while.
 
Thanks Mark, I just ordered all four for my Port engine. I'll time it around a couple of rainy days. I could probably get mine to work but when the mechanic helped me do the alignment last year, we tried to get the engine to slide over a hair. We closed the gap but I don't think the mount actually moved but bent a little instead. It looks like it's slightly cocked to one side.

It might be an optical illusion but even if I get help again, at least all of the adjustments will be painless.
 
i doubt you bent those trunnions trying to move the engine by hand.

shouldn't take a whole day to change all four - concur on the painless aspect with fresh hardware.

good luck
 
Obviously, Mark has done this procedure before (as have I). That heavy lump of metal will not want to moved, so be prepared with loads of crowbars and blocks of wood. In my case. I had to angle jack the damper pulley to one side to get it moved--no fun!

Jeff
 
Did mine last season as well Bob. Had very little trouble other than limits on space and flexibility ( mine). Had the jack in place but very little lift required. Seemed to be just a place holder to prevent a corner drop. The new one you can ALMOST turn by hand
 
yeah, the risk here is not damage to the engine (don't push on the belt pulleys, etc). On the other hand, you don't want to concentrate much force on a small area of the hull. It's the fiberglass that will crack; spread the load over a square foot or more of area, better yet, use the stringers.
 
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