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| Good thing this stuff doesn't go off. |
Lots of crouching and humming and a touch of swearing as tiny objects reminded me yet again how deep my bilges are aft of the engine. Today was the Filling of the Motor: ATF into the hydraulic shifter, which did not in fact wish to have its control cable
reversed as I had speculated...well, not without a lot of unbolting...and so it will remain as is for the moment. The single lever at the helm does what it's supposed to.
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| ATF filter casing. Good thing I bought touch-up paint. |
Following the actual directions for a change of pace, I ran down some of the engine commissioning details. such as checking the state of the transmission's fluid filter. Out came the metric Allen keys.
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| Looked fine, by which I mean wet. |
I moistened the O-rings with ATF and put it back together to the right torque.
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| Things are starting to seem real. Such is the magic of the word "Rotella". |
Next came the lubricating oil. I ordered the shallow sump on my Beta 60 (I didn't need to, as it turned out, but there were a lot of variables as to the height of the engine mounts/stringers and the final placement of the Aquadrive coupler) and this took about seven litres of pouring.
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| Hard to see here, but this is "just right". |
I've discovered that my block is not laid out precisely as my documentation might suggest. The Beta "marine conversions" of what is essentially a small Kubota diesel block found in street sweepers, forklifts and the more compact sort of backhoe or shovel thingie are known for having all the items that require changing or service at the front of the engine. I'm talking about water pumps, oil filters, dipsticks and the like. This is because most engines on boats live under a set of companionway stairs; one lifts or removes the stairs and hopes arms can reach the needful item. On my Beta, the water pump is about midway back on the starboard side, and I have yet to find what is called the "coolant drain cock". It's supposed to be slightly aft of the oil filter mount on the
Beta 1720 canal boat model of the Beta 60 engine I thought I more or less (shallow sump, double power takeoff, ZF 25 hydraulic trannie) had, but certain items differ and I can't quite lay my hands on it. The manual warns "make sure this is closed" and, if it exists, I can only assume it is in fact closed, as my bilges do not seem to have eight litres of coolant down them. The fuel pump lacks a priming knob, as well. I think I need to get out the dental mirrors and to scrutinize the schematics yet again.
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| It's clean down there. May it remain so. |
The engine's confusingly named "fresh water circuit", which is actually a closed circuit of glycol/alcohol, is filled via what we call a heat exchanger, and what the British call a "calorifier". Having had Latin in high school, I can live with either one, as long as it isn't exploding near me.
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| One of the few pieces I kept from the old engine. Why not? |
I filled the engine with coolant and then topped up the header or expansion tank to "middle". We shall see once fired up if I have too much or not. Next: cabling up the engine to the battery.
