Engine/drive removal with prejudice

[film842]

Excuse my sense of humor, but "with prejudice" in this case means that I'm thinking of removing my AQ131A and drive with a chainsaw. In other words, I will cut out a large piece of transom with the whole affair attached and lift it away.

And that's what this posts about, i.e., is there any reason not to do it this way given that the boat is toast and is heading for the dump anyway?

The situation is that the drive has been pronounced to be good by a professional Volvo tech and the engine is probably ok but had been soaked in seawater and needs some serious cleaning and re-evaluation.

Why not evaluate the engine in the boat? Because I'm tired of trying to contort myself around into impossible positions in order to reach what I want. Too old and cranky for that.

Any opinions on my plan? Thanks.

 

[Don S]

Re: Engine/drive removal with prejudice

Wouldn't be the first one removed that way.

If the engine was under water (salt water) and not run after it happened, it's junk.

 

[film842]

Re: Engine/drive removal with prejudice

Thanks Don S. for the shots. There's nothing like a picture to help plan out a job like this. My engine didn't get submerged, only sprayed with salt water once and it was not washed off at the time. So, the engine is fine, but it just looks awful and I want to give it a good cleaning while checking out all the various bits and pieces. For what it's worth, there seems to be more opinions against putting an I/O in one of these dorys as opposed to an outboard. However, others who have them say they work fine, the boat is well balanced, it can be worked on by most folks and as long as you are vigilant with maintenance and upkeep, it should be fine. So, we'll see.

 

[jerryjerry05]

Re: Engine/drive removal with prejudice

A sand blaster and a couple cans of paint make the Volvos look much better.
After a few years the protective coating starts to peel.
It can be blasted off and repainted and look good.
First thing,take the exhaust manifold off and check for corrosion around the exhaust ports.
No corrosion,then install it.
I've cut them out with a sawsall and a chainsaw.

Putting in a dory if the transom shield is modified it can be fit without too much problem.
Just remember the 131s has no motor mount other than the transom, so it needs to be built up fairly strong.

 

[film842]

Re: Engine/drive removal with prejudice

A sand blaster and a couple cans of paint make the Volvos look much better.
After a few years the protective coating starts to peel.
It can be blasted off and repainted and look good.
First thing,take the exhaust manifold off and check for corrosion around the exhaust ports.
No corrosion,then install it.
I've cut them out with a sawsall and a chainsaw.

Putting in a dory if the transom shield is modified it can be fit without too much problem.
Just remember the 131s has no motor mount other than the transom, so it needs to be built up fairly strong.

Appreciate your thoughts and yes it would be my tendency to over engineer it to make sure it was supported well. I had another person make an interesting suggestion, which was to cut the transom wider and install the whole affair into the new dory. I've been thinking about why that wouldn't work and so far haven't come up with any reason not to.

Of course, that doesn't mean there isn't one, it's just that my overtaxed brain hasn't come up with it yet.

 

[Don S]

Re: Engine/drive removal with prejudice

I had another person make an interesting suggestion, which was to cut the transom wider and install the whole affair into the new dory.

That sounds like a hack job to me. Trying to get things at the right angle, with the X dimension in the right place, and all perfectly square, would be almost impossible. Plus the fact that the old transom is probably rotten as well.
If you are going to do it, build it to fit the boat, then make the cutout. Full size paper templates are still avaliable from Volvo for about 5 bucks or less.
If you have a drive similar to the one I posted the picture of above, then here is a pdf file of the cutout template. At least you can see what it looks like. But the full size is the way to go after the transom is built.

View attachment 270-280 Transom Template.pdf

 

[Bondo]

Re: Engine/drive removal with prejudice

Appreciate your thoughts and yes it would be my tendency to over engineer it to make sure it was supported well. I had another person make an interesting suggestion, which was to cut the transom wider and install the whole affair into the new dory. I've been thinking about why that wouldn't work and so far haven't come up with any reason not to.

Of course, that doesn't mean there isn't one, it's just that my overtaxed brain hasn't come up with it yet.

Ayuh,.... I use a Demo-saw, rather than a chainsaw,... Fiberglass Kills the chain....

The Demo-saw tends to smoke alot in the wood, but cuts the glass nicely...

'n, Ya, yer Bud's sorta right,...
I reuse the outer skin piece of hull to glass into whatever I'm puttin' the Merc into...

 

[film842]

Re: Engine/drive removal with prejudice

I have to admit that the idea does have a certain "micky mouse" sense about it. Now that I've had more time to think about it, I'm guessing that it's one of those ideas that sound sounds pretty nifty, but the closer you get to doing it, the more sketchy it gets. And since I hope to go out into the ocean on this boat, why take a chance with the structure failing?

I didn't know that a template was available from Volvo so thanks for that. I'm going to order one Wednesday. I've just received the plans for the dory itself and it does show the option for installing an I/O.

For what it's worth, the next necessary step will be to remove the engine/drive, put the engine on a stand and then run procedures to make sure it's worth the transplant. One year ago it showed good compression. I added a new exhaust manifold,(no problem with cylinder #4) rebuilt distributor, coil, seawater pump, rebuilt carburetor etc, so hopefully there's life left in the old girl.

I'm not much of a mechanic, but I eventually get where I need to with advice from others, so if anybody wants to chime in on how to assess this engine, I would very much appreciate it.

 

[Don S]

Re: Engine/drive removal with prejudice

In case your dealer can't find the number, the part number for that template is 7751380.
What outdrive do you have on your engine?

Is this it?

View attachment AQ131A.pdf