copiercat

after the sarasota race last weekend we were running in the gulf pretty hard ,i heard a couple of loud bang type of noises coming from under the hatch,i had heard it before but could never identify what it was, well i believe i found it last night,the front u shaped engine mount was cracked on starboard motor on the left side, the motor appears to have shifted about more than 1/8 but less than a 1/4 inch at the bottom of the crack. i made a doubler plate to weld over the cracked area but should i worry about this shifted engine height? cuz the only way to shift back is to pull the motor

nocigarette

There is no way that you can use bottle jacks or wood blocks to get it as close as it was originally.......one quarter inch is not a lot but i would try to due it right and just pull it.....Plus welding in the engine compartment is kind of a pain in the arse.......

copiercat

i thought about the jack idea but im wooried about too much force on the bottom of the boat,how much can it take? welding is not that bad as its probably the best access point of the mount to do it at as far as room and access

stevesxm

my cig TG used to eat couplers and vibrate like crazy before i bought it. had two bad motors by the time i got it. in removing the motors i found all the mount holes swalled out and oblong and oversize. i spent a lot of time getting the alignment perfect when i reintalled the new 502s and when it was perfect i clamped them and drilled all new holes and used shouldered bolts etc...
no more coupler issues , no more vibrations and the boat was a lot faster... i figure due to a lot less frictional losses...

i suggest you string a 4x4 across the hatch opening and support the front of the motor w/ a web type ratchet deal around the front pulley and then fix the motor mount perfect and make the alignment perfect and THEN see where the holes are.... i don't figure preloading anything is a good idea.