Thanks for the helpful advice and taking the time to snap those photos. I didn’t even know those types of sockets existed. Will try and source some, but we have a lot of stores closed here in Canada due to the lockdown. My local Westerbeke dealer is closed. The regional supplier will mail me parts, but there will be a 60 day delay on anything that he doesn’t actually have in stock!
You are right on the technical details. The front and back end plates are held on by nuts, washers and studs, while the elbows attach to the manifold with bolts.
Thanks once again for the detailed explanations. I found an open tool supply place and spent yet more money on sockets (like the ones Joe suggested), extensions and two different 1/4" ratchets with smaller diameter heads. Hopefully something in this bunch will work.
Were your elbows attached to the manifold with studs and nuts or bolts? Reading your post it sounds like you are talking about studs while the three fasteners I have managed to get out are all bolts. I wonder if things varied a bit from year to year. The front of my manifold is a mirror image of what is shown in the parts manual which results in the need for a 180 degree turning hose coming off of the water pump that isn’t even shown in the parts manual.
Congratulations on your launch! I’m deeply envious - along with hundreds of other people I’m sure.
This is a 3/8 drive. The hinge in the handle is not important but might make it easier.
The diameter is 1.33 inches.
This one fits between the elbow and the silencer.
I will know the socket to extension length this afternoon.
I guess you could use bolts and someone in the past may have used bolts on yours. Would make it easier to put the washers on but threading the bolts into the manifold might be harder.
The 13 is a 2 cyl and has the twopassmanifold on the other side of the engine compared to the 3 and 4 cyl westerbekes. The parts manual shows all versions in one diagram so that’s why the 13 diagram looks like a mirror image. They tried their best. You have to keep this in mind when you are looking at the drawing.
BTW don’t throw out the washers, they are of just the right diameter to fit in. I had to reuse mine because new washers I found were too big.
When it comes to finding parts like fasteners, hardware etc McMaster Carr is a great source. Relatively reasonable prices, quick delivery and a broad range of otherwise hard to find hardware. They ship to Canada
Quality ratchets such as Snap-on or Matco have smaller heads. The quickest way to get one of their tools is to ask your local garage or dealer service department what day they come to service that shop. It’s usually once a week.
Joe Valinoti
S/V iL Gatto NS30U #221
Sea Harbour YC
Oriental, NC USA
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First of all “Thank You.” to all of the folks who have helped talk this 66 year old beginner mechanic thru his first engine repair job larger than an impeller change. Your advice is always read, and much appreciated. The good news is that after about 6 hours of sweating, a stiff back, and about $100 worth of various tool purchases I have managed to get the manifold and various bits back as far as the exhaust elbow dis-attached from the engine and home for repair.
Looking ahead I was wondering how people remounted the unit. Do you put everything back together at home and then remount it as one big assembly, or is it easier to remount the much lighter and less ungainly manifold to the engine and then attach the exhaust bits at the end?
On an unrelated matter, I have noticed people once again asking for advice on where to get various parts and Nonsuch accessories. Most of these inquiries have already been addressed on the site but; speaking from my experience; it is often hard to find the information at a later date. I was wondering what people would think of the idea of having the forum administrators set up a permanent thread where users could post sources of various things that people need to repair and maintain their aging boats. Stuff like port screens, engine mounting studs, mast turning blocks, non Westerbeke (IE cheaper) engine parts - you get the idea?
Thank you again to everyone for your help and ideas.
In tight situations I have made a socket extension from square steel bar stock of a size to suit the socket. For 3/8 or 1/2 inch sockets the extension can be up to at least a foot long. For 1/4 socket size you are limited to about 6 inches before the bar starts to twist.. I use a vice grip as the lever to turn the bar stock and the socket. You can get the bar stock at Metals Supermarket.
I assembled the first elbow fitting (I was using pipe fittings) to the manifold before installing it because it had to be on before a manifold hose nipple in order to turn it. Otherwise I assembled the exhaust after the manifold was in place.
One trick that may help with assembling the flat washer, lock washer, and nut on the downward facing studs is to put a blob of grease on the stud. The washers should stick in place then while you start the nut. I got most of mine without using grease but for the really tricky ones ......
If the first section is in good shape and if the second piece will in fact come off you could certainly leave it on. I ended up taking mine to a machinist recommended by a friend. I got it back a couple of days later to find that unable to budge it, he had cut off the elbow and hacksawed the threaded part out. I could have done that and in fact I did on the mixing elbow end.
It sounds worse than it is. You don’t do much damage to the thread if you are careful and leaking shouldn’t be a problem. Here’s how I did the elbow end:
1) cut the pipe off about 1/2” away from the elbow.
2) use a jigsaw with a hacksaw blade to make cuts from the inside of the pipe, just to the threads, about 3/4” apart.
3) tap the exposed part of the cut out section from the outside in with a punch or screwdriver to break it free.
4) unscrew the remaining piece with a pipe wrench.
It’s really easy. I wish I had done both ends myself.
My threads were nicked a little but I reassembled with lots of never seize and a little Spider Patch just for insurance and there are no leaks.
I had to cut them off with a hacksaw.
With a hacksaw the 90 deg elbow is easy to remove, you make a cut just down to the top of the threads and hammer a cold chisel into the saw cut, the elbow will crack easily. As soon as it does oil can get on the threads and it will twist off. 15 min per cut.
At this point you can stop and now you can clean up/replace the end plate and gasket. An elbow is easy to buy.
Much harder to cut off the plug and straight pipe into the aluminum. I cut it off to 1/4inch from the manifold then two cuts using just the blade into the pipe about 1/2 inch apart down to close to the aluminum threads and knock out this piece with a punch like knocking out a tooth. A heavy vice and patience are required. This took a couple hours.
I did not replace the street elbow in the injection elbow because for some reason I could not order one in these COVID times.
I must admit to being a bit confused. Which 90 deg elbow are we talking about here. Is it the one just aft of the exchanger, or the one that screws into the mixing elbow?
If it is the one aft of the manifold I can see how a couple of cuts would weaken it, allow it to crack, and be removed from the assembly. This would let me replace the gasket at the rear of the manifold, and I could reassemble the whole thing with just a single new fitting - a replacement for the destroyed elbow. If that is the case I could avoid damaging either the manifold or the mixing elbow.
The 90 degree elbow after the manifold, two female threads, would be the easiest to remove and the minimum necessary to get the end plate off and new gasket on.
The other one into the mixing elbow was a 90 degree street elbow. One female, one male end. The male end in the mixing elbow looks like it would come out- I tried penetrating oil, heat, hammering, and a long breaker bar but it didn’t move.
Yes good idea not to damage the manifold or mixing elbow.
While waiting for the parts to put my engine back together I thought I may as well take a crack at cleaning the heat exchanger since it was off of the engine and in my garage anyway. The picture below shows what I found inside. Since all of my impeller fins are present and accounted for the ones I found must have came with the boat when I bought it. Makes you wonder if a few of them might date back to her very earliest days.
One thing I did find surprising was that there was some kind of sealant on the gaskets of the end plates. I would have thought that you wouldn’t want any sealant there so you could open up the exchanger to do an emergency on-the-water clean-out without destroying the gaskets.
I wonder what other hidden surprises the engine compartment holds.
Looks like the pump impeller should be on a regular replacement schedule for all Nonsuch owners. Might be a good idea to start keeping a regular maintenance log on these things. When were the batteries last changed, how old is the sail, when did the mast last come out and masthead fittings get serviced, how old are the engine belts, are the rudder cables and pulleys still in good shape, etc.?!
All airplane owners are required by FAA law to keep a detailed log of ALL maintenance work and have a formal Annual Inspection done and signed off in that logbook by a certified A&P/IA Mechanic. Not only are there stiff fines for non-compliance, but in the event of an accident, the insurance company can and will deny coverage if this isn’t done. True, falling out of the sky is usually worse than having your kicker fail while out for a sail, unless you are rapidly drifting in on a rocky shore.
Without any log and checklist, it is all-to-easy to forget stuff or overlook it, especially as we get older. Caveat nauta, as Caesar used to say!
