I have a cracked rear mounting bracket on my 1984 30U. Boat was like this when I bought it a few years back. Decided to address it this summer and it has turned into a fiasco. Turns out this part is discontinued. So now ‘up the creek’ without an engine.
Photos attached — one shows the crack on the engine, the other is the highlighted part on the parts diagram. Per the W13-21-27-33 parts book (publication 32139, page 306, “Back End - Marine Mounting System”), the bracket is item 40, part # 031340, MOUNT REAR (RD60/RD80).
Does anybody have good sources to track down discontinued parts? I will look into having one fabricated but that is going to eat up another chunk of the season. I’ve reached out to Hansen Marine in MA and Marine Diesel Parts.
Or perhaps by some miracle, one of you have just completed an electric conversion?
Lastly ….. I am not at the boat. Last survey says the engine is a 27A. But have also seen many references to 27s in this production year. Is it definitely one or the other?
Many of the Westerbekes are marinized Mitsubishi tractor engines. Replacement parts for those are often suitable for marine use.
I know little more than that. You’re three years too late to get the W23 from my electric conversion.
@thorpowell had a huge collection of material on translating from Westerbeke to Mitsubishi part numbers. We had hoped to get it on to the INA website but the project ran out of steam due to overcommitment on my part. I’ve been meaning to talk to him about it, but am still overcommitted. If there’s someone who’s interested in helping with that, they’d be doing a huge favor to many of us owners. (Well, not me, because I’ve gone electric and am never going back, but still…)
Having just referenced Thor Powell here, I hope he’ll notice this and chip in.
I see you also posted this on a Westerbeke Facebook page. If you haven’t checked it, you should. There’s a reply from someone saying they have a part that seems in good shape.
Also, is that bellhousing aluminum? If so, it could probably be AC TiG welded in place with proper preparation and it would be as strong as new, or close. I think I’d be tempted to try that first, just to eliminate the hassle of replacing an entire bellhousing. But only if aluminum. If it’s cast iron, you probably need to replace it. You can TiG weld cast iron, but probably shouldn’t trust it.
