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| Rebuild after sinking (inc magneto st... |
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Ben Tuppen
Member
Username: bentuppen
Post Number: 18
Registered: 07-2005
| | Posted on Saturday, October 28, 2006 - 09:56 am: | 
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For those who saw the videos of us launching ellen and her R3M this summer (further down the forum somewhere), it's come to a rather abrupt pause as a mysterious hole has been punched in the bottom of the boat (too high up for a stone so a bit weird but there we go). I'll leave the replanking from this forum but would really appreciate any tips on what to check for when cleaning out a sunken engine and where I might find tips on stripping down / rebuilding a lucas SR magneto that's got wet.
I've had to wait 2 weeks since the boat was rescued from the water to get the engine out and in the shed. Having got it out I've cleared out all the oil (and the large amounts of water that came with it) from the gearbox, compression chamber and magneto (oh no). I've also blasted WD40 into the spark plug hole then turned over the engine with the bung at the bottom of the compression chamber open, until the last of the sludge and WD40 came out. I hope this will be enough to carry me over for another fortnight before I have a week's holiday and can take some time on it. Nothing's seized and I hope a bit of oil and WD40 will keep it that way for now.
So if you've got any tips that might save me from disappointment once I start on this job, they would be very gratefully received. In the mean time I'm off to eBay to look for secondhand magnetos just in case!
Another job I was going to do this winter was try to decarbonize the exhaust. This will likely need decarbonising / de-rusting and the works. Not quite sure how to clean out the silencer either so if anyone has some ideas...
Thanks very much in advance
Ben |
Peter Ogborne
Senior Member
Username: peterogborne
Post Number: 177
Registered: 09-2002
| | Posted on Saturday, October 28, 2006 - 07:16 pm: |
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Under the circumstances Ben you have done every thing possible. The parts that are in danger are the ball bearings. If you have well and truly filled the crankcase with oil and turned it over a few times it will be ok [assuming you have drained all the water out]. The magneto likewise will be ok strip it or at least remove the coil . You can put the coil in your mums oven to dry it out .Use a low heat .....I know you use the Gas Mark whatever in the UK but a low heat will be safe for a couple of hours. Just watch it and check the varnish. Everything else will be OK ,plenty of WD40.
Sorry to hear about the hole. |
Ben Tuppen
Member
Username: bentuppen
Post Number: 19
Registered: 07-2005
| | Posted on Sunday, October 29, 2006 - 04:14 pm: |
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Thanks Peter. We 'overfilled' the crankcase with oil this morning, put the plug in. blasted a load of WD40 into the air intake and turned it over a good few times which should have got the bearings nice and oily. I'll give your tip a try on the coil, Mum won't mind me leaving it in the warming oven of her aga I'm sure... |
Nick Gilchrist
Member
Username: nick_gilchrist
Post Number: 7
Registered: 09-2006
| | Posted on Sunday, December 31, 2006 - 03:36 am: |
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Ben,
I,and I'm sure very many others are anxiously waiting for news of your latest adventures with your R3M. I've recently bought one of these beauties so I would love to know how your rescue, part 2 is coming along. I've just got hold of a spare Lucas magneto on e-bay and they come up regularly, if you need a replacement.
Best wishes,
Nick |
Ben Tuppen
Member
Username: bentuppen
Post Number: 21
Registered: 07-2005
| | Posted on Monday, January 01, 2007 - 07:57 am: |
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Hi Nick,
Thanks for your interest! Well, it's rather a quiet period for me on the boat as I'm not getting much time down at home. In November I had a week down there and gave the engine a good clean, got loads of water out of every conceivable crevice, re-painted it, thoroughly cleaned the carb and stripped down the magneto. Over Christmas I fitted a new condenser and there's no longer sparking over the contacts in the magneto, but she's got a rubbish little plug cap and I'm hoping I can blame the lack of spark at the plug on that. Hopefully in March / April once the weather starts warming up I'll take a few more long weekends on the farm and get both woodwork and engine work going in earnest. I'll do some more checks but I'm hoping with just a new HT lead and cap I'll have a good spark and see some more life from her. The best bit of news from Christmas was that the engine hadn't shown any signs of seizing up so hopefully all water's now banished!
Will keep you updated in a few months' time. Meanwhile happy new year...
Best wishes
Ben |
Nick Gilchrist
Member
Username: nick_gilchrist
Post Number: 8
Registered: 09-2006
| | Posted on Wednesday, January 03, 2007 - 01:49 pm: |
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Happy new year, Ben and good luck with the next phase!
Nick |
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