• From: Montreal
  • Registered: 2005-04-22
  • Posts: 259

Topic: Petter Engine Head Removal

Good day!

For a variety of reasons (time mostly!) my poor boat has not run in more than three years.  I have been turning it over but not enough it seems.  This weekend I finally reached a stage where it was time to start it up and discovered that I had very low compression.

After much mucking around I discovered that at least one of the valves is not sealing properly which explains my compression problem.

Question:  does anyone have experience pulling the head from one of these engines?  Can it be done in situ or must I pull the engine out of the boat?  Any tricks for disconnecting the exhaust manifold from the engine?  I am reluctant to muck around with the hose unless I must -- I anticipate having to replace the hose if I do.  Similarly, if I can fix it without disconnecting the shaft coupling and motor mounts I would be happier.

Please share your experience!

Christopher

  • Gadget
  • Veteran Member
  • Offline
  • From: Burlington, Ontario
  • Registered: 2005-06-12
  • Posts: 63

Re: Petter Engine Head Removal

Christopher

I have copies of the shop manuals for the AC1W and the AC1WM in PDF format that you might find useful. I can send them to you if you like. One bit of advice though if the boat is still in the water, make sure the cooling water intake is CLOSED before disconnecting the hose! A bit of info that would have been handy the last time I had mine apart, lol.

                                         John

.                               ,,,,,
                               (o o)
------------------oOO---(_)---OOo------------------
  • From: Montreal
  • Registered: 2005-04-22
  • Posts: 259

Re: Petter Engine Head Removal

Thanks John!  I laughed at the the image of the water spraying all over the place.

I have the manuals too.  Unfortunately I do not have experience with this project. 

Do you know if I need to pull the engine to remove the head or can I get away with doing it in place?  I read something about the head bolts originating in the crank-case.  I would much prefer leaving most of the engine in place and just dropping bits in the bilge.

Christopher

  • From: Ile-Perrot, Quebec, Canada
  • Registered: 2005-09-11
  • Posts: 24

Re: Petter Engine Head Removal

You can do it with the engine installed. Just send an email to me and i will help you on this one. I live in the Montreal area.

Michel F's Website

  • From: Montreal
  • Registered: 2005-04-22
  • Posts: 259

Re: Petter Engine Head Removal

Thank Michel for your assistance on this -- I did eventually pull the head and had it serviced.  One valve was replaced, the injector rebuilt and the whole thing was back together.

Then I discovered that the high pressure fuel pump was full of jelly.  I partially cleaned it and got the damned thing to start and ran it just long enough to get to haul out.  Sigh.

The reason I did a partial cleaning was that I could not remove the pump from the engine.  I can undo all the bolts and it appears to move freely for the first 1/4" or so -- then it travels no further.  Any idea of what might be holding it in place?  It would make a great winter project. 

I also learned a trick -- because the fuel pump was putting out less fuel than it should, I found a bit of heat gave the engine a starting boost.  Heat gun at the air intake did magic. 

Can we put a glow plug or an air preheater on this thing?

If anyone has any ideas about pulling the pump please let me know soonest.  My tarps nearly finished.,

Thanks!

Christopher

  • From: Montreal
  • Registered: 2005-04-22
  • Posts: 259

Re: Petter Engine Head Removal

Oh -- and my learnings for all -- 1) fog your engine at the end of the season, and 2) if you, check your valve positions -- you want both closed for the winter.  What did me in was a touch of corrosion on the intake valve which ruined the seal.

  • From: Ile-Perrot, Quebec, Canada
  • Registered: 2005-09-11
  • Posts: 24

Re: Petter Engine Head Removal

In order to pull the inj pump out, the stop engine need to be fully pull out if adjusted properly.

Michel F's Website

  • From: Montreal
  • Registered: 2005-04-22
  • Posts: 259

Re: Petter Engine Head Removal

Thanks Michel!  I played with that on Sunday but will try again and will be more attentive about the position of the stop engine lever.

Cheers!

Christopher