Repowering A 58TC

[Boatsb]

Maybe its time to bring some of us in to tear into the engine and see what the damage is. If you can get some transportation and housing there is probably a few on here capable of dropping the pan and checking for damage.

Airfare and hotel plus a reasonable rate could get the question answered pretty quick.

[MarioG]

Can you fix my cable TV?

You got cheap beer?

[Genesis]

He's got heads; all he needs is one cylinder kit, unless I've missed something.

Sheesh - this is not rocket science guys. Unless there is lower-end damage to the journal or something similar this is a straight-forward repair and the vast majority of the time will be putting the heads back on and bolting everything up.

[Boatsb]

Nattys????????????

[Boatsb]

He's got heads; all he needs is one cylinder kit, unless I've missed something.

Sheesh - this is not rocket science guys. Unless there is lower-end damage to the journal or something similar this is a straight-forward repair and the vast majority of the time will be putting the heads back on and bolting everything up.

I can be bought for a reasonable price.

[Sparky1]

Maybe its time to bring some of us in to tear into the engine and see what the damage is. If you can get some transportation and housing there is probably a few on here capable of dropping the pan and checking for damage.

Airfare and hotel plus a reasonable rate could get the question answered pretty quick.

I'm all for that. I've no doubt about my ability to drop the pan, but after that I wouldn't know what the hell I was doing or looking for.

Air transportation is not a problem in/out of a major airport as I can get a buddy pass through my brother with Continental. I've got the basic tools, but nothing big or specialized. Given a list, I'm sure I could come up with whatever is needed.

There are very nice floating cabins at the marina where I keep the boat, so that part is easy as well. The heat works great on the boat, so it would be a comfortable work environment. All that's left is the reasonable rate part for someone who is qualified to do the work. I can certainly play the part of mechanic helper and would be there with a truck to play gopher.

Anybody who's interested can speak up here or send me a PM or email at sosectn@aol.com

[Silverado6x6]

Hey Sparky, here is my resume. You foot a RT ticket anytime this month for me, I can't say how long but give me two weeks and I won't be working under pressure, provide a warm bunk and some basic kitchen area, TV would be nice.

I guess a lot of other posters are laughing at my posts, but you are after all asking about a repower option, they are right in saying fix the hole, when my employers ask me how to approach a project I give them all the options I can dig up from the down quick and dirty duct tape method all the way up to a NASA approved upgrade or like what I used to do and that was building far out radical show cars.
Thats how I plan things, the low road or the high road, and usually we settle on something in the middle thats cost effective, reliable and finished in a short time period.
I am still thinking of enjoying my winter vacation but what the heck if it doesn't cost me money and I make a bit on the side so what, I'm not promising anything here and my wife is a little silent on me leaving the state especially when its -30 here, so anyhow I could be available, maybe you will get lucky and several others may all come down and make it a team effort.
This is an online resume I keep up here, its just basic stuff and is just a loose overview of all the different jobs I have had from oilfield mechanic to a marine mechanic.

https://alexsys.labor.state.ak.us/re...ResView=107690

[Silverado6x6]

My wife came home from work a few hours ago and I discussed me possibly going out of state for a week or two and she reminded me about some things I had planned this winter and have been putting off and putting off, I have bad teeth and I need to have what few uppers all removed and get some dentures, she has medical insurance all ready to pay for it, if I don't get it done now its going to get worse.

So whatever I have posted about being available has changed, I am hoping to see some sort of positive outlook on how my job may turn out this season, if I know them they will hire less people and work the few of us a bit harder. That may mean job security but it sure wore me down back in oct. when I was the last man standing and was doing the work of several people.

Sparky fix the engine, good luck with everything and don't get desperate.

[Genesis]

Dude there's gotta be two dozen people on this forum (myself included) who can turn the wrenches and fix that hole. We're talking about an engine that, on the river, is never going to run over 25% power. Even if the job isn't perfect it will last longer than you will.

There really isn't much to this, so long as the crank hasn't been damaged - and there's no reason to believe it has been. The heads are off and getting to that point is the largest component of the work.

You need a liner extractor (its basically a jackscrew sort of thing), basic shop tools (torque wrenches, sockets, etc), and a few other things (the basic Detroit tuneup stuff when you're done, etc)

Your other "big challenge" is that the heads are heavy and putting them back on requires not smashing/damaging things (including your fingers) while doing so. That may or may not require making a jig/frame/whatever.

None of this is complicated; the instructions are in the shop manual, step-by-step. The biggest hassle is getting to the rod cap bolts; if there is sufficient work room under the engine its easy.

One cylinder kit is under $1,000 (last time I bought 'em they were about $600 each.) You have the heads already done. With the engine torn down you're literally talking a day or so to replace the cylinder kit with the rest of the time being required to put it back together and retuning it. (Do you have the necessary parts to reinstall the heads - seals and such? If not you have to buy those, but you have to buy those anyway and they're not particularly expensive.)

If I was single with no dependants (or the boat was here in Destin) I'd hop in the car and help you. Its not hard. You get no warranty with me but I get paid in beer - your biggest job is to meter the beer sufficiently so I am motivated to work but not so drunk I can't see which end of the wrench goes on the bolt

The way I see it is this - there are three outcomes:

1. There is crank damage exposed by removing the rod cap and piston. Full-stop; the engine has to come out, and you figure out what to do next at that point. You're into this for a couple of hours maximum (remove pan, remove rod cap, remove piston, look, say "aw shit" - at that point. MY call at that point would be to find a RTO from a boat, truck or other application and swap the marine parts onto it - again, the goal here is "fast and cheap"; and you're not going to ask for "marine style" power from it on the river. The bitch in that case is getting that monster out and in, and if you drop it, you just put an engine-size hole in the bottom of your boat. The RISK (cost) in determining this is literally a couple of hours time. Insignificant.

2. There is some sort of critical hidden damage in the engine that you can't see during the repair but you "find" shortly thereafter (the hard way.) You're out the cost of the parts and the labor you expend. That's a 4-digit risk, and not a really large number for the first of the 4 digits either. If it proves to be wrong, so what? When looking at mid-five-digits (or worse) to repower, you fix the hole first and if the engine blows up a day, six months or two years later who cares? With the exception of the "at startup or close thereafter" detonation you're still way ahead.

3. You put in the new kit, button it up, and it runs fine. All done. Enjoy the boat.

#3 is the most likely outcome, #1 and #2 take a distant second place.

Get out your shop manual and toolbox.

[Sparky1]

If I was single with no dependants (or the boat was here in Destin) I'd hop in the car and help you. Its not hard. You get no warranty with me but I get paid in beer - your biggest job is to meter the beer sufficiently so I am motivated to work but not so drunk I can't see which end of the wrench goes on the bolt

OK, now we're getting somewhere. Here's the plan. Load up your tools and head to Tennessee (it's high time we meet anyway) with your dependants. I'll stock the fridge with beer and install a time delay lock for metering purposes while monitoring your progress (with a breathalyzer) on an hourly basis

While you're fixing my engine, I'll entertain and care for your dependants in one of the on-site cabins as I'm very good at that. What kind of beer do you like?