[Well, this is a saga! Too long or not relevant for this forum?]
Well, after another summer of "working" on the boat, Linus is back under the tarp for the winter. I have to say "working" in quotes, considering how leisurely and undisciplined I've been about it! If I could get as much done in a day as @sittr and @Mikeopsycho did on their Commander 26 rebuilds, I'd have two seasons of boating in by now. I'm learning, interested, and having fun though (mostly).
First thing this summer was to get some raw water flow through the stbd 470. I was baffled why replacing the impeller and upper seals (twice) and the pump housing (once) and proving all lines and components of the raw water system clear in both directions of flow, there was still no flow when on muffs, nor with the leg submerged in a barrel to just about the boat's normal waterline. The only thing left to try was replacing the pump base although it looked fine, and lower seals although I didn't think they would be critical, at least when the leg was immersed to the level of the pump. The (second) new impeller and housing were pretty much a molten blob when I removed them this time. Had to cut the impeller off the shaft. With the new pump and seals installed, raw water is fine. BUT (the punch line), I'm pretty sure what really made the difference was lowering the leg. I suspect (can't remember for sure) that all the time I was testing it last summer, the leg was raised too high, probably kinking the water hose between the leg and the transom. Who knew? (Everybody except me, right?)
Outdrive trim/lift worked fine. Trim tabs worked fine.
Connected the hydraulic steering lines at the helm, bled. Steering seems okay. I think there's a very slow leak at the bridge helm steering pump (maybe a drip for every 8-10 hard over to hard over cycles). I would launch with this and see how much of a leak there is when there is water resistance to steering. I'll likely end up rebuild the steering pump. Like Mikeopyscho did about 10 years ago.
I acquired the necessary gear (fenders, anchor, rode, dinghy, depths ounder, ...).
At that point, I thought I'd launch in a couple of days. Just had to install the new Hook Reveal 7 depth sounder/display, and do a very needed major cleaning of the deck and hull. Even though two of the four cylinders on the stbd engine had very low compression, it was running and sounded not too bad. I figured I could do a few hours of sea trials, staying close to home, putt around on the port engine for sure, check out the stbd on the water, and that it would at least be backup to get me back to the dock. I'd learn more about the boat and take it home for whatever additional work it needed.
THEN, a little mission creep. I had gotten a good deal online in early spring on a Mercruiser 488, the 1984 4-bbl version of my 1982 470, and it was in better running condition. I decided I might as well swap it in before launching. There were more differences between the engines than I realized, and changing components from one to the other took a while, with a few work arisings along the way.
That's pretty much where it stands. The stripped 470 is ready to be lifted out, and the formerly-488 ready to go in. A remaining question is whether the flywheel cover plates will be interchangeable. I hope so, because they have different engine mount spacing. If they aren't, I'll have to swap out the transom plate, too, removing and reinstalling the shift actuator, steering cylinder, trim pump, and ???
I don't expect to get back at it until spring now. If I need something to do over the winter, maybe refinish some teak, clean a carb or two, maybe rebuild a helm pump.
.
