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Comment by bob mitchell on August 11, 2015 at 2:32am

Lord have mercy, anything but THAT!

         That price sounds fair to me. I was wondering what year your engine was. So it is actually younger than mine. I think I said it, but my Ford 172 is a tractor engine made by Perkins for Ford, and marinized by Osco.  An interesting story here is that it is the original type of  engine installed in 1967, but they replaced it in 1977 with a Ford 192 Industrial Engiine, which had the same block but bored out for more HP.  Well, the Ford 192 was so bored out that not many survived, or were rebuilt, because of the thin cylinder walls. The jest of that was that when I went to rebore mine the walls were completely shot, And there were only rebuild parts from Ford (no quality aftermarket, in fact no aftermarket, rebuild kits) which I could not afford.  So I went down to Alabama and picked up a salvaged 172 block that had never been bored for $325, and the rebuild kit cost about $650. I had the advantage of having a diesel mechanic where I am keeping the boat,, become one of my good friends. He got me in to their regular engine rebuilder machine shop, who very much valued the mechanics business, and did, I hope, a good job for me. I guess you read some of my early rebuild stories in the archives. There is something special about rebuilding your own engine - it was one of the jobs on my bucket list, and I really enjoyed it, but beyond that I have minimum practical experience. And I did get the feeling you have been around engines a lot.

Comment by Tony Zavilenski on August 11, 2015 at 12:50am

I believe everything you're saying, Bob. This morning I took the crank to a specialist to be turned. It gave me a warm feeling to see a hundred pretty crankshafts wrapped in their plastic sitting on the shop floor waiting for customer pick up. I like dealing with practicing experts rather than the other kind. I got a quote of $220. That included $85 for weld build up of the #4 journal that was as is too scored for grinding. I think that is a fair price. I'll get it back on Wednesday. 

I'm finding no specialists in the area for diesel head work. I trust no mechanic that is not a blood relative. I did a little racing in the seventies. The night before the race the crew would sit around drinking and swapping stories. The mechanics tales were mostly about cutting corners in their day job and how many ways they could take advantage of the mechanically disinclined. They were cautionary tales for sure. 

The next couple of days I will spend cleaning up the engine compartment. Once I get the crank back I will know which size bearings I need and can order the rebuild kit. I did notice that one of the valve springs was partially relaxed - again the #4 cylinder. Bob, this is a 1981 Perkins. 

Comment by bob mitchell on August 10, 2015 at 7:41pm

Ahha - I understand now. You are hoping to do everything with the engine still on the boat! I got it. It is a major PITA to get that block out.  But you know, the head is easy to transport, and cheap to rebuild. Sometimes when new pistons and rings with lots of compression are put in the old valve compression and action are just not up for the task - it might be worthwhile to take the head to a machine shop for grinding, new springs, seats, and valves.

Comment by bob mitchell on August 9, 2015 at 10:31am

Wow. By the way, it was my number 4 rod bearing that went as well. But my ford 172 did not have liners. I found a good machine shop and took them the block and head, and they redid the cylinders, head, replaced the valve springs, which weaken over time, and replaced the valves for a very reasonable price. If you have got everything out and disassembled I would consider the whole rebuild kit. Have the shop do the crank grind, cylinder liner replace, the head, and you will have a new engine, professionally done!!! You do the reassembly. Two things I learned that stick out in my mind that you might want to check out.  When fitting the rods on the crank, they have to have side clearance (I did not know that, but my mechanic did. If they don't have some side clearance the bind up when the engine warms up.  He felt that was important enough that we disassembled (after initial assembly) that rod and took it in for a little more grinding on  the side) And review ahead of time the fitting and installation of the main crank bearings at each end of the engine because they are tricky!    One last comment, which I am sure you know, is that when breaking the engine in it must be under a load or the rings want seat correctly - ie the cylinders will glaze over, and burn oil the rest of the engines life. Check out the info on diesel breakin. On a different subject, typically the crank is ground ten thousandth or twenty thousandth, and when the rebuild kit is ordered the proper dimension rod bearing sleeves are  ordered. I know you probably know all this, but it is hard not to put my two cents in!!!!!

Comment by Tony Zavilenski on August 9, 2015 at 2:00am

Once I removed the crank the problem revealed its self..The #4 journal was scored due most likely to water mixing with the oil. That caused the engine to seize. This will require the crankshaft to be turned under a couple thou and new bearings, pistons and liners. The liners look good except for a light coating of rust at one or two points but the rebuild kit includes the liners. Its just another three hours of work to do it right.

The real issue with the liners is that they are an interference fit and must be pulled out and pressed in. A lot of work and special tools required. I will of course attempt to a DIY tool and show you the results.