darren620

indeed. i thought this as soon as i was reading the comments you made about the lozenge shaped plates. the paint on those made it abundantly clear no-one had been in there in a long time. and of course the evidence was clear. i'll get that flushed soon with parafin or diesel. and get the level sorted with the proper oil again. the boat isnt moving again this year at least. so i'll start with the tasks. seemingly the primary task is to get the rear boards up and look for bearing blocks and grease points that probably havnt even seen light in years nevermind grease. the engine oil was changed within a year or few. there is a dipstick and the oil on it looks surprisingly clean. not at all black. and slightly above the top level ( i attributed the exhaust smoke could be partly to blame. the extraction pump on the other side is all painted and never used. the last oil change seemingly used a vacuum pump down the dipstick. the rocker cover oilers had never failed to be used so the extra oil in the sump would most likely ( i thought ) been the gathering of that. an oil change is on the winter list.

ok, thanks. thats given me a complete direction and path to go down. rear cabin floor boards coming up soon. it seems i'm gonna find some proper gunged up bearring blocks and utterly empty grease niples. i think i should have mentioned also. on the trip back after i swaped the 30ml of sludge for 750ml of oil. there was a tendancy for the boat to not hold in forward gear. ( i saw previous note about a weight on the gear wheel ) do we think this also likely related ?

MANY thanks to all for your input. i'll try to answer points here. no-one has been near this boat/engine with a set of spanners in the last 10-15 years. i'm the first and its a steep learning curve i dont think the WHOLE shaft moves left/right. but i will check. i will lift back cabin boards and check for bearing blocks and grease nipples. the stern gland drips like a sieve. repacking is on my list the idea for parrafin in the box is definately going on the list. a very similar tale became the injection regulator. ( and whaddya know it now ticks over sweet ) all the questions and points about things fouling the movement. ----- nothing has changed on this boat for 15 years + it used to be 100% a dream to pilot. in and out of gears like a dream. slowly over the last 15 ish. the only time its moved is once or twice a year. with a long slow decline in ease of use. its main problem in my humble opinion is a complete lack of basic maintenance. THANKYOU again all for your time and pointers. i'll see about taking that "odd" coupling off once i have lifted the rear cabin board and checked for how it all works ok. i'll leave well alone and concentrate on checking the movement of the shaft. do you think it should all move? i'm not on the boat right now but i will check all that. yes they are definately clear. all part of the cooling system ( i think )

many thanks for all this info. reading through though. are you saying you think i should replace the clutch plates ( mostly because no oil/oil change for 10-15 years we can be certain they are toast ) and then the difficulty in moving between gears and neutral is likely an alignment problem. ive taken a picture of whats behind the box and then to the shafts heading back. is the plummer block the one to the right? thats definately had grease in its nipple. far too much. ( my fault ) the excess being ejected slowly. and being wiped up. i'm guessing the part to the right is a clamp i can undo and then remove in order to check how the gears will select in and out. if I miracle of miracles ) it does get easier i guess i am lifting floorboards and looking for bearing blocks to loosen and adjust? thanks again.

hi mate. it got the 750ml that the advice said it should have. its still very difficult to go through forwards to backwards and back again

i thought i would start a new thread about the gearbox following on from the advise and progress in the last thread. i can only apologise for its colour. lol. so. in the morning after the posts of help and advice. i sussed there was an almost full SAE30's 5l tub of oil and brimmed with a confidence thats perhaps proven to be premature. i decided. ide remove both caps. empty out the oil and establish just how much there actually was in there and, having everything i needed. replace what i found with the correct amount....... what i found can only be described as sludge. the small dribble of oil was easily contained and rubbing my finger around the lower hole the thought went through my head thus: thats the friction plates right there, in that sludge........... and so..... Q1 how who and where do we start to look for new friction plates. Q2 how hard is replacing them Q3 going between the gears is still really a two handed job on the levers on the wheels. is it possible somethin inside ( presuming i do get in there ) is bent, deformed or just generally worn out???? picture for additional dramatic effect. and yes. thats all that came out.

i'm reliably told. this particular engine was actually used on a sales display stand and hence its colour. hahahahahahahaha. i mentioned the paint problem i think it set off some tourettes.

OK. just to be sure ive taken a pik of the top and bottom of the gearbox. from the paint on the top. if indeed its the actual fill point. we can all be totally rest assured that this has never been filled. i'll make sure to put half a pint in before we start up tomorrow.

and the end of the day result. both oil wells equally drained and back to normal. the discussion ensues as to whos amount of brasso was the culprit. thnaks again.

This mornings startup procedure included checking the caps for block/brasso/gunge..... whaddya know.......... the one that didnt empty was blocked......... will check she's dripping in an hour........

many thanks for this most comprehensive helpline. i have new pipe cleaners acquired from the bosses crafts box. whilst we are out, i think i can force oil down the holes with the oil can. when we get back i'll look to get new gaskets and take the lids off. also make some of these worsted trimmings. thankyou thankyou thankyou.

many thanks for this info. we'll do a full box oil change when we get back from this eventful trip.

i'm hoping people dont mind me sort of hijacking this thread. but its on the same(ish) subject. recently one of the rocker oilers didnt empty during the day. i took the wick out and fiddled and prodded. rebent it and pushed it into the holes. another day went and it didnt empty. so i took out the other one and carefuly copied the bend. putting them both back in carefully. now. i think its laughing at me. the original not emptying one emptied fine and the copied one now doesnt empty......... is there a "method" to these things? it looks like simple old pipe cleaners bent to form a shape and enable a slow wicking of oil. if someone could point me in a direction to get them both emptying again id be very grateful. thanks in advance.

Hello all. ive trawled through a good number of posts about the J2 gearbox and note that some of the gearboxes have dip sticks. the one i am working on has no such luxury. ive looked all around and want need to check the actual level. i'm pretty certain it hasnt been checked for quite some time. on the top is a lozenge shaped plate with 2 bolts securing. but the cream ( yes cream ) paint is utterly untouched in the areas of the bolts. and it seems a high point. coming down the casting. it seems theres a round brass plate that i would describe is the cover plate for a bearing thats definately for the chain wheel for selecting gear. then lower, on the rear another round brass plate. this does, to me, look like a place to put an inspection plate. perhaps a filling point. it has a bolt and 2 screws holding it in. ive removed those but it seems happy in its place and i didnt want to get too brave in changing its mind until i could be more sure it was the plate. the owner is complaining about gears now being difficult to get/undo. etc. other posts on here i have read all pointing towards the oil... thanks in advance. and thanks for my first post hopefully being approved by admin soon.