Vetus engine mount

[Hawkmoth]

Hi all,

The other day, to my horror I discovered that 2 of my engine mounting nuts had undone. One had fallen onto the engine bearer and I recovered and reattached it. The second has disappeared, probably under the engine where I can't get at it.

I think that the nuts are 16mm fine pitch ie 1.5mm.

Is this any sort of standard for engine mountings so that I could get one at any decent repair yard? Or is is this something peculiar to Vetus? BTW it's a 42HP M4.17 engine.

If I can find a fastener stockist would there be any advantage in using nyloc or aerotight nuts?

Cheers in advance,

Bob

edited for size

Edited September 4, 2013 by lyraboat

[kevinl]

Get a magnet and go bilge fishing, or a small child if you can afford even a nut for a Vetus you're a very rich man Seriously suggestion get in touch with Rodley http://rodleyboatcentre.com/vetus_catalogue.html they'll look in the parts manual and have one somewhere, might take them a minute to fine it though. No connection with them other than as a satisified customer.

[adrianh]

This is a industry standard thread for air and hydraulic actuators etc.

You should be able to purchase from your local fastener supplier, find them on ebay or try a motorcyle/bycycle repair shop.

Yes, it is always better to use a nyloc nut on anything subject to vbration.

 

If your existing nuts are stainless steel they are probably non magnetic

[Hawkmoth]

Thanks all for the answers. They have confirmed my thoughts on it. I'm looking up fastener supplies at the mo.

RD, fishing with a magnet isn't really a runner. Access very difficult, and an all steel environment makes it fairly impossible.

Bob

[Hawkmoth]

Hurrah, the problem is sorted. Thanks to Toolmaster in Oxford. After ringing around several boatyards and fastener suppliers, these people came up trumps.

I did replace the missing item with a nyloc.

Bob

[Guest]

My Vetus mounts used to come undone, and I too replaced them with nylocks. I always clobber the mounts with a big spanner when in the engine hole just to check for cracks/loose nuts.

[Hawkmoth]

My Vetus mounts used to come undone, and I too replaced them with nylocks. I always clobber the mounts with a big spanner when in the engine hole just to check for cracks/loose nuts.

So do I now!

Bob

[trackman]

Is there a nut below the foot of each mount, so that the height can be adjusted? There often is, though I don't know about your type.

If there is, there may be a risk that these nuts have moved. The common arrangement effectively relies upon the top nut being tight enough to prevent the bottom one moving.

If the lower nuts do move it throws out the engine/gearbox alignment relative to the propshaft. This will cause problems unless you have a full universal joint (Python drive, Aquadrive etc) in your drive system.

Keep an eye open for this issue if it's relevant. One symptom might be the prop shaft being stiff to turn by hand when out of gear. Another might be problems with leaks from the stern gland, both being due to the shaft being forced off centre in the stern bearing.

Forgive me if you were already aware of this issue, just wanting to be sure you are.

[windy miller]

I also have a boat called Lyra, it's got a Vetus engine and the rear right-hand bottom nut works loose on a regular basis.

 

Could we be related?