Help with Pulling engine in a 2001 23V

[SONIC]

So long story short the PO's of my boat are morons and I want to go through the engine to check everything out, rewire everything, check clearances etc etc. All of that is old hat.

But I've never pulled a V-Drive engine before and need a little help here.

From what I've read on the subject I should pull it all as one unit, which would be great because it makes it easier, but looking at it a bit I can't wrap my head around how that's going to work, the length of it seems a problem.

Has anyone done this in a 23V before and any tips?
I'll be using a forklift to pull it.

Thanks ahead of time!

[KoolAid]

Not sure if I can explain it well enough. You will put a strap on the pulley side of the engine (should be a lifting eye there, if not strap under both of the manifolds) and a strap at the vdrive. Lift and swing the engine towards the transom an rotate so the engine begins to set horizontal to the boat. Pull the strap off the v drive so you can move the strap into the hatch area where the vdrive should now be sitting. Rotate it a little more to line it up completely horizontal, then lift out of the engine bay/ hatch area. Much easier with two hoists.

[UNSTUCK]

There is a ton to things to "go through" without removing the engine. Unless you can hear a knock in the rotating assembly I'd leave it alone. Or at least get an oil analysis first. If there are bearing issues you will see it in the OA. If it comes back clean then just do the normal compression, leak down, etc. test with the motor still in the boat. No need to pull it to run wires. If it ain't broke, don't fix it!

[SONIC]

I know it can all be done in boat, but frankly I'm tired of working in the rear bays, it's killing my back.
To add to the saga the engine apparently isn't original so now I'm even more inclined to pull it, inspect, replace gaskets, check compression etc etc.
I don't plan to pull it all the way down, just general cleanup and replace leaky gaskets etc.
Found out yesterday that the inside of the boat is grey. The entire engine compartment was black. Completely coated in oil.

I'm not a big proponent of "if it ain't broke don't fix it" I prefer "if it looks/feels like it's about to break fix it now so you're not stranded"

We got stranded on the lake this weekend when the impeller stopped feeding raw water from belt slippage. Turns out the PO routed all the belts wrong with the wrong length belts. That was the last straw.

[boatwakes]

Easy peasy. Two options:
1) unbolt the bell housing from the engine block and move the engine aft about 2" until it releases from the input shaft of the transmission. Rotate accordingly to clear transom engine cover and lift out. If you choose this option be sure to remove the lower flywheel cover on the bell housing so the flywheel doesn't hang up there. It's usually held in with 7/16" head 1/4X20 bolts but if the motor's already been replaced they probably didn't put it back in place.
2) unbolt the propshaft and pull the whole engine and trans like you were talking about. EVERY BOAT IS DIFFERENT and clearances on one do not beget the same on another of the same model. Measure and be sure before you attempt to remove from an engine bay.

Things to look out for:
- flat tappet camshafts!!!!!!!!!!! Make sure your camshaft is roller and set up to make the horsepower for the EFI system of that engine. I cannot tell you how many times i've run into replacement long blocks that used flat tappet cams in a roller cam application EFI setup. Very common mistake with the shade tree mechanic on a budget.
- oooops, I forgot to use RTV on the crank damper bolt. Self explanatory.

Send me a PM if you need

[SONIC]

Easy peasy. Two options:
1) unbolt the bell housing from the engine block and move the engine aft about 2" until it releases from the input shaft of the transmission. Rotate accordingly to clear transom engine cover and lift out. If you choose this option be sure to remove the lower flywheel cover on the bell housing so the flywheel doesn't hang up there. It's usually held in with 7/16" head 1/4X20 bolts but if the motor's already been replaced they probably didn't put it back in place.
2) unbolt the propshaft and pull the whole engine and trans like you were talking about. EVERY BOAT IS DIFFERENT and clearances on one do not beget the same on another of the same model. Measure and be sure before you attempt to remove from an engine bay.

Things to look out for:
- flat tappet camshafts!!!!!!!!!!! Make sure your camshaft is roller and set up to make the horsepower for the EFI system of that engine. I cannot tell you how many times i've run into replacement long blocks that used flat tappet cams in a roller cam application EFI setup. Very common mistake with the shade tree mechanic on a budget.
- oooops, I forgot to use RTV on the crank damper bolt. Self explanatory.

Send me a PM if you need

Thanks for the tips!
I'll definitely have a look at the cam.
Oddly enough the engine in it is not even EFI. It's got a holley Carb on it. Starts up quicker and smoother than any carbed engine I've ever messed with though so that's a plus.

If it were you would you pull it as a unit or engine first?
Justin from Tige (KoolAid) said they put them in as one unit so it stands to reason it can come out that way.

[freeheel4life]

One of these guys can be really handy.
http://m.autozone.com/engine-and-veh...170919144256:s
Will usually adjust the all thread to one side then adjust chains to pick it level. Then when you start coming out you can put a bunch of angle on it if need be. Surprisingly of you remove everything in the rear locker area they usually come out quite easy with a little twisting and turning as you walk them out.
Good luck. I doubt you have a dripless packing, but if you do don't forget to pull the water line off it. Depending condition of your shaft seal it may be worth servicing while you have the engine out.
Due to the number of velvet drive transmissions we have serviced due to slipping I would split that trans and do new clutch friction and wear plates since you are going this far and obviously mechanically inclined. There are plenty out there that never start slipping but we seem to do a couple a year. Already have one lined up for this winter for slipping and one for an output shaft seal.

[SONIC]

Thanks! The help is greatly appreciated. If all works out today I think I'll be pulling it this afternoon. I'll take some photos for future reference to share.

[SONIC]

Well that was easy.
Hardest part was sticking my damn hands in the tight spaces to get the nuts off!
Total job took about 2 hours due mostly to corroded and stuck fasteners.
Took a minute to figure out that the forklift needed to come in from the side not the back.
Basically lifted up a bit, then backed the forklift up while turning the engine.
Lifted right out.

[freeheel4life]

Nice work. The whole space confinement is the biggest PITA. Now for the fun part. Hard to tell from the pic but looks like P.O. also swapped some other parts. Don't believe that is the stock water pump, at least I've never encountered a red one. Perfect time to do that bent strut as well. Steering cable as well if it's stiff at all....ita always nice to tick off some of the big items while the bilge is empty. To me the amount of time you save yourself now is worth the cost of parts...

[SONIC]

Agreed. The whole motor is not stock so I'm in for some investigating for sure.
Strut is up next. What's funny is u spent several hours a week or so ago doing the steering cable! Would have been faster to pull the motor to do it lol

[freeheel4life]

Lol, people get shocked when we quote 4 hours for a cable. Sometimes it's less depending on boat, sometimes it's more. I like to start at 4 tho just to be sure for a quote. Had a customer balk and say he was going to do it himself. Brought it back and said he'd been working for a whole weekend to get it out...he was trying to cut it with a pair of harbor freight bolt cutters. Needless to say got him taken care of. Glad you are rolling up your sleeves and gettings after it. Lots of help around here. Keep us posted.

[SONIC]

Yep, Some PO decided to "redo" the floor. They put composite decking over the original plywood floor which looks fine, but um, you can't pull it up to get to the tank or the cable. So It took quite a few hours to fish the cable over the tank and a lot of cursing and bruises.

[KoolAid]

At least the PO kept the blue walter (synchrotech) V-drive :-)

[SONIC]

At least the PO kept the blue walter (synchrotech) V-drive :-)

Yep, and even filled it with nasty pink milky water-oil for me! haha