Thomas Wentworth wrote:
A friend has offered me his old Pearson sailboat. It is in good shape.
But, it needs a new engine. It has the original Atomic 4 gas.

What diesel engine would be the best replacement? How much do the diesels
cost? How much work is it the replace an old Atomic 4 in a 1968 year
sailboat? When replacing the engine, does the shaft, fuel tank etc also get
replaced?

Any other info???


Thanks,,, Tom


People who have actually done the replacements generally report expenses
of 10-15 thousand dollars. Non of the engines on the market just "drop
in" as they would like you to believe.

On the other hand, a rebuilt as good as new Atomic 4 engine, which has
served the boat well already for some 30 odd years, can usually be had
for just under 5K, and they are usually quieter than diesels to begin with.

Look at www.moyermarine.com, or the list servers at SailNet.com or
Sailjazz.com (there was a very active A-4 owners group, but where it
settled *exactly* I haven't yet focused on).

Simply running some solvents through the cooling system and installing
an electronic ignition, both of which can be done for less than $150.00
can make the engine run like new.

Check it out before you burn a lot of money unnecessarily.

Jonathan

--
I am building my daughter an Argie 10 sailing dinghy, check it out:
http://home.comcast.net/~jonsailr

On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 14:29:02 -0500, "Jonathan W."
wrote:


On the other hand, a rebuilt as good as new Atomic 4 engine, which has
served the boat well already for some 30 odd years, can usually be had
for just under 5K, and they are usually quieter than diesels to begin with.

I had my '73 Atomic 4 block rebuilt for $1,200 by auto rebuilders. I
reassembled the engine myself with new gaskets ($100) and got a
mechanic to test it, paint it and help me install it. That was $900.

I spent another $600 for a new tank, hoses, exhaust, Vetus water lock
(got for free in mint condition) and AquaPro fuel/water separator,
various clamps and ballcocks.

I put it in the boat August 1 and had over 100 hours on it by haul-out
Oct. 22. Ran like a champ. I picked up a second A4 and rebuilt the
block and it's in "cold storage" for immediate drop-in (which is about
a six-hour job to cycle out the engines and transfer various bits).

It's cheap insurance when your season is May 1-Oct 22. And with a
32-year-old boat worth at best $25K, putting $10K or better of new
diesel into it, plus the mods I'd need to do to the shaft log, fuel
system, etc.,would be foolhardy. I can buy/install about four Atomic
4s for every diesel, and as I've picked up a whack of spares for
trade, barter and sale, I have a nice little sideline.

Do what you will, but it's better than 50% that A4 can be revived,
refreshed and rebuilt to drive the Pearson for another couple of
decades.

R.

"rhys" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 14:29:02 -0500, "Jonathan W."
wrote:


On the other hand, a rebuilt as good as new Atomic 4 engine, which has
served the boat well already for some 30 odd years, can usually be had
for just under 5K, and they are usually quieter than diesels to begin
with.

I had my '73 Atomic 4 block rebuilt for $1,200 by auto rebuilders. I
reassembled the engine myself with new gaskets ($100) and got a
mechanic to test it, paint it and help me install it. That was $900.

I spent another $600 for a new tank, hoses, exhaust, Vetus water lock
(got for free in mint condition) and AquaPro fuel/water separator,
various clamps and ballcocks.

I put it in the boat August 1 and had over 100 hours on it by haul-out
Oct. 22. Ran like a champ. I picked up a second A4 and rebuilt the
block and it's in "cold storage" for immediate drop-in (which is about
a six-hour job to cycle out the engines and transfer various bits).

It's cheap insurance when your season is May 1-Oct 22. And with a
32-year-old boat worth at best $25K, putting $10K or better of new
diesel into it, plus the mods I'd need to do to the shaft log, fuel
system, etc.,would be foolhardy. I can buy/install about four Atomic
4s for every diesel, and as I've picked up a whack of spares for
trade, barter and sale, I have a nice little sideline.

Do what you will, but it's better than 50% that A4 can be revived,
refreshed and rebuilt to drive the Pearson for another couple of
decades.

R.

=========================================

I had a call back from a Westerbeke engine rep.. He said the replacement
engine for the Atomic 4 was $7100.

It weighs around 275 lbs. It goes on the same mounts as the AT 4.

There might be some other work ... fuel tank, etc.

I am learning soooo much.

In early Pearsons, the A4 installations were raw water cooled, so that in
salt water the engines were toast after 15 years or so. A good fresh-water
A4 might be a good replacement. In any case, the original Pearson work on
tanks, exhausts and engine beds was awful and should be re-engineered.
I owned such a boat and re-powered with a Westerbeke. It was somewhat
bulkier than the A4 and we therefore lost some space in the galley. I never
regretted the investment.
"Thomas Wentworth" wrote in message
news:%tAqf.1851$kb1.1844@trndny09...

"rhys" wrote in message
...
On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 14:29:02 -0500, "Jonathan W."
wrote:


On the other hand, a rebuilt as good as new Atomic 4 engine, which has
served the boat well already for some 30 odd years, can usually be had
for just under 5K, and they are usually quieter than diesels to begin
with.

I had my '73 Atomic 4 block rebuilt for $1,200 by auto rebuilders. I
reassembled the engine myself with new gaskets ($100) and got a
mechanic to test it, paint it and help me install it. That was $900.

I spent another $600 for a new tank, hoses, exhaust, Vetus water lock
(got for free in mint condition) and AquaPro fuel/water separator,
various clamps and ballcocks.

I put it in the boat August 1 and had over 100 hours on it by haul-out
Oct. 22. Ran like a champ. I picked up a second A4 and rebuilt the
block and it's in "cold storage" for immediate drop-in (which is about
a six-hour job to cycle out the engines and transfer various bits).

It's cheap insurance when your season is May 1-Oct 22. And with a
32-year-old boat worth at best $25K, putting $10K or better of new
diesel into it, plus the mods I'd need to do to the shaft log, fuel
system, etc.,would be foolhardy. I can buy/install about four Atomic
4s for every diesel, and as I've picked up a whack of spares for
trade, barter and sale, I have a nice little sideline.

Do what you will, but it's better than 50% that A4 can be revived,
refreshed and rebuilt to drive the Pearson for another couple of
decades.

R.

=========================================

I had a call back from a Westerbeke engine rep.. He said the replacement
engine for the Atomic 4 was $7100.

It weighs around 275 lbs. It goes on the same mounts as the AT 4.

There might be some other work ... fuel tank, etc.

I am learning soooo much.

Jim Conlin wrote:
In early Pearsons, the A4 installations were raw water cooled, so that in
salt water the engines were toast after 15 years or so. A good fresh-water
A4 might be a good replacement. In any case, the original Pearson work on
tanks, exhausts and engine beds was awful and should be re-engineered.
I owned such a boat and re-powered with a Westerbeke. It was somewhat
bulkier than the A4 and we therefore lost some space in the galley. I never
regretted the investment.
"Thomas Wentworth" wrote in message
news:%tAqf.1851$kb1.1844@trndny09...

"rhys" wrote in message
. ..

On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 14:29:02 -0500, "Jonathan W."
wrote:


On the other hand, a rebuilt as good as new Atomic 4 engine, which has
served the boat well already for some 30 odd years, can usually be had
for just under 5K, and they are usually quieter than diesels to begin
with.

I had my '73 Atomic 4 block rebuilt for $1,200 by auto rebuilders. I
reassembled the engine myself with new gaskets ($100) and got a
mechanic to test it, paint it and help me install it. That was $900.

I spent another $600 for a new tank, hoses, exhaust, Vetus water lock
(got for free in mint condition) and AquaPro fuel/water separator,
various clamps and ballcocks.

I put it in the boat August 1 and had over 100 hours on it by haul-out
Oct. 22. Ran like a champ. I picked up a second A4 and rebuilt the
block and it's in "cold storage" for immediate drop-in (which is about
a six-hour job to cycle out the engines and transfer various bits).

It's cheap insurance when your season is May 1-Oct 22. And with a
32-year-old boat worth at best $25K, putting $10K or better of new
diesel into it, plus the mods I'd need to do to the shaft log, fuel
system, etc.,would be foolhardy. I can buy/install about four Atomic
4s for every diesel, and as I've picked up a whack of spares for
trade, barter and sale, I have a nice little sideline.

Do what you will, but it's better than 50% that A4 can be revived,
refreshed and rebuilt to drive the Pearson for another couple of
decades.

R.


=========================================

I had a call back from a Westerbeke engine rep.. He said the replacement
engine for the Atomic 4 was $7100.

It weighs around 275 lbs. It goes on the same mounts as the AT 4.

There might be some other work ... fuel tank, etc.

I am learning soooo much.






Which Westerbeke model please ?

Thanks,
Courtney

Thomas Wentworth wrote:
"rhys" wrote in message
...

On Tue, 20 Dec 2005 14:29:02 -0500, "Jonathan W."
wrote:


On the other hand, a rebuilt as good as new Atomic 4 engine, which has
served the boat well already for some 30 odd years, can usually be had
for just under 5K, and they are usually quieter than diesels to begin
with.

I had my '73 Atomic 4 block rebuilt for $1,200 by auto rebuilders. I
reassembled the engine myself with new gaskets ($100) and got a
mechanic to test it, paint it and help me install it. That was $900.

I spent another $600 for a new tank, hoses, exhaust, Vetus water lock
(got for free in mint condition) and AquaPro fuel/water separator,
various clamps and ballcocks.

I put it in the boat August 1 and had over 100 hours on it by haul-out
Oct. 22. Ran like a champ. I picked up a second A4 and rebuilt the
block and it's in "cold storage" for immediate drop-in (which is about
a six-hour job to cycle out the engines and transfer various bits).

It's cheap insurance when your season is May 1-Oct 22. And with a
32-year-old boat worth at best $25K, putting $10K or better of new
diesel into it, plus the mods I'd need to do to the shaft log, fuel
system, etc.,would be foolhardy. I can buy/install about four Atomic
4s for every diesel, and as I've picked up a whack of spares for
trade, barter and sale, I have a nice little sideline.

Do what you will, but it's better than 50% that A4 can be revived,
refreshed and rebuilt to drive the Pearson for another couple of
decades.

R.


=========================================

I had a call back from a Westerbeke engine rep.. He said the replacement
engine for the Atomic 4 was $7100.

It weighs around 275 lbs. It goes on the same mounts as the AT 4.

There might be some other work ... fuel tank, etc.

I am learning soooo much.



To which Westerbeke model did he refer, please ?

Thank you,
Courtney

Jonathan W. wrote:
Thomas Wentworth wrote:

A friend has offered me his old Pearson sailboat. It is in good
shape. But, it needs a new engine. It has the original Atomic 4 gas.

What diesel engine would be the best replacement? How much do the
diesels cost? How much work is it the replace an old Atomic 4 in a
1968 year sailboat? When replacing the engine, does the shaft, fuel
tank etc also get replaced?

Any other info???


Thanks,,, Tom

People who have actually done the replacements generally report expenses
of 10-15 thousand dollars. Non of the engines on the market just "drop
in" as they would like you to believe.

On the other hand, a rebuilt as good as new Atomic 4 engine, which has
served the boat well already for some 30 odd years, can usually be had
for just under 5K, and they are usually quieter than diesels to begin with.

Look at www.moyermarine.com, or the list servers at SailNet.com or
Sailjazz.com (there was a very active A-4 owners group, but where it
settled *exactly* I haven't yet focused on).

Simply running some solvents through the cooling system and installing
an electronic ignition, both of which can be done for less than $150.00
can make the engine run like new.

Check it out before you burn a lot of money unnecessarily.

Jonathan

What solvents are best for this and how should this procedure be carried
out ?

Is better cooling the sole consequence ?

Thank you,
Courtney

Courtney Thomas wrote:

Jonathan W. wrote:

Thomas Wentworth wrote:

A friend has offered me his old Pearson sailboat. It is in good
shape. But, it needs a new engine. It has the original Atomic 4 gas.

What diesel engine would be the best replacement? How much do the
diesels cost? How much work is it the replace an old Atomic 4 in a
1968 year sailboat? When replacing the engine, does the shaft, fuel
tank etc also get replaced?

Any other info???


Thanks,,, Tom

People who have actually done the replacements generally report
expenses of 10-15 thousand dollars. Non of the engines on the market
just "drop in" as they would like you to believe.

On the other hand, a rebuilt as good as new Atomic 4 engine, which has
served the boat well already for some 30 odd years, can usually be had
for just under 5K, and they are usually quieter than diesels to begin
with.

Look at www.moyermarine.com, or the list servers at SailNet.com or
Sailjazz.com (there was a very active A-4 owners group, but where it
settled *exactly* I haven't yet focused on).

Simply running some solvents through the cooling system and installing
an electronic ignition, both of which can be done for less than
$150.00 can make the engine run like new.

Check it out before you burn a lot of money unnecessarily.

Jonathan

What solvents are best for this and how should this procedure be carried
out ?

Is better cooling the sole consequence ?

Thank you,
Courtney

There is a product called, I believe, "MarSolve" which is made
specifically for this purpose (cleaning out blocks/water jackets). I
have also read of people using vinegar, oxalic acid or muriatic acid. On
an engine older than the A-4 I had pretty good luck with a product
called "Drainz" a high concentration of sulfuric acid.

When I have done this I have done it with the boat out of the water.
I've connected a hose to the output of the manifold and run it outside
the boat. A second hose is attached so that I can clamp a funnel into
it, at a height slightly above the engine. I've filled the engine with
the acid mixture, let it sit a while (20-30 min) then flushed a lot of
water through it.

I went from an engine that would not cool enough to run more than about
5 minutes, to being able to run as long as I cared to have it running.

YMMV

Hope this helps,

Jonathan

--
I am building my daughter an Argie 10 sailing dinghy, check it out:
http://home.comcast.net/~jonsailr