Has anyone replaced the starter on there cd36 4-108? It's very difficult to get to. Any tricks? It looks to me like I may have to pull the engine. Thanks in advance.
Bob
rcouplan@msn.com
cd36 starter replacement
Moderator: Jim Walsh
-
Matt Cawthorne
Re: cd36 starter replacement - just finished the job
Bob,
My sympathies go out to you. I posted a message a while back and got some messages and e-mails that would indicate that the job would not be too tough. What I found is that the engines may not have been mounted in an identical fashion in all CD-36's. Before you plunge into replacing the starter check all electrical connections. The ground strap to the engine, the starter switch, the harness connector, the connections on the starter itself and of course the battery connections. In my case the clean connections only allowed me to use the starter for an extra few months, but you may be more lucky.
In my case, the starter is held on by three bolt and nut pairs. The top two can be disconnected without too much pain. The bottom pair was the killer. In the Patricia Louise the engine is mounted so low that the starter is almost touching the hull. Access to the bolt head could only be obtained by disconnecting the propeller shaft and raising the engine on the motor mounts. Even then the bolt head could only be accessed with an open end wrench held end-on to the bolt. If I had to do it again I might buy 3 or 5 box end wrenches of that size (5/8 I think) and use a torch and heat them and bend to various angles and try to access them from the front of the engine, although I am not positive that it would be humanly possible to reach where you would need to reach. If you try this route try and find a local shop with a perkins 4.108 with the same starter as yours so you can see the starter installation out of the boat. There is more than one type of starter. Ask the shop if you can go back and check the wrenches that you bend to see what will work best.
No matter which route you take here are a few suggestions.
1. Remove the oil filter before you start. It will save lots of time.
2. If you have to mess with motor mounts be sure and count the number of turns that you move the nuts. It will save much time in getting the initial starting point for re-aligning the engine.
3. Be sure to rig a hoist to the starter motor before you remove the last bolts. I didn't and seriously misjudged the weight of the motor with respect to the strength of my arm. The starter slipped out of my hand and under the engine. It took us about an hour to get it back. Maybee more.
4. You may have to remove the coolant hoses to get the starter out (depending on the type of heat exchanger that you have)
5. Have at least 2 long extensions, and a couple of different length extensions as well as a universal joint for your socket wrench set. We used three extensions, then a universal joint, then another extension to get at the easy end of the lower bolt.
6. Have someone to help turn the wrench on the front while you hold the bolts on the back.
In my fumbling, the job took about 6 hours to get the starter out (not including one last stab at cleaning the electrical connections), and about 8 to get it back in including replacing some of the hoses, cleaning some corrosion, re-aligning the engine, replacing the oil filter and burping the coolant system. The engine alignment was the biggest problem, but the engine installation on my boat is really at the limits of it's travel.
Good luck.
Matt
Mcawthor@bellatlantic.net
My sympathies go out to you. I posted a message a while back and got some messages and e-mails that would indicate that the job would not be too tough. What I found is that the engines may not have been mounted in an identical fashion in all CD-36's. Before you plunge into replacing the starter check all electrical connections. The ground strap to the engine, the starter switch, the harness connector, the connections on the starter itself and of course the battery connections. In my case the clean connections only allowed me to use the starter for an extra few months, but you may be more lucky.
In my case, the starter is held on by three bolt and nut pairs. The top two can be disconnected without too much pain. The bottom pair was the killer. In the Patricia Louise the engine is mounted so low that the starter is almost touching the hull. Access to the bolt head could only be obtained by disconnecting the propeller shaft and raising the engine on the motor mounts. Even then the bolt head could only be accessed with an open end wrench held end-on to the bolt. If I had to do it again I might buy 3 or 5 box end wrenches of that size (5/8 I think) and use a torch and heat them and bend to various angles and try to access them from the front of the engine, although I am not positive that it would be humanly possible to reach where you would need to reach. If you try this route try and find a local shop with a perkins 4.108 with the same starter as yours so you can see the starter installation out of the boat. There is more than one type of starter. Ask the shop if you can go back and check the wrenches that you bend to see what will work best.
No matter which route you take here are a few suggestions.
1. Remove the oil filter before you start. It will save lots of time.
2. If you have to mess with motor mounts be sure and count the number of turns that you move the nuts. It will save much time in getting the initial starting point for re-aligning the engine.
3. Be sure to rig a hoist to the starter motor before you remove the last bolts. I didn't and seriously misjudged the weight of the motor with respect to the strength of my arm. The starter slipped out of my hand and under the engine. It took us about an hour to get it back. Maybee more.
4. You may have to remove the coolant hoses to get the starter out (depending on the type of heat exchanger that you have)
5. Have at least 2 long extensions, and a couple of different length extensions as well as a universal joint for your socket wrench set. We used three extensions, then a universal joint, then another extension to get at the easy end of the lower bolt.
6. Have someone to help turn the wrench on the front while you hold the bolts on the back.
In my fumbling, the job took about 6 hours to get the starter out (not including one last stab at cleaning the electrical connections), and about 8 to get it back in including replacing some of the hoses, cleaning some corrosion, re-aligning the engine, replacing the oil filter and burping the coolant system. The engine alignment was the biggest problem, but the engine installation on my boat is really at the limits of it's travel.
Good luck.
Matt
Bob Coupland wrote: Has anyone replaced the starter on there cd36 4-108? It's very difficult to get to. Any tricks? It looks to me like I may have to pull the engine. Thanks in advance.
Bob
Mcawthor@bellatlantic.net
-
Bob Coupland
Re: cd36 starter replacement - just finished the job
Matt,
Thanks for the information. I think Im going to call the shop for an estimate on this job. I've already gone through the connections. But it still occasionally refuses to engage. Not much fun when you really need to start the engine.
Bob
rcouplan@bechtel.com
Thanks for the information. I think Im going to call the shop for an estimate on this job. I've already gone through the connections. But it still occasionally refuses to engage. Not much fun when you really need to start the engine.
Bob
rcouplan@bechtel.com