The All New, New "What have you done to your Bay today" thread.

https://www.ibhs.co.uk/gland-packing-extractor-no-4.html These are the tools we used to use for pulling old packing out of industrial pumps before they went to mechanical seals. Work really well but you have to make sure you get the right size as it won't fit down the stuffing box

 

That takes me back, I haven't used one of those for 50 years.

 

Great tool if your constipated

 

Luckily, although I have some problems, that's not one of them.

 

I'm now scratching my head for the reason the installer mounted the stuffing box with the adjusters above/below the prop shaft rather than horizontally. Maybe he had a sense of humour that I'm lacking. Two choices and picked the one to make maintenance extra difficult. Funny really as you assume same fellow also had to set it up as part of the fitting process. Probably had a Doh! moment but CBA to put it right. I feel like unbolting and spinning the whole unit round but it's the water side of the stuffing and grease so it'll have to wait and I'll have to reach further and work blind. Thanks a million pal.

 

Not today but Monday inadvertently took her over the Skank on the way from Durham to stay at a friends in Swaledale. When I told her the way I'd come she went "in that!" The view from the top was what the bay window was designed for!

 

Beautiful road

 

That means it's harder to visually check you're pulling the gland follower up evenly plus any leaks will obviously corrode the bottom stud too It's amazing how we take common sense for granted

 

Greasy M10 brass studs so that's ok but yes, you get the point. I guessed right and it was impossible to swing a spanner on the bottom one which can only be approached from underneath with an open ended spanner. If I hang head first into the chasm I can reach just far enough to get the spanner on holding it by the jaw end but no chance loosening it. That's after smashing out a step front to gain another 6". I now have bruised ribs from hanging over the end of the ply floor. So I went to Halfords, bought a set of crows feet and I'm contemplating my next move while continuing to curse the unknown arze that probably did this deliberately to spite another penny pinching arze marina owner (Marina known locally as Hitler's Wharf) who commissioned the boat purely for profit. I'm the mug picking up the pieces and working all this out getting on for 20 years later. Luckily there are also a lot of good things about the boat too.

 

New tail pipe gasket…..

 

Haha sounds like fun then I only got introduced to canal narrowboats recently when I sort of volunteered to help an old bloke at work when his engine started knocking. One 1.5 bmc diesel removed later and a snapped crank was discovered. All rebuilt during lunchtimes at work and back in working again now. So I totally understand the challenging work spaces on these things

 

Got it done, or rather someone took pity on me and did it for me though I did tighten the lock nuts.
Runs free by hand, no leaks forward or reverse, greaser feels right.
I'm happy with the way it went and no longer planning to replace the stuffing, but we'll see what happens when I run it in gear all day at some point.
Welder coming for a look at something else I want doing later today, it's all go. I like the idea of somebody else doing the 8ft x 5mm cutting and welding, I'll make the tea.

 

But I can barely breathe today, sharp pain like when I cracked a rib. I've worked out that wile I thought I was lying between 2 of the nylon blocks you might hold your kitchen together with I must have shuffled onto one to get a better angle then yanked on the spanner. Must be getting old to be hobbled so easily.

 

Giving it some beans on the way to work. Hit an adverse camber on the outside of a fast turn coming off a roundabout and the oil light flickered on despite the oil level still reading 1/4 of the way between bottom and top mark when I checked just now. Topped the oil up.

Immediately after the light flickered it went back to the usual 22 psi at idle 44 at speed so it must have just been air being picked up as I chucked it about.

 

'Tis that flat sump. There's a roundabout in Eastcliff which for some reason they angled at about 10* to horizontal. If I zoom round it in the van, the oil light flickers. Nearly passed water the first time it happened. Order was restored when the oil pump stopped sucking air.

 

I remember Minis used to have the same issue once you put wider wheels and sticky tyres on them as the oil pick up was on one side. But obviously the tuning company's 'made' you buy the centre pick up pipe to fix the oil starvation. Was a pain to fit as obviously the gearbox was under the engine on these so it was a full engine/gearbox removal job. It's amazing when you were younger, you just did these jobs where nowadays you spend weeks researching the Web and building up the courage

 

Just Been out across the Mendip hills, for part II of my 500 mile run in. The further I go, the sweeter it’s sounding. Mixture seems a bit wrong still, and my timing may be out a bit. Goes well, pulls fine, but a bit Smokey and poppy on de acceleration. Mixture maybe?

 

Smoking.. grey or black?

Its perhaps lean on idle and rich on main jets.

In your "what's this knocking" video it did seem maybe a little sluggish to accelerate off idle.. sometimes tweaking the mixture screw a fraction open makes it pick up a bit better, might reduce popping but then again popping can still be a exhaust gasket not doing its job because it was run with it loose for a while.

I often find black marks appearing round the joints providing a clue and then the presence of soot means it doesn't ever quite seal up until you take the exhaust off , clean and put it back properly, maybe with smears of exhaust paste..

 

Ewwww.

Let the grinding/finger sanding commence...