It keeps on going…an update on our Atomic Four Engine

By Mike Jastrzebski

Like the Energizer Bunny our Atomic four engine at times seems unstoppable. I can’t count the number of times I’ve wanted to give up on this engine, but even though I hate working on engines, every time a problem pops up I’ve been able to fix it. Hopefully that includes the overheating problem that’s been plaguing us this past year.

Even while we were in the Bahamas this past spring and the engine was overheating, it ran well enough for us to motor to and from our anchorages giving me 1 1/2 – 2 hours running time before I had to shut it down.

I spent the last week or so working on the old A-4 and when I started it for a test run a few days ago it ran for four hours without overheating. Now it’s true that this was not under power, but while in the Abacos the longest I could run it at anchor was 2 hours, so the 4 hour run is good news. The next step will be taking it out to the Intracoastal Waterway for a test run, but first I have to get someone out here to clean the prop. So what did I do?

This past year before we headed to the Bahamas I changed the impellers on both water pumps, cleaned and tested the thermostat, and cleaned the heat exchanger. I thought I had the problem under control but part way to the Abacos the motor started overheating again.

This time I did a high pressure flush of the engine and the manifold and replaced the 140 degree thermostat with a 160 degree thermostat. This involved buying an adapter kit and adding a check valve to the bypass loop. I hope that when I go for my test run the overheating problem will be taken care of and we can head over to the Exumas, the trip we had wanted to make last year.

I’ll keep you posted on the test run and our time schedule, and if you’re out there and happen to spot Rough Draft, our 36 foot Islander, please dinghy on over and say hi.

 

 

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