AQ130C tune up after sitting 2 years?

Hey all,

I did it! I finally got the boat out of storage and brought it back to the house! Its been over 2 year since i've had it on the water.

I am running twin AQ130C w/ 270 drives.

I spent all day yesterday siphoning about 55 gallons of old fuel out of the tanks (headache!)

Today, i hooked up a plastic fuel tank to the engines, primed them, checked the oil and impellers, charged the batteries, and got both engines running.....ish....

Now, I was hoping you swell fellows might be able to help me out with the overall tune-up procedure here.... after having it out of service so long what would be the proper way to get her water ready again? what would it consist of in your opinion?

1) Should i changed plugs, points, wires, impeller, etc.... or just check them and clean them up? I've never had anything sit so long, and want to spend the money wisely.

2) After a while the port engine started acting fuel starved... It died out and would only fire up if i put fuel in the carb, but after that burned up it would die. Does that seem like a fuel pump issue or a carb issue?

3) after sitting 2 years, would you recommend that i rebuilt all four carbs to be safe? or should i just clean them up and sync them?

4) Should i change the oil in the leg too? I had actually just changed the oil in both legs before putting the boat in storage....is that oil done for after sitting so long?


Any info or insight would be greatly appreciated.

Re: AQ130C tune up after sitting 2 years?

Glad to hear they started up for you. Here's a link to the VP site where you can download the operators manual for the engines: http://www.volvopenta.com/VOLVOPENTA/GLOBAL/EN-GB/MARINE_LEISURE_ENGINES/OUT_OF_PRODUCTION_ENGINES/Pages/out_of_production_engines.aspx

Tuneup items are gong to be subjective and dependant on the condition of the components. If your plug wires were failry new when your put the boat away, they should still be good. Inspect the plugs, points, cap & rotor. If everything is still in good shape, no sense in replacing them. Check dwell and timing of course. Pull the impellers to see if they're deteriorated, cracked, or have taken a set.

Fuel pump or carb problems are quite likely. You'll just need to check out the fuel system. After sitting for several years, clogged passages and varnish could certainly be an issue - especially since you're seeing those signs. I'd check the pump screens and maybe pull and clean the carb jets but a thorough cleaning might be in order as well. You'll also want to double check the tank vent to make sure it's clear and the anti-siphon valve to make sure it's not clogged or rusty. Obviously, an new fuel filter/separator cartridge is in order.

May not be necessary to change the oil in the outdrives but I would definately drain a cup or so from each one to check for water and other contaminants. Check the bellows carefully as well for signs of cracking. If the drives were stored in the up position, I'd be inclined to replace the bellows. If you're going to do that, might as well drain the outdrives and do pressure and vacuum tests as well. Going over all the grease zerks is also a good idea.

Again, it really depends a lot on the shape of things before the boat went into layup, recent maintenance, and how the motors were prepped. And of course, other people may have additional comments or different opinions.

Re: AQ130C tune up after sitting 2 years?

thanks for the reply.

Ill get on it early next week!

Have a fun and safe 4th of July!

Re: AQ130C tune up after sitting 2 years?

so,

I've gotten the engines running pretty smoothly now. I may have to rebuild one set of carbs on the port engine, as it seems like the accelerator pump isnt functioning correctly. But, i am waiting till i get the UniSyn that I ordered in the mail until I purchase the rebuild kit.

The starboard engine is running great!

I adjusted the dwell, changed the points and condensers in both....new plugs, impellers, etc..

ran a compression check and hit 170-175 in all cylinders....

I was going to change the oil today, but ran into a bit of a hiccup...

There are what looks like heavy rubber lines/tubing that are attached to each drain plug in the oil pans. I cant seem to get the oil to flow out.... I removed the oil filter and filler cap, thinking that might relieve the pressure, but no....

Im assuming that the oil is just so thick from sitting so long that it is draining out like molasses...

Is there some sort of trick to getting the oil to come out of those lines?

Should I just get in the bilge and pull the lines off and do it the old fashion way?

Maybe run the engine till its hot so the oil isn't so thick?

another question: can anyone recommend a good way to clean out a gas tank? I pulled it out after siphoning the gas out, but there was buildup on the bottom. I've tried compressed air, a shop vac..... i've gotten it semi-decent, but there is still a bit of crud in there that I can hear moving around when I shake the tank back and forth.

Its a 35 gallon, 2 compartment, metal tank...its not rust thats in it, just white-flake-ish crud...

Has anyone had any experience cleaning these out?

thx for the help guys!

Re: AQ130C tune up after sitting 2 years?

Glad to hear you've got the engines running fairly well. The Uni-syn tool only helps to syncronize the idle so don't expect miracles with the carb accel pump. One thing to look at is the spring inside the accel pump housing. The spring is supposed to be located inside the carb body and not inside the accel pump cover. Some of the rebuild instructions have a sketch with the spring in the wrong position so that's something you might check. That doesn't mean that a good cleaning isn't in order - just something to check.

With the oil drain lines, I've seen some of the kits advertised with a small shutoff valve at the drain plug. Might want to check for that. Otherwise might try an extractor to suck the oil out or maybe need to resort to the old fashioned way like you suggested. It's considered a good practice to warm up the engines before an oil change to get more of the particles, sludge, and contaminants into suspension for removal.

Afraid I,m not much help with the fuel tank cleaning. Maybe someone with more experience will chime in.

Good luck and congrats on getting as far as you have!

Re: AQ130C tune up after sitting 2 years?

hey piratepast, thanks for all the help thus far.

The bellows are all good and crack-free, they were stored in the down position.

I got around to draining the oil in the drives. The port drives oil looked clean, but the starboard drive had some water contamination...

The dipstick on the top of the drive had a broken gasket/seal, and the the hollow screw was missing an o-ring...., and was not even tightened down all the way... coulda swore i checked those before i put her in storage, guess i overlooked it....

I am going to build a pressure tester for the drive using some of the ideas from here on Iboats, but was hoping that you, or anyone else, might have some words of wisdom for me regarding which seal(s) would be the most likely culprit.

and another thing, being that I have 2 drives, shouldnt one of them be a counter rotating drive/prop? while i was in the boat today, i noticed that the hull was at one time, many years ago by the looks of it, a single engine boat, but someone did a transom rebuild and installed a second engine...they did a damn fine job of it, no complaints, but....ya..... whats the reason of having a counter rotating prop? Would it be in my best interests to get another prop?

I know the previous owner very well, and he said he bought it the way it is, and he had this boat all up and down the west coast ocean fishing.....

anyways, thanks again, you guys are awesome!

Re: AQ130C tune up after sitting 2 years?

When you order gaskets or o-rings, buy some extras for the dipstick, oil fill, and drain plugs. As for the oil in the outdrive, you'll just need to keep an eye on it. I went through several cycles of refilling, running, and refilling until the oil in mine came out clean. There's the possibility of bearing and gear damage from water sitting in there so it's something to keep in mind. I'd just keep an eye on the oil and look for babbit material everytime you drain it.

I bought a pressure/vacuum tester from here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Inboard-Outboard-Lower-Unit-Pressure-Leak-Tester-KIT-/270602333705?cmd=ViewItem&pt=Boat_Parts_Accessories_Gear&hash=item3f0127ee09. If you have the parts, you could allways build your own.

Mine had a few leaks at the upper to intermediate junction but I had everything apart and it was just a matter of snugging down the bolts. As to where one might leak - i guess it'll be wherever there's a bad seal

On a twin engine setup, it's not uncommon for the props to be opposite rotation to equalize torque. If yours is doing fine performance and handling wise, you might want to leave it alone. The flip side is that it's simple to change rotation on those drives and aluminum props are relatively cheap right now at the iboats store.

It's also a good idea to put some grease in the grease cups on top of the flywheel cover. I'd do it several times. That greases the Primary DriveShaft (PDS) bearings and can get overlooked. Some recommend greasing that bearing while the engine is running at idle to make sure the grease gets into the bearing cage. I don't know about that part but do know that if that bearing dries out and seizes, it'll get real expensive real quick!

Re: AQ130C tune up after sitting 2 years?

hey pirate past, could u please elaborate on the grease for the grease cups above the flywheel?

what type of grease and what exactly am i doing with it?

Re: AQ130C tune up after sitting 2 years?

On the diagram, it's part #69 and it looks a little like an upside down thimble: http://www.volvopentastore.com/Connecting-Components-Aq-Drive-Unit-280/dm/*******.712403774--**********.484892796--store_id.366--view_id.317171. It's located on the centerline and on the flywheelcover at the rear of the engine. It's a small cup that screwd onto a fitting. You fill the little thimble sized cup with grease and then screw it all the way onto the fitting to force grease down a passsageway to the driveshaft bearing (#63 on the diagram). Once you find it and unscrew it, it'll make sense but it's a pretty odd arrangement (at least, I think so)! You might want to clean out any old and hardened grease in there before sending it down to the bearing.

Some have had success with replacing the fitting and grease cup with a grease zerk but I think it's a little tough getting to it with the engines in the boat.

Any good grease will be fine. It's allways best to try to match grease types but most of the grease gun cartridges that we buy at an auto parts store contain compatible greases. The owners manual says to use waterproof grease but realistically, all greases are waterproof, and if water gets into that bearing, I don't think that the type of grease in there is going to make much difference!