Yes we're onto May. I'll probably mark some of this week's blogs as April until someone tells me that I'm living in the past.
These were two very different days. A house project yesterday and then a ride project today.
The ride project was simple -- get up early, get ahead of the wind and heat, get as far south as possible before daylight, turn around and come back. Well, I did most of that, leaving here just after 4am but couldn't get ahead of the wind. That wind that's creating breakers on the water outside was blowing all night. When I got up and heard the wind, I knew that I was in trouble.
I needed this 200k, however; that's my 200+ for May. I'll have rides in Canada but wanted to get this one on the books. It was windy; a slow trip south; I eventually made it. The trip back was a blast, until the skies opened up. It was just dumping when I pulled into a gas station to get out my jacket and then discovered that I didn't have my jacket. Rats. It wasn't cold; in fact it was steamy. I rode on. I got home around 1:30.
Tonight we are going out for sushi with Harris and Debbie. We are picking them up in an hour.
Yesterday was quite a different day. I pulled down two of the long boards that I had up over the garage door, both 12' long; a 2x4 and a 2x6. With a couple of scraps, I set them up as a sitting platform to work behind the skiff. Sandy had helped me back it in; the only good way to work at that tilt mechanism.
It was frozen and getting worse. I tried mightily to remove the mechanism completely, knowing that I'd also have to deal with all the wiring inside the engine as well. The big bolt at the bottom that it pivots on just wouldn't come out. Two big 3/4" nuts on either end, one recessed and one accessible -- the accessible one came off and then the idea is to push the bolt through. No go. I hit it with a hammer. No go. I hit it over and over and over again with the 10 pound sledgehammer. No go. Dang. The only thing that I didn't try is simply rotating it with a pipe wrench -- that would have created a point of no return, messing up the threads.
Ok, so what now. Well, let's try disassembling some of the mechanism on the spot, something that I'd rather do on the bench. A few allen head screws and the motor came off. It spins. Ok, it's not the motor. Below that is the hydraulic pump. I can see that it's full of crud. There's probably a seal issue somewhere.
Nothing to lose, I thought ... pull out parts and drain the fluid. It's not exactly straightforward and I've never seen any of this before. Draining is an issue ... unhook the piston from the motor and push down ... fluid over everything, all over my arms etc. Ugh. Eventually I had it cleaned out and reassembled .. hopefully that spring under the motor is in the correct place, right ?
I went over to the marina and picked up a couple of tubes of fluid. Of course they don't exactly mate with the drain/fill holes. Ok, find a plumbing washer that's roughly the same size so that I can hold the tube ... press .. no go. Let's try something else. Sandy ! Ok, she presses "up" on the shift/throttle lever while I squeeze the tube into the drain hole ... and up goes the piston and I mostly empty that first tube. A little more work with the second tube and I've got the piston going up and down. I know that there's still air in the system but it seems to be working.
Put it all back together; yes; it does lift the motor. Go for a test ride; let Cassie play on the sandbar and I was not marooned. No Gilligan's Island here !
All this and the only thing that I lost into the "drink" was a 4mm allen wrench. Of course that's the one that's most used in my bicycle maintenance so I'll pick up another set.
All told -- 2x$7 for fluid, one allen key. Not bad ... I was thinking that I was going to be spending $800 on a new tilt unit. We'll go to Disney tomorrow and blow some of that; actually not much.
One day finished; another well on the way. I was going to say "done" but I've kidded my family enough that "food is done; people are finished".
Onward !
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