seafarer
New member
The spade terminal on the starter solenoid to the port engine had come off through corrosion. At first sight this was going to be a pig of a job and I looked forward to the task with the relish of a one legged man in an arse kicking competiton.
First the batteries had to be removed from behind the engine to allow "access" Ha!. As I squeezed my self in to the tight confines of the "inspection hatch" to unbolt the starter motor I was able to confirm my assessment of the difficulty in an instant. Are there four bolts securing the starter motor or three? I could "see" two and I could feel a third. Is that bolt head 15mm or something else? Two of them were 15mm, the third was something else. Can I get an open ended something else spanner in that tiny space, maybe I should use a ring spanner. Perhaps if I come in from underneath then maybe........ Ok not enough room. Perhaps if I come in from above there maybe just enough....
What I really need is a socket something else size and a bar. Clever dicky! Aah but wait, I can't quite locate the nut with the socket.. whats this pipe? I know I'll use this bar and the smaller extension bar, join the two together and then maybe... Oh there's too much play in the bars now to get purchase on the nut. What size is that bloody nut? Is this rachet working? Chuffing boating I'll buy a caravan and call it Black Pearl.
A new socket set courtesy of Halfords "£59.99 sir please" kerching! The echoes of a starter motor laughing at me can be faintly heard in the distance.
Second visit, show Ford lump my shinny new 1/4 inch socket set. The lump trembles. The something else nut turns out to be 16mm, snap two bars together and hey presto it's all over in 5 minutes.
Reassembly takes fifteen minutes only because I dropped a bolt in the bilge and it rolled under the block and it took a while to retrieve it.
Despite the earlier problems I pretty much enjoyed the challenge and the satisfaction? I'm the biggest man in this house.
Pull back the sheets lover, I'm coming up to bed........
<hr width=100% size=1>No, it's an orange.
First the batteries had to be removed from behind the engine to allow "access" Ha!. As I squeezed my self in to the tight confines of the "inspection hatch" to unbolt the starter motor I was able to confirm my assessment of the difficulty in an instant. Are there four bolts securing the starter motor or three? I could "see" two and I could feel a third. Is that bolt head 15mm or something else? Two of them were 15mm, the third was something else. Can I get an open ended something else spanner in that tiny space, maybe I should use a ring spanner. Perhaps if I come in from underneath then maybe........ Ok not enough room. Perhaps if I come in from above there maybe just enough....
What I really need is a socket something else size and a bar. Clever dicky! Aah but wait, I can't quite locate the nut with the socket.. whats this pipe? I know I'll use this bar and the smaller extension bar, join the two together and then maybe... Oh there's too much play in the bars now to get purchase on the nut. What size is that bloody nut? Is this rachet working? Chuffing boating I'll buy a caravan and call it Black Pearl.
A new socket set courtesy of Halfords "£59.99 sir please" kerching! The echoes of a starter motor laughing at me can be faintly heard in the distance.
Second visit, show Ford lump my shinny new 1/4 inch socket set. The lump trembles. The something else nut turns out to be 16mm, snap two bars together and hey presto it's all over in 5 minutes.
Reassembly takes fifteen minutes only because I dropped a bolt in the bilge and it rolled under the block and it took a while to retrieve it.
Despite the earlier problems I pretty much enjoyed the challenge and the satisfaction? I'm the biggest man in this house.
Pull back the sheets lover, I'm coming up to bed........
<hr width=100% size=1>No, it's an orange.
