Atomic 4 overheating

[Petro206]

Hey y'all,

Ok, so I have a 1978 E34 moored in salt water. We've replaced the carb, oil filter, water separator, impeller, hoses, and much much more. We have it all dialed in when idling at the dock. Spits water normally and hums right along. We took her out of the slip recently and I noticed immediately white steam/smoke coming out of what appeared to be the water exhaust. As we slowly left the marina, I checked the temp guage, and it was maxed out, so we quickly turned it around back to the slip. My friend noticed that it was no longer spitting water while we were in gear.

Wondering if we may have sucked something into the impeller causing it to jam up. Like I said, it was spitting just fine while in port/idle. Wasn't till we put it in gear till we noticed the temp issue. At this point, I'm considering mounting a 30hp outboard and giving up on this archaic beast.

Also, has anyone ever installed a Sea Screen in their yachts to prevent this from happening?

Thank you!

 

[Christian Williams]

Does your A4 have a heat exchanger? If so I recently tried an immersion flush of my system with Barnacle Buster, easy to do and good results.

 

[Loren Beach]

Ok, so I have a 1978 E34 moored in salt water.

For whatever little it's worth, our 1988 boat came with no raw water strainer. I installed one. I clean the screen once or twice a year, and we do not deliberately motor thru obvious weedy patches. Here is a picture of the Groco strainer in place; probably way different placement in your Ericson. I had to look around for a place with decent access.

New Strainer & Thruhull

I found this photo from two years ago when all the original Marlon valves on their threaded thruhulls were replaced with the "newer style" Forespar base-mounted valves. The new ones are epoxied to the backing plates. The marlon threaded thruhull pipe is screwed in from the outside, and bedded in...

ericsonyachts.org

Another question from an idle mind: does your E-34 have the V-drive?

ERICSON 34 - sailboatdata

Sometimes referred to as the 34X, this is the ‘blister’ decked version of the ERICSON 34 designed to the IOR rule. The 34T shares the same hull but with a trunk cabin. A later boat, the ERICSON 34-2, is a completely different design.

sailboatdata.com

 

[Kenneth K]

Wondering if we may have sucked something into the impeller causing it to jam up. Like I said, it was spitting just fine while in port/idle. Wasn't till we put it in gear till we noticed the temp issue.

Putting it into gear shouldn't have made any difference, but an increase in engine RPM could have made the intake (or dislodging of) debris more likely. Or, it could have exposed the fault in a faulty impeller. The fact that it so readily went from "dialed-in" to overheat likely rules out the long-term problem of sediment buildup (unless pieces of existing sediment broke free when the RPM/flow rate was increased).

Take the impeller cover off and see if all the blades are still intact. If so, turn the engine over by hand and see if the impeller blades rotate when the pump shaft rotates--sometimes impellers fail at the hub so that the hub turns but the blades don't.

If those check out good, remove the intake hose from the pump and see if you can blow through it--you should hear the bubbles going out through the thru-hull. If that checks out, you'll have to start removing hose-by-hose to see where the blockage exists. You can briefly crank your engine to check for water flow through the disconnected hose section. Hold the engine the de-compression lever open (with a small length of wire) to keep the engine from starting while cranking.

Yes, an inline raw-water strainer is always a good idea. Good Luck.

 

[alcodiesel]

Hey Petro, I get Atomic 4 help on the Moyer forum which is exclusive A4 (I don't think there is a de- compression lever on an A4- but I'm frequently wrong). Here is a link: https://www.moyermarineforum.com/forums/index.php

Those guys have helped me nail any problems I have had with the A4 quickly and succinctly.

Best of luck solving the overheating- don't give up- I have mine running reliably and smoothly. It's a simple engine, I call it 4 lawn mower engines strapped together.

 

[Kenneth K]

I don't think there is a de- compression lever on an A4

Ah, yeah, right. I was thinking it was a diesel. On an A-4, maybe pulling the spark plug boots would give a similar effect (though it might flood the cylinders with gas for a bit if cranked repeatedly).

 

[steven]

Just got my A4 running again, including replacing mechanical fuel pump w electric. (but I'm not sure that was the right thing to do, v. rebuilding/re-installing the mechanical pump, which was leaking).
The A4 runs nicely except when it doesn't.

Still considering an OB (Suzuki w electric start and remote controls).
Holding me back is how to get the prop all the way into the water .
Extra long shaft is 25inch, but I need 31inch.

Re temperature.
Besides the impleller , . . .

First thing to look for is a break of loose connection in the water intake.
If the hose is cracked or leaking at the throughull or the engine it could sink you.

Another item is to check the water jacket cover plate (I have a previous post on this).
Looking aft, on the left side of the engine there is a plate that covers the internal water jacket (water flows around inside the engine through the water jacket). Mine was partially rusted through. Held in enough water at low flow to keep the engine cool, but leaked coolant and overheated at higher rpm , especially under load. Simple to inspect and replace (unless the old bolts are frozen) if that the problem.

Here is the older thread on the water jacket plate.
https://ericsonyachts.org/ie/threads/atomic4-water-jacket-side-plate.6514/
and a pic showing the rust hole.