[Public-list] Steaming exhaust Atomic 4

[George Dinwiddie]

Bill Newman wrote:
> The Atomic 4 on #233 is of the older  type without a thermostat and a
> switchable return hose.  For the last couple of years there has been
> a little steam coming from the exhaust.  This year as some or you may
> have read, I replaced the muffler system with a Vetus LP 40, the pipe
> arrangement in the Alberg Maintenance Manual and exhaust hose.  It
> seem to be working fine but the amount of steam in the exhaust seems
> to have increased.  I installed a new temperature gauge to the
> replace the old which gave up the ghost a while ago.  The gauge
> starts at 130 degrees Farenheit and does not move.  I tested the
> thermostat in hot water and it responds instantly.  It does not
> appear then that the engine is over heating but in fact is probably
> too cool.
> 
> My guess is that there is not enough cooling water being pumped which
> is causing the steam.  Is the solution to pumping more cooling water
> a new impeller, which by the way, appear to be as rare as fine
> diamonds here or something more onerous?  Any advice or experience
> with this problem will be much appreciated.

The impeller is always the first place to start.  Even if they're whole, 
they lose their elasticity and fail to pump well.  You should see lots 
of water coming out the exhaust (in bursts).

Other things to check are leaks and blockages.  Leaks from the pump 
shaft or at the plate will reduce the water pressure.  If the gasket 
under the plate is too thick, that will reduce the efficiency greatly, 
too.  For blockages, the usual culprits are hoses that are bad on the 
interior, and flakes of rust in the exhaust manifold cooling jacket.  If 
the new impeller doesn't give a good flow, you might need a pump 
upgrade.  There's an M7 shoe that is taller and makes it pump more water 
than the stock M3 shoe.

  - George

-- 
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
   When I remember bygone days                         George Dinwiddie
   I think how evening follows morn;            gdinwiddie at alberg30.org
   So many I loved were not yet dead,           http://www.Alberg30.org
   So many I love were not yet born.
                'The Middle' by Ogden Nash
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------




 1179814129.0