What a day I've had. Excitement, hope, frustration, determination.
Went over the last of my todo lists on the boat early this morning, and got the forklift to drop her into Lake Michigan (Winthrop Harbor) around 11:30am. Excellent! My first time in the water with my new-to-me 1975 27 footer!
I go to start the motor, and she turned over, but wouldn't start. About 5 minutes of trying over and over, I get a Skipper Buds mechanic to lend a hand. He squirts starter oil into the breather, and the engine 'almost' started, but never quite made it. He spent about 20 minutes with it, looking at the quality of
fuel, the flow of
fuel,- all fine.
He also checked the spark plugs (which I had just replaced in the morning, checking the gap (.035")and he said they seemed to be firing fine.
His diagnoses was carberator issues. His suspicion is varnishing inside.
They won't be able to have someone look at for almost 2 weeks! I'm hoping I can find someone local who has a good handle on servicing A4's so I can both get a specialist (Skipper Buds admitted they don't have a mechanic who knows these engines well), and also get me out sailing sooner.
If anyone can recommend an A4 mechanic in the Chicagoland area, or Waukegan area, I'd REALLY appreciate it.
Starter Fluid
Linear Mode
