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What does 5/16NF translate to? I have a home depot nearby, and I don't recall seeing nf. I have seen 5/15 18 or 24, but no NF, what TPI rating is that?
How did you work out the brand? where on the block should I look?These companies got blocks from all over. My W58 was a Mitsubishi tractor engine block. Apparently these tractors where not sold in North America (too small?). I had no luck finding parts from non-Marine sources.
I found it online but can't remember the source. It was quite a few years ago. The worst Westerbeke part was a double pulley that fit over the front of the engine, where the alternator belt goes. It was $560, for a damn pulley. The prices are ridiculous. For a next boat, if I go that route, I will be looking to keep away from Westerbeke and Volvo because of parts costs. Sort of a shame because I now know the W58 pretty well and it has been pretty reliable, except for a hunger for raw water pumps. You can get those a bit cheaper if you look around since it is a pretty generic part.How did you work out the brand? where on the block should I look?
Anything that will be a dead giveaway?
Another good way to go is to purchase every nut/bolt combo you can get your hands on, drill a piece of steel, and attach them to the steel with a label of some kind. Then instead of using gauges you can just take the nut and bolt off and actually see if it will fit .. just don't forget to put it back, and don't use the nuts and bolts as replacements or spares except in case of emergency!Last year I bought myself a couple of presents that I should have bought myself decades ago. THREAD PITCH GAUGES. Little metal tongues, like feeler gauges, but these are all the same thickness and have teeth cut in the sides of them. One SAE, one metric. All of about $5 each on Amazon because the big box hardware stores never seem to have them.
Now, I can interrogate a strange bolt or screw and force it to talk.(G)
Amazon is apparently planning to eat Grainer's lunch, with amazonsupply.com which started with their purchase of smallparts(.com) who were the quiet little mail-roder go-to source for all sources of widgets for many years. These were from the regular Amazon though, and any real auto parts shop should also have them on hand.
NPT is very common here.If the screw thread thing doesn't drive you batty, just wait until you need NPT fittings and all you can find are BSP.