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After I got back to the dock, I put the IR gun on a few things to verify temperature......

Engine had just been turned off. Unsafe to reach while running in gear.

No burn at all, just warm enough to get my attention and shoot its temperature.

My source may have been wrong, but my diesel instructor told me the main difference of the B series is self-priming bypass loop, which older models lacked. I trained on a real old Universal that lasked the feature. I don't think it was a M25.

Mine also has the bleed screw, but IIRC the manual implies that you shouldn't need it because system is self-priming. I used this screw to confirm no-flow condition when I had an air problem.

If he's wrong and they are all the same regarding bypass, then I need to figure out why my pump doesn't slow down as described by others.

Are there any M35B owners here who can confirm their pump slows down once pressured up?

I had a few more air problems yesterday, as described in this thread. Things are working OK for now, but it did raise some questions about rubbery debris in my filter bowl, as well as other questions:

http://www.sailnet.com/forums/general-discussion-sailing-related/290970-rubbery-debris-racor-filter-lift-pump-fragments.html#post3996298

As you can see in that thread, I am also beginning to have some questions about my lift pump.

One additional question that some of you might be able to answer: My lift pump always clicks rapidly. It never slows down, no matter how long I run it. (I never run it more than 20 seconds without a cool-down period before running it again.) Is this lack of slow-down because the B-series motors have a recirc loop that allow free flow of fuel back to the tank? (In other words, the pump never dead-heads like it might on the earlier models without the recirc loop)? Or is the fact that it never slows down a sign that the pump is not pumping properly (perhaps due to degradation of the diaphragm or check valves)?

FYI, this pump appears to be the original one, with the square housing.

Just in case this comes up again:

The steaming light is a 42mm festoon type, replaced with a #1418WH from LED Wholesailers for $8.99. This is the same bulb that's used in the Aqua Signal running lights so now I have a spare for all three...

What model of Aqua Signal red/green light comes with a white LED inside? I always thought (backed up by my knowledge of color theory, as an ink/paint scientist) that putting a  so-called white LED behind green/red filters would result in light that was outside the USCG color spec (green is too bluish, red is too orange), and that the underlying LED had to put out red/green at the correct color, and shine though a clear filter. ("So-called" because the LED isn't really white in the way that an incandescent bulb is.)

Incandescent lights emit a broad spectrum of colors to appear white. You can stick them behind red/green filters with the expected results. But unlike incandescents, LEDs emit on very narrow wavelength bands, and only approximate white color. When you stick them behind a red/green filter, odd things happen.

Has this changed with recent LEDs?

Here's some stuff that came out of a search of this forum. (I've seen much more on other websites, too.) Perhaps it's outdated based on new technology?

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,7578.msg51810.html#msg51810

http://c34.org/bbs/index.php/topic,8864.msg64067.html#msg64067

Thanks for the info. Now that I'm home, I see the temperature specs in my pdf copy of the manual. Funny, I couldn't find that section in my hard copy on the boat. I'll have to look again and see whether I'm missing pages.

Sounds like I was well within the operating temperature range.

Interesting that the M35B could theoretically exceed the limit of safe extended operation (without cooler). I can't imagine ever running near full throttle unless I was in an emergency situation.

Well, I was reaching across to shoot a temperature on my exhaust elbow when my arm came in contact with the transmission. So yeah it is easily touched by mistake when you are working back there. Now that I know, I will be more careful. But that's why I was caught by surprise.

There should be a temperature spec range, I'm just hoping to find out what it is.

Hi all, I just got back from a daysail in the hot sticky dead air of the Chesapeke. I ran the motor at 2400 RPM for awhile, which is a little faster than normal, to check for air leaks in the fuel system, since I just replaced the filters and had a little difficulty with air (fixed).

After I got back to the dock, I put the IR gun on a few things to verify temperature. I noticed that the case of the transmission (HBW-100 without any apparent cooling loop) was 145F. This was the first time I've checked the tranny temp, so I have no basis for comparison. But it did seem a little hot to me, so I was surprised.

I've searched for "Hurth temperature" on forums, TechWiki, TechNotes, and engine manual, and none of the hits referenced any recommended temparature range. I do recall awhile back seeing some generic (non-Universal) install info for Hurth transmissions where cooling loops were shown, but those apparently aren't standard issue on Catalina installs.

Maybe I'm too worried. Obviously the engine cooling loop is maintained at about 165F, so it's still cooler than that. It just surprised me because I'm not used to seeing something at 145F that can be so easily touched without some sort of guard on it. Insulation would prevent a burn to your hand, but would obviously make the temperature of the transmission even hotter.

What have you guys seen for the transmission temperature after sustained running?

Questions: is it prudent or premature to change out the riser and its elbow before they fail? Are there warnings to look for that indicate failure is eminent?

That is a very good question, and I look forward to answers from others who know more than I do.

I am just beginning with this, and have not done a visual inspection yet. But with the boat 2 hours away, I always try to do my homework before heading to the boat. For starters, I plan to put a laser/IR temperature gun on the exhaust hose to look for hot spots. Ditto for the insulation - if there's hot exhaust or moisture seeping out from a micro-crack, I would think it could show up as hot spots. (These were suggestions that I picked up from various print and web resources.) I have no exhaust odor to indicate any problems at this point.

The sole reason for my concern is the age of my boat. Previous owner had the boat for 8 years, and wasn't much of a DIYer, but he had lots of receipts for work orders. There's no mention of him paying for an inspection or replacement. So it's time for me to look into this proactively.

Thanks for your opinion, Stu. I appreciate it. I'll continue to track down additional sources of information while I await other opinions here.

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Is the general consensus to buy the nice electropolished one from CD (and pay for the overpriced insulation kit) or to get the one from CTY with the free DIY wrap?

This is not a consensus issue, it is a personal choice issue.  In my muffler and exhaust riser replacement tech note (Feb. 2016) I discussed the choice I made and why.

Your boat, your choice.   

I disagree. Of course it's ultimately my choice, but what does this forum exist for, if not to compare recent experiences of people with similar boats? I am not obligated to go with any consensus (my choice), but if there is an emerging consensus, I think this is the place to communicate it. And if there is no consensus, open discussion among many owners will be useful to all. So my question still stands as originally asked, for those willing to participate.

I had seen your tech note, and this is what you said about getting the riser from Catalina Yachts:

I didn't price this from Catalina Yachts this time.

So I don't see much detail there about your rationale for a choice.

What I do see here is some signs of recent concerns over CD's pricing and customer service. So I think it's worth hearing more about this if people are willing to share, especially since the last time you checked with Catalina Yachts appears to be 2003. A lot has changed since then with both CTY and CD, including a 3x price increase at CD.

Also, please note that my boat is a MkII, so the parts we are talking about are different. It is possible that the optimal selection may be different for the different boats.

I need to be planning toward a replacement of my exhaust elbow and associated parts. My boat is 16 years old, and I can find no reference to replacement or inspections by prior owners. (May be missing some service records.) I'll be putting an IR gun on various parts (exhaust hose, etc.) to look for hot spots or other signs of leaks or plugging. I've seen no sign of steam in my exhaust or anything, just concerned over age. My concern is that once I start ripping off insulation I may want to have all the replacement parts handy so I don't lose out on any of our too-short season.

Is the general consensus to buy the nice electropolished one from CD (and pay for the overpriced insulation kit) or to get the one from CTY with the free DIY wrap?

I have the filters replaced, and after a few small issues with air, everything now seems to be successfully bled and running well.

I'd like to install a vacuum gauge to proactively monitor filter performance. In addition to avoiding failure when "out there", I want to minimize replacement of these very expensive spin-on filters. My boat has the Racor 215 separator, which apparently was selected for the C34MkII because of the limited vertical space under the aft berth. It's an OK separator, but the spin-on filters cost $43 each, which really gives an incentive for a vacuum gauge to minimize frequency of replacement.

Because of the limited vertical space, I can't just stick a gauge on the bleed port on top. (I also can't upgrade to 500 series in this location because of the space limitations.) I either need to attach an elbow to the top to make the gauge horizontal, or install a T somewhere on the fuel hose between the primary filter and the lift pump. What do you guys suggest?

I've searched the site for info on this, but can only find info on the older boats with larger filter located in the head cabinet. If there are links to other things that I missed, I'm happy to look at them. But please make sure they're relevant to the MkII configuration that I have.

[BC]

I'm trying to diagnose an issue with plugged fuel filter and/or air leak into my fuel system. I know that the lift pump operates when the key is turned to glow plug position. Once the motor starts, does the lift pump continue to operate, or does suction from the high pressure injector pumps pull the fuel in without a lift pump? (Neither owners manual nor service manual is 100% clear on this, though there's a slight hint in the troubleshooting that the former is the case.) If it's actually the latter, does anyone know for sure whether the secondary pump is under negative pressure or positive pressure?

In a related question/comment, if the lift pump continues to operate when the motor is running, I assume that the excess fuel continuously recirculates back to the fuel tank, continuously polishing the fuel. Is that correct based on your understanding? (Note that this is an M35BC model.)

Following up on my prior message, I just got home and got a chance to pull out some pics from my latest polishing job. You can get an idea of the appearance of the restored boot stripe, as well as the shine on the overall hull. Unfortunately, I was in too much of a hurry to get started, and neglected to take "before" pics. But the boot stripe was pretty severely chalked beforehand.

We'd so love to take this, but cross country shipping is probably prohibitive.