Re Visit - Cracked Engine Mount Brackets

[Ron Hill]

Thought I'd start a new thread. 
I thought it strange that I hadn't heard about this problem on the M25XP engine before.  I had heard that the M35Aengine had some cracked engine mount problems - a friend had one.  The pictures in that post were from a M35A engine.

Rick sent me a copy of the Westerbeke Service bulletin #214 (17 May 1994) which outlined the problem which I thank him for.  The key is in Westerbeke's wording that "fracturing across the bracket just forward of where the lower support gusset for the bracket terminates."   The M25XPAengine has NO gussets on their engine mount brackets!!  I checked 5 M25XP"A" engines and my parts manual, and found NO gussets (the 45 degree support bracket welded on the underside).  The M25XPA engines appear to have a "thicker" bracket.

I believe that the problem is isolated to the M25XPB engine (26hp) and the M35A engines (30hp).  The M25XPB engines were installed in the later C30s while the M35A engines were limited to the early 1990s C34 & C36 Catalina's.

Always inspect your engine mount brackets, but my limited research indicates that the Front Mount Cracking Bulletin is not referring to the M25XPA engines in the C34s!!  This might well be a topic for a Mainsheet Article!!   

[Stu Jackson]

This is from: http://c34.org/bbs/index.php?topic=2935.0