OCD and engine belt access

[SKing]

I had to access the belts for a second time on our 2021 C30 with the 440 Diesel engine. To access you need to remove the access panel which has the Webasto heater fuel pump mounted on the panel, and it’s connected with copper tubing. So you have to loosen the tubing fittings and then you can tip the panel and see in. Or you have to undo the fuel lines to move the panel further. This made my OCD kick in!
Secondly the factory blocks the access opening by using some StarBoard to hold the water line shutoffs that go from the engine to the cabin heater etc..

I remounted the water line shutoffs to stainless unistrut with isolation clamps that sit below the opening and are easily removed if needed. And I permanently mounted the fuel pump in another location out of the way.

All this was because a very slow coolant leak dripped on the belts which created a squeal on startup, if the boat had been sitting for several weeks. I had replaced the belts 200 hrs. before this. While I had the access we replaced the belts and spun all the idler and tension sheaves. We found 1 that rumbled, so we replaced all 3.
So now I can keep an eye on the front of the motor by just removing 4 screws, and am more likely to find issues early.

 

[hatislandjohn]

Thanks for posting! I just went from a C28 to a C30 and was wondering how to access the belts.

 

[SKing]

Thanks for posting! I just went from a C28 to a C30 and was wondering how to access the belts.

Modifying the access panel is well worth the effort in advance. Also I have a post about the belt replacement process if you are interested.

 

[Eagle 2]

I had to access the belts for a second time on our 2021 C30 with the 440 Diesel engine. To access you need to remove the access panel which has the Webasto heater fuel pump mounted on the panel, and it’s connected with copper tubing. So you have to loosen the tubing fittings and then you can tip the panel and see in. Or you have to undo the fuel lines to move the panel further. This made my OCD kick in!
Secondly the factory blocks the access opening by using some StarBoard to hold the water line shutoffs that go from the engine to the cabin heater etc..

I remounted the water line shutoffs to stainless unistrut with isolation clamps that sit below the opening and are easily removed if needed. And I permanently mounted the fuel pump in another location out of the way.
View attachment 26547
All this was because a very slow coolant leak dripped on the belts which created a squeal on startup, if the boat had been sitting for several weeks. I had replaced the belts 200 hrs. before this. While I had the access we replaced the belts and spun all the idler and tension sheaves. We found 1 that rumbled, so we replaced all 3.
So now I can keep an eye on the front of the motor by just removing 4 screws, and am more likely to find issues early.

Great picture......a bit off topic, but did your water pump come like that with hose connections vs. Whale Pex connectors to pex lines? Or did you make that change to move the pump to accomodate the access hole? I'm wondering if that board in front of my engine in that same hole comes off the same way and will give me access to the front of my D6 435 on my 2016 CB 30.

 

[SKing]

I did not have to move the water pump. I'm assuming in the 5 yrs between manufacturing your boat and mine there were variations on layout. But hopefully your access hole is the same size.