18 yr old 38 hp beta with items fitted totally different from any manual I've seen Trying to service tube stack and after partial removal of single bolt end cap at alternator end, can go no further as the oil dipstick tube totally blocks bolt exit. Having moved the cap, the O ring seal is now kaput and I cannot reseal it, nor can I remove end cap due to the dipstick position which means I cannot refit an O ring. Terrible design - what to do? Should I cut down the dipstick tube. It won't allow me to remove the tube stack but at least if it was possible to trim it by 1 inch, it would allow sufficient room to ease out the bolt and remove the cap so I could fit a new O ring.
I don't understand. You have an engine that is 18 years old and you have never serviced the heat exchanger which should be done every 2 or 3 years at the very least and you complain about the design.
If you look at the dipstick tube you will see a bracket that is held on to the engine with a nut. Undo the nut and then gently slide the dipstick tube out of the way and then you can remove the bronze bolt.
Actually I didn't say that. It was serviced fully just before I took ownership 10 years back. Since then I have flushed it with Rydlyme a few times and never had cooling issues. The dipstick is in a position unlike any other Beta I have seen and, after 2nd and 3rd opinions a few days ago, we all came to the conclusion it cannot be removed from the block. In the end I gently heated it and bent it a couple of inches in an arc away from the cap end. Works fine, I got the bolt out, new O ring and the tube stack was clear anyway!
Some of these Beta engines are marinised really strangely. The coolant drain tap is prone to corrosion and breakage in an impossible position to replace, my raw water pump doesn't sit in front with easy access but is buried around the side behind the air intake and servicing normally involves loss of temper, screws and bits of skin off both hands!
Not an engine I would choose again though it has been faithful
