Timing belt change/tank clearance

[gfuller]

I'm at 1200 hours and just had a Yanmar guy come by and see if he had enough room to get in there and change the timing belt.

Short answer is no, the tank is too close to the main pulley and the engine will need to be pulled.

Is this Albin's idea of a sick joke? There is maybe 3/4" gap between the fuel tank and the face of the main pulley. Can the tank be slid back 3" so he can get a socket on the crank? It looks like it's just sitting on the stringers with a jury-rigged bracket in the aft holding the tank in place but is there caulk or anything holding it to the stringers? Has anyone done this before?

I'm a bit frustrated right now with the very poor design and lack of access for MANY regular maintenance items (water pump, alternator belts, timing belt, rear main seal etc... ) Is my setup just really "special"?

My plan is to remove the decking over the tank, pump the fuel out and see if it will budge.. if that doesn't happen then it's the cutting torch and a new plastic tank or two fitted in a reasonable location. I believe this will be cheaper than having the engine pulled as it's a 2+ day process. In addition, if I go this route of having the engine pulled I won't be on the water for well over a month.


Thanks guys.......

Here are a couple pics of this outstanding engineering

Fuel tank right, pulley below




Aft Bracket

[gfuller]

Ok I've calmed down, removed the deck hatch and was able to move the tank back (good way to alleviate some frustration as it was quite heavy). I think I'm going to perform some modifications so this doesn't need to be done every time..

[Limelight]

I am in the process of replacing my timing belt - it is tight between the tank and the crankcase nut - i read another post here where someone cut down the 32 mm socket in order to gain access - i did the same thing and was able to get the socket on the crankcase nut and then got the breaker bar inserted into the socket - it is a knuckle buster, but doable.

[gfuller]

Did you change the belt yourself?