What is this attached to my Universal diesel?

[JoeRobertJr]

In the center of the picture is a part with two holes, tied to the engine by a previous owner like "you're going to want this someday." What is it?

It has the same paint as the engine, a Universal M-40 / 5432. It looks like it has been used. In my owner manual, there is a picture of a different model engine that has a stop lever that looks similar. My engine does not have a stop lever. I stop it by pulling backwards on the throttle handle.

So, any guesses?

[Calif.Ted]

It looks like a "lifting point" to me, a place to attach a chain hoist to raise or lower the engine.

[JoeRobertJr]

Originally Posted by Calif.Ted

It looks like a "lifting point" to me, a place to attach a chain hoist to raise or lower the engine.

I think you are right! It seems mine was removed to repurpose that bolt as a ground wire attachment point. The part is tied to a ground wire, so that makes sense.

Thanks! I have had several guesses pop into my mind, but that was never one of them.

[Bowdrie]

I agree on the lifting eye.
You may at some point want to address the "grounding scheme".
There appears to be ~6 wires, one, or maybe two using a "main ground bus" is sufficient unto the cause and cleans things up and keeps wires away from a hot engine.
That yellow wire appears to just be wrapped under a lug from another wire which is in turn surrounded by a mass of electrical tape, with a third wire lacking any heat-shrink to prevent moisture ingress/corrosion.
In the upper-right part of the pic, the "lumpy" appearance of the fuel return line may indicate failure in the not-too-distant future, or the hose is bent in a tighter radius than designed for.
The same for the big hose, (upside down SAE marked on it).

[Celestialsailor]

I bet that must have instilled confidence when the previous owner knew you would have to take the engine out someday...

[JoeRobertJr]

Originally Posted by Bowdrie

I agree on the lifting eye.
You may at some point want to address the "grounding scheme".
There appears to be ~6 wires, one, or maybe two using a "main ground bus" is sufficient unto the cause and cleans things up and keeps wires away from a hot engine.
That yellow wire appears to just be wrapped under a lug from another wire which is in turn surrounded by a mass of electrical tape, with a third wire lacking any heat-shrink to prevent moisture ingress/corrosion.
In the upper-right part of the pic, the "lumpy" appearance of the fuel return line may indicate failure in the not-too-distant future, or the hose is bent in a tighter radius than designed for.
The same for the big hose, (upside down SAE marked on it).

Absolutely on all all of your points! I have a long list of fixes and improvements to make over this next off season, including moving all those ground wires to a ground bus bar off the engine. One of those ground wires has meat hooks sticking out, which at some point in the recent past cut through the wire to the glow plugs, resulting in melted insulation on the glow plug wiring all the way to and from the cockpit control panel.

I am going to completely rewire everything related to the engine, since most of it is old, some is sketchy, and some it down right dangerous. See the picture below of the back of the control panel. At some point, the glow plug fuse holder overheated. Solution? Bypass it! Then the glow plug switch wiring insulation all melted off. Solution? Cover the wiring in plastic tubing! I am amazed this boat did not burn to the waterline.

Originally Posted by Celestialsailor

I bet that must have instilled confidence when the previous owner knew you would have to take the engine out someday...

Given that the engine is 40 years old, I have been bracing for the need to completely repower. I am still evaluating the If and When of that project.

[capt jgw]

There should be another lifting ring at the diagonally opposite corner of the engine, you'll need both to lift the engine out. Apparently the PO repurposed that bolt for a grounding point then found it wasn't long enough to put the ring back on. It's just a regular metric bolt, any hardware store will have one a bit longer. The Universal M25 installation on my old boat used one of the bell housing bolts for the ground point and only one cable was attached there. A longer bolt was not needed. Better yet is to ground to one of the starter mounting bolts, that puts the current right where it's needed without going through the whole block and potentially loose or greasy connections.