Mercruiser Woes-What Next?

[pelican]

this gentleman "alb" asked for an opinion on his engine- i gave it to him...he made no claim of moisture in the engine-read what i typed-good advice...
the advice i gave to the gentleman with the locked up engine stands...
i'm no parts changer,as you implied.
i gave very usefull good advice.
20yrs in the biz,i've yet to see an engine fail due to it being raw water cooled,sorry...
as for engines being submerged,the engine needs to be ran as soon as possible-and ran under load,to remove the moisture.problem comes in,when dealing wth fuel injected engines-usually,these will require replacement of components-ECM's,low pressure,or "lift" pumps will require replacement,along with the standard electrical parts-which usually ends up,the cost of a true repair,costing more than a replacement-that's not changing parts,that's repairing-big difference..."turning a wrench" in your back yard is a little different than being a certified,trained technician,with the proper diagnostic equipment,tools and insurance,and owning your biz.you,as a private boat owner,can repair your own boat,anyway you see fit,you answer to no one,except yourself,me,if i make a repair against "accepted" methods,i'm responsible.granted,there's more than one way to skin a cat,i stick with what's accepted,and what gives a customer the best option,for reliability,and value.dumping a load of money into an engine that's hydrolocked,is pushing the point of diminishing returns-a carb'd new complete merc 5.7,ready to drop in costs approx $6,900-complete with a 12m warranty-tough to beat-out with the old,in with the new...sure seems like a good deal to me...last repower i did,a volvo 5.7,i found a left over 5.7gsi volvo engine,complete,mpi injected,for under $5,000,with a full warranty from volvo...
again,just good usefull advice...

[oldfielder]

Alright everyone, thanks or the advice. I appreciate everyone's interest and I was fully prepared to get varying opinions on this one.
Having no experience whatsoever with an engine in this condition, it's good to see what others think. I'm pretty sure I caught it right away, as the motor was idling fine one minute on the drift and then started to stagger. As soon as I got the plugs out I was able to turn the engine by hand and expel the water from the failed side and I found the crack in the manifold almost immediately.
Pelican-if you were my mechanic I would appreciate your candor rahter than just throwing parts at my motor. I am done with the guy I've been using-I think he has cost me more money with some of his mistakes. He is a good guy and has some skills, but I want him working on my motor as if it were his own.
I figure since I pickled it right away, have had it running three times now, the oil looks good, my compression is in very good shape and my vacuum looks good (at least in the driveway), it's worth taking the risk and throwing new exhaust on the failed side and seeing what she does with a load on. The most that's going to cost me is $300 bucks in parts-all the labor is being done by yours truly and I'm learning more by the day, which is what this site is all about in the first place.
Last night I pressurized the coolant side with an auto tester both warm and cold and didn't see any fluctuations in the gauge other than it rising slowly as the engine warmed up, but then it held steady, so maybe my smelling coolant is in my imagination.
I won't be rebuilding this motor or buying a long block, either. If she goes she goes, and in comes the new motor from merc. That price is almost exactly what my guy quoted me for that motor-but he has some kind of deal right now from merc. that the motor is coming with 3 years rather than 1, and that's not for the seacore.
Anyway, onward we go. Maybe if we want to discuss AB's exhaust we should start a new thread so people will see it in the title and it will be more useful. I love the civil discourse on this site-
Oh yeah-special thanks to bushwacker for all of the time and patience via pm's. I'm definitely hooking up that permanent vac gauge this winter-just have to figire out where to tee it off and how to run it up to the dash, but I have some ideas.
On go the new manifold and riser tonight. Unfortunately I have to go up to the cape to bury my favorite uncle this week so the boat will wait until next weekend. Sure puts things like this in perspective.
Thanks again everyone.
Doug

[Islandtrader]

it's worth taking the risk and throwing new exhaust on the failed side and seeing what she does with a load on. The most that's going to cost me is $300 bucks

Worst case scenario it blows up [img]/forum/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img].

You take off all the usable parts and sell them on craigslist. And recoup most if not more than the $300.

Mercury has a deal going that if you buy a reman. by the end of the year you can get an extra 2 years of warranty...extending out to 3 years.

What ever you do don't toss the block.

Mercury's new policy is that if you want a 350 w/o catalytic converter. You have to exchange your old block for the new one...(not sure about the parts).

There newest set up is a 377 with a catalytic converter. Its on there website. I went through this on my engine buy.

[lost2a6]

if you're smart,you're gonna replace the engine with a complete new engine-too many horror stories !

[oldfielder]

Yep-the dealer told me there is a 300 core charge, so it's not going anywhere if I go that route. 6800 for the new complete motor.
I think merc.'s rebuilds raise the hp to about 300 from 250, as well.
Anyone know how easy it is to swap in my fwc kit to a new motor? I have a relatively new heat exchanger on my current motor-those damn things are expensive!

[Islandtrader]

Core charge is different than exchange.

Some dealers use the core charge to boost the price. Do a little of shopping around. Try to find a dealer that sells a lot of Mercruiser engines, and one that knows what he is talking about.

If you want some good info. PM me your phone number and I will give you a call.

Believe me I have done a lot of research and shopping.

Most guys out there that can get M/C. Don't have a clue on whats going on.

[lost2a6]

Be sure to change both of your manifolds, not just the one that is leaking right now. It's pretty much straight forward on swapping your FWC componets over to the new engine. What would be ideal is to have a heat exchanger big enough to cool the manifolds as well, that way you would only be concerned with replaceing the risers when they start to eat away which in the long run would be cheaper. On my Seavette, every thing is FWC for the exception of the risers in which those are made of stainless steel.

[Fr. Frank]

Steve is right. Stainless is the way to go, if you can. But don't assume that stainless is a panacea.
I have even seen one of those fail from what was apparently electrolysis damage. It was on a Formula 302 with twin Merc 7.4L 440 hp with the "Silent Thunder" stainless exhaust manifold/riser/muffler systems. The stainless exhaust manifold had what looked like a wormhole going from the water jacket out to the outside of the manifold, spraying a fine mist of saltwater over everything. When we tore it down, the inside had several more of those wormhole-looking defects, but none that made it to the outside (or to the interior, either).