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1992 43 Block Crack

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davidlm3

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As I see below we are not the

As I see below we are not the only ones who did not winterize correctly (or not at all for some folks). No water is in the block but a crack is by the manifold. Any idea on how many labor hours we should expect to pay for on a 4.3 reman swap?
 
""By the manifold" mea

""By the manifold" means exactly what? On the block or on the manifold itself? The block didn't crack from having air in it, but if the block has petcocks instead of plugs, I'll bet they were loosened and the water trickled out and whoever did the work called it good. In the future, remove the plugs completely or better yet, get rid of the petcocks and get brass plugs from a hardware store plumbing department.

If you haven't owned this boat for a long time, it may have been cracked before. Look at the oil and see if there's any water in it. If not, you may be able to use the motor you have by grinding a shallow V along the crack and filling it with Marine Tex or some other high temperature tolerant epoxy.

Beyond that, without knowing what brand/model of boat you have, I can only tell you that the flat rate book shows a range of about 8-14 hours, IIRC. If it's a sterndrive, the swap would have to include removing and re-installing the outdrive, motor alignment, on water testing, and the obvious stuff like the actual motor swap and changeover of all accessories. With a well equipped shop, it could be very close to 8 hours. In a shop that just makes do with what they have, definitely longer.

If you're doing it yourself a chain hoist, motor stand, compressor, air wrenches (impact and ratchet), timing light and other various tools should get you through it pretty well. Take plenty of photos and write down instructions for where things go. It's not a terrible job but it needs to be done in an orderly manner. You'll need to work from the top down on this, i.e., disconnect the harness and move it out of the way, disco the exhaust/water intake/throttle cable/power steering pump/etc, then remove the outdrive and unbolt the motor mounts from the motor. Leave them on the stringers- it'll make alignment issues easier.

Harbor freight has motor stands and chain hoists that are decent but very cheap. I think $125 -$140 for both is on the high side."
 
Proper winterizing requires fa

Proper winterizing requires far more that simply draining the water out. One needs to pump the 'pink stuff' through to get all of the water out and protect the bare iron from corrosion during the off months.

That crack under the manifold is a typical freeze crack. The block is scrap.

Jeff
 
"They make nice flower pots...

"They make nice flower pots... couple of geraniums in one cylinder, some marigolds in the next, etc, etc. If the cracks are in the right places, it even has its own built in irrigation system!"
 
"Jim thanks for your helpful a

"Jim thanks for your helpful advice. Ran the engine for 20 minutes today no overheat and ran great, no water in the oil at all. The crack is on the block. Will look into your suggestion of the Marine Tex. Thanks again for your time!"
 
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