Crusader Engine Decision

"Hello, and please bear with m

"Hello, and please bear with me. I am a new member, and this is my first post. I own a 1991 Four Winns 325 Express Cruiser, powered by twin 454 Crusader V-drive engines. Both engines have approximately 500 hours on them. I have owned the boat for the past 5 years, and the previous owner clearly did not maintain the engines. They are now showing signs of rust on the risers and the elbows, although they run strong (top end at about 34 mph at 4,000 rpm's). I am trying to decide whether I should have the engines pulled and completely remanufactured, or go with new 6.0 Captain's Choice replacements. What complicates the decision is that the engines are closed water cooled and are in a boat with an 11" beam! Very snug fit. I would welcome some thoughts and suggestions."

"Is it surface rust or rust fr

"Is it surface rust or rust from water leaking past the gaskets??

I'd think a new set of elbows (& risers, if needed) with labor would be a whole lot cheaper than a rebuild or a repower.

If the engines are running fine, you could hire a mechanic to assess their health. If they have good compression and a positive oil analysis, i'd keep running them."

"I agree with Mark. If you wan

"I agree with Mark. If you want to help the economy, buy new. If you want to save money, do a comp test and oil analysis and see what the results are first. 500 hrs may only be 3/8ths of their life"

"The rust appears to be surfac

"The rust appears to be surface rust around the risers and elbows. The compression test and oil analysis are good ideas, and I will follow through on those suggestions. I guess I am just concerned not knowing what is going on inside the engines, and seeing that there is going to be major labor cost to remove and replace elbows and risers because of the tight area these engines are in, I just didn't want to do that work, only to have engine issues in the not to distant future and having to pay the labor rate again."

"11' beam and a tight fit?

"11' beam and a tight fit? Really? I've got a 9'9" beam and the same engines, also FWC. I have 18" between the engines and enough space outboard of the engines to reasonably easily remove the manifolds, or spark plugs, all in place.
Anyway, exterior rust is almost no indicator of internal health. My port engine was sandblasted and rebuilt for the first time last year, and its a 1975. Expect early rusting of the risers and manifolds in a salt environment. I spend considerable time keeping rust at bay. The oil analysis and compression checks are good ideas. 500 hours, on decent oil, will show no measureable cylinder wear."

"A word on rusty risers and el

"A word on rusty risers and elbws: Seen a lot of these lately since I went with friends boat shopping. And my conclusion is this: It's normal.

Why the rust? The gasketed joints are not painted, so bare metal is exposed here at the outside. Moisture gets under the paint and starts lifting the paint. The result is rust at the joints. How to prevent it? Painting the gasket surface, perhaps, but that might cause a leak.

Jeff"