Yes, a freeze cracked engine will very often fire up and run as though nothing is wrong until we see over-heating. Just the nature of freeze damage.
If you didn't winterize it and it ran fine last season, you did not blow a head gasket. You will need to check the manifolds for cracks and you will need to pressure test the engine to determine the cause. Do not pull anything apart until you pressure test the engine.
Or have your machine shop do this for you...., if you decide to have one built locally!
ok now before going to the marine shop since i have never had any major problems what kind of costs am i looking at for any case scenario it might be as in a head gasket replacement intake gasket or so on so i know im not taking one up my rear when they give me a quote.
You just touched on a key word....
Quote!
Good for you.
There is a huge difference between an
"Estimate" and a
"Quote", as I'm sure that you know.
While a solid "Quote" is not always easy to squeak out of these shops, at bare minimum make sure that all work scope is clearly defined....
including "Inclusions" and "Exclusions"! (these are key words)
Get this in written form ONLY.... and take it one step further by asking for a list of potential "unseen" work scope that may become necessary.
These items can also be given an associated line item cost, and spelled out in black and white.
No surprises later on this way.
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With the amount of water that you have described, and with what Chris has suggested, I too doubt this is head gasket related.
That's quite a bit of water in a short amount of run time.
If the hull is of any substantial length, you can build yourself a Quench Effect combustion chamber design engine getting as far from the fully dished pistons as you can.
Michigan Motors is willing to do this via custom order these days.
Cost increase should be minimal in terms of boat dollars.
Or..... build one via a local machine shop that has SBC Marine Engine experience.
Your crankshaft, rods, tin ware, flywheel, harmonic balancer, Ignition system, and many parts, even including roller camshafts and cam followers, are re-usable.
A good machine shop will learn whether or not the cylinder heads can be re-used.
Just as with drugs.... say NO to these for your new Marine Engine!