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Chris craft model 454 water leak

bushmen

New member
Hi guys first post can really use some help.
i have a 1982 Christ craft 33 ft express with twin blue Christ craft model 454 motors with shaft.
motor history, they run like a clock always never a issue.
put boat in water after winter. Fire up port motor perfect. Fire up starboard motor sounds good for one min then water coming out of motor. Check engine oil perfect, no milky look. Start it up again look for location.
the water is coming out on the top right side of motor. The water is coming out between the block and transmission bell housing right between the two.

Question is is there a freeze plug on the back of the block that is inside the bell housing that I can not see?

help please
 
Been a while but the only 'freeze plug' I remember on the back of a 454 is for the CAM - and that one won't leak water....Sad to say but that sounds like a major issue....
 
Question is is there a freeze plug on the back of the block that is inside the bell housing that I can not see?

Ayuh,.... There's 3 core plugs in there,...

1 on the end of the cam, that holds back oil,...

'n 2 that hold back water,....

Sounds like somebody's winterization was a failure,...
Hopefully the block ain't cracked as well,....
 
Thx that is what I was hoping she just pop a plug.

Its it's hard for me to belive it was from winterizing. The motor has no thermal stats they are out so nothing to hold back the watercirculation. The was I have done it is to wait till it shored up. Then I mix antifreeze and red pop add water pump lube in a 5 gallon bucket. I pull the main hose off the pit cock that suppliesthemotor with fresh water. I start the motor and let it suck up all 5 gallons then I fog the motor and stop it.
the anti goes threw the motor and out the exhaust . I thought this was fool proof. In the spring we just put the hose back and fire up the motor.


Question
do I have to pull the boat out the water to fix this? I am just assuming it have to.
If someone can jump in on procedure it will help me a lot. I am guesting but I think I have to remove shaft ,pull the trans ,take flywheel bell housing off and hope to see a piped freeze plug. Am I missing anything thx
 
Ayuh,..... If you don't drain the block, before runnin' antifreeze, you run the chance of a frozen block, period,.....

The motor has to come out, so whatever it takes to get it out, is necessary,...
 
do I have to pull the boat out the water to fix this? I am just assuming it have to.
If someone can jump in on procedure it will help me a lot. I am guesting but I think I have to remove shaft ,pull the trans ,take flywheel bell housing off and hope to see a piped freeze plug. Am I missing anything thx

No, it doesn't have to be pulled tough it may be easier, in the long run.

If you're lucky, and the plug just popped (or only corroded thru) then replacing it is straightforward, once the flywheel is removed. if the block cracked, it will have to be replaced....

Another factor is how much room do you have to work in....if its tight, it may be easier to remove the entire engine/gear package....

finally, the engines will be much happier, in the long run, if you get thermostats back in them.....without them, their useful life will be significantly shortened....
 
Thx for reply.
What do I need to do to pull bell housing? The boat is in my back yard in the well I prefer to work on it there. I got a lot of room to work on motor there. Tell me the easy way to pull the bell housing?
Thx
 
if I unbolt thx bell housing to the motor and unbolt the transmission to bell housing will the bell housing drop enough down to allow me to get to the freeze plug?????

i thought I had to pull the shaft and transmission out yo get to this but hope I am wrong.

Pleease list how to do this. I can see the stuff that needs to move out of the way first. Thx
 
if you have an in-line gear, usually, one unbolts and separates the shaft coupling.....then you'll have to block the engine because the rear mounts usually bolt to it....many times, you can block the exhaust manifolds from the stringers.....if you have a lift (backhoe) you can just hold the rear of the engine up. slide the gear off and remove it.....then the flywheel cover (bell housing) is next....then the damper plate and flywheel... at that point the rear of the block is accessible.....beware of the normal "little things" like the inspection plate at the bottom of the flywheel cover....

when putting it back together, a pair of 'long' studs, to hold the gear, while the input shaft is aligned to the damper plate, will help most...

finally, if the plug just corroded thru, its best to use a brass one and not a steel one....and change them all while its apart (& the damper plate) is usually a time saver in the long run...
 
re: "no t'stat".... Contrary to popular belief, the purpose of a t'stat is to insure that the engine runs warm enough, not to keep it cool. With a properly operating cooling system ( pumps, exhaust manifold passages, etc...) an engine without a t'stat will run too cold and as makomark commented, life will be shortened and fuel usage increased.

On a raw water cooled engine, just opening the drains does not insure that the block is drained, and due to the way raw water cooling systems are plumbed, seeing water come out the exhaust is no guarantee that the block is full of antifreeze or that any residual sea water, that did not drain, is displaced or mixed with antifreeze to a concentration that will insure it will not freeze.
 
FYI,
all fix and running goog. Did it in water. Slid tras back moved the bell housing I had 2 inches to work with . Found the old freeze plug removed it. Sanded the freeze hole we to auto store got a rubber plug for $5 . Post in bolted it back in place and away I go. I put about 30 hours runs great. Thx
 
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