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1989 Tiari 454 crusaders

C

coastman411

New member
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New member, just learning the ropes, bear with me.

We had a knocking in the port engine, shut it down, came in. took off the valve cover. The #8 push rod was b"
 
"The root cause is a stuck &#4

"The root cause is a stuck (now bent or broke) valve. Push rods don't bend for no reason, unless the stud broke first and the push rod just got tangled up with the rocker in the process. Either way, it will require removing the head. I would suggest removing and reconditioning both. Bottom ends don't gunk up in marine engines, at least not in recreational boat engines. They don't get enough hours on them and there's no dirt coming in to cause the gunk. It sounds to me like maybe the filter caused a fuel restriction which in turn caused a lean condition. Hopefully the piston is still going up and down and is not still stuck to the bottom of that valve. That's the other reason to pull the heads. You gotta look inside and see what the piston and cylinders look like.

Good luck,
Rick"
 
I think Tiara uses fiberglass

I think Tiara uses fiberglass fuel tanks. Ethanol and fiberglass tanks will cause valves to stick. Big blocks don't pump a whole lot of oil to the top end. Stu
 
"You put on 150 hours just thi

"You put on 150 hours just this year? It's kind of hard to blame old oil for the stuck valve, as long as you did the 3 oil changes this summer. Every 50 hours, correct?.. What was the gasoline and tank situation after the 3 years? Emptied and cleaned? The 31's used two AL tanks, of differing sizes as I recall. Is there is no other sign of wear up there? Pull off the manifolds, and that head and look carefully at the cam, and lifter on #8 as well.

In any case, it is true that BB don't have great top end oiling below 1000rpm, and constant trolling at these low rpms is rather known to wipe cams. I don't know about valve guide life with these conditions, but that could also be affected. If you are spending a lot of time below 1k rpm in gear, then there are mods to make on these engines to improve top end oiling."
 
"I had this happen to my starb

"I had this happen to my starboard engine in 2002. I was on a cruise from Memphis to New Orleans on the Mississippi River in my 50 foot Gibson outfitted with two 454 CID Crusaders. I was near Vicksburg, MS where there were no available marine mechanics. I got an auto mechanic to help with the problem. One of the push rods bent a little and managed to slip from under the rocker and blocked the exhaust valve open. We checked all the rods on that side and found one more slightly bent. We ordered new push rods which turned out to be more beefy than the originals. That is all we did and I haven't had any problems since.

Chuck Hanson"
 
"Glad to hear that, Chuck.

"Glad to hear that, Chuck.

Keep in mind that the only way the oil gets to the valve train is through the push rods. If a push rod bends and slips off the rocker, it also looses contact with the lifter on the other end so no oil goes up it.

Jeff"
 
"Adding to the above....It tak

"Adding to the above....It takes surprisingly little horsepower to SLOWLY move a boat. It's when the pilot gets in a hurry that the hp requirements skyrocket. I've heard of houseboats--to be "legal" at a marina--being "powered" by ridiculously small outboards.

In Maryland, they have the "Two Buoy" rule to "prevent" people living aboard a houseboat year 'round. To wit: Once per year the boat has to move, on its own power, to point where it passes two buoys in the river/ bay/ etc. It is then considered a "normal" slipped boat.

I once worked at a marina. Sent out to repair ?? on a houseboat, I was stunned to open the engine hatches to find there were NO engines in the boat! It had been ordered that way.

Jeff"
 
"I was in the market to buy a

"I was in the market to buy a boat in 1988. I looked at a boat on Pickwick lake. I asked the owner what type engines the boat had. The reply was none. She went on to say that since the boaters at the marina rarely got out of the slip she just would not replace the engines that were damaged during freezing weather. I didn't buy her boat, although it could have been had for a very low price.

At Mudd Island Marina in Memphis they have a similar rule "out of the slip under power once per year or loose your slip". At Aqua Yacht Harbor on Pickwick lake, I don't think they have such a rule. There is only one live aboard in the marina and they are avid boaters instead of slippers.

Chuck Hanson"
 
There is a gentleman I met who

There is a gentleman I met who lives on his 37 or 38' motorsailer year round with his girlfriend. He is restoring another sailboat. After a very interesting discussion he told me to look up the vessel "Asperida"... This is his sailboat under restoration for the last 5 years.

His motorsailer has never left the slip in the 3 years I have seen that boat there. I would not think it matters since you are paying THEIR FEES! Consider the abuse some of these slips take while entering and exiting. You would think the owners of the marina would enjoy the benefit of zero wear and tear.
 
"Lots of boats never leave the

"Lots of boats never leave the slip--it's the owner's condo on the water. We have a houseboat without an outdrive, and another large cruiser who only left the slip once all year. It happens.

Jeff"
 
"Thanks, I was hoping to get s

"Thanks, I was hoping to get some good feedback. I sure don't won't to pull an engine out if it can be done in place."
 
I'm glad we haven't go

I'm glad we haven't gotten off topic. You guys must be as riddled with ADD as me. LOL
 
"Sounds like you can do this w

"Sounds like you can do this without removal, Henry.

They don't allow live aboards at my marina. So do these guys with no power plants just overboard their heads? Yeesh!"
 
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