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MOTOR DESTROYED NEED ADVICE

S

searain

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"So I took the boat out and th

"So I took the boat out and the temp was fine but on the way back a huge amount of steam was coming out of the valve covers and the oil in the crankcase turned to chocolate shake and was about 2-3x higher on the dipstick than full. I took it in and the mechanic said blown head gaskets and possible crakced head or cracked block. I priced out getting a rebuilt 350 and bolt everything off the old motor to it and with the $600 remove and install costs the total cost with motor would be minimum $3200. Should I sell it and cut my losses?

Your advice is greatly needed and very much appreciated; here is the listing with the details.

http://sandiego.craigslist.org/csd/boa/702826979.html"
 
"Rita, why do you say "Mot

"Rita, why do you say "Motor destroyed"?? You will not know what the damage is until the engine is stripped. If I was in your shoes, I would take the heads apart and examine them (you can also pressure test or magnaflux them) and see they are not wasted/warped and no indications of bent rods. If you find nothing obvious, and considering that a head gasket set for your engine should cost less than $100, you may want to try installing new gaskets and run the engine again (change the oil a couple of times). If you are mechanically inclined, you should be able to do the job yourself.

Did you run the engine on fresh or salt water? If in salt water, you may want to spray oil into the cylinders, mov ethe crankshaft a few turns, and replace the head gaskets and run the engine as soon as possible before anthing seizes."
 
"Well it was in salt water and

"Well it was in salt water and by the time I discovered the massive steam pumping out of the valve covers I headed back to the launch ramp and had to have the throttle really up to make even 15 knots so I figure that the loss of lubrication during that time might have destroyed the bearings, cylinder walls, oil pump, camshaft and who knows what else. I found some headgaskets for $22 each and am going to pull the heads in the next couple of days and clean them up and put them on a granite check plate and also take a hard look at the cylinder walls. I guess even if replacing the head gaskets gets it to run well and restore compression, my confidence in the motor's integrity would still not be restored."
 
"Rita,

Pull your risers and

"Rita,

Pull your risers and manifolds and inspect them. Your engine may have easily pulled water in through a bad riser, or manifold. Risers are easiest inspected by eye and manifolds can be pressure tested. If you run in salt water and have over 3 years on the risers, this may be the cause. I usually replace my manifolds every five in salt.

Like El said, spend the time troubleshooting what caused water to enter."
 
I pulled the manifolds and ris

I pulled the manifolds and risers a month ago and they were previously leaking a little water so I replaced the gaskets (both ex man and risers) and they were fine. And 3 weeks ago I pulled the plugs and none showed any signs of touching water. I just spoke with the mechanic and he said on cylinder #7 when he pulled the plug the volume of water that came out was huge which indicated to him that the block had cracked. So I am not going to put a penny into that motor and will just have to deal with it somehow. Thanks for the responses.
 
"What do you mean by "they

"What do you mean by "they were previously leaking a little water"? Gaskets typically do not prohibit water from infiltrating the engine on riser / manifold problems. I have had water pour out of specific cylinders only to find the problem was a blown riser.

If you are going to go the replacement route, I would suggest considering the crate engine package offered by eBasicpower. Check them out at: http://www.ebasicpower.com/engines/base/350.htm"
 
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