Logo
FULL SITE MENU

Please Help

D

dukedenarie

New member
Hi guys and gals, I have had a 1987 wellcraft sarasota sitting for about ten years. I live in new york so winters are obviously cold. I see one of the manifolds is cracked. Other than that the engine looks really clean. Im not going to try and start it or anything and nobody has for the time it sat. It wasnt winterized properly and i just havent had the money or the time until now to fix it. It has a 350 mercruiser inboard. What are my chances that its not totally messed up. I know a fair bit about car and truck mechanics but i just dont know about marine. Where do i start besides cleaning gas tank the manifold either weld or replace. plugs wires battery ect. any help at all would be awesome thank you
 
most likely its finished but who knows.
check the oil level ,if high then drain some from the bottom drain plug or use a hand pump on the dipstick.
remove the manifolds and inspect the exaust ports in the head for signs of rust .if the valve stems show rust avoid spinning the motor over.
remove the therm housing and fill the block up with water . see if water level drops. Yes= cracked block No =see next step

once the heads are removed you can inspect the pistons and cylinder bores for water damage and rust.
spray with fogging spray, marvel mystery oil, "free-all" ,penetrating oil, etc
now attempt to spin the motor over. If cylinders were water filled at some point, the rings will be rusted to the bores
 
thanks im gonna start with the oil then the manifolds tomorrow. how do you avoid spinning the motor over? and if its not cracked then is it good? also i know you probly dont have time but any pics or links that you know of would be a great help thank you. im sure ill need help at some point i jus want to try and figure out if its worth all the trouble you know.
 
knowing it has cracked manifolds it most likely had water in the cylinders or it got in thru the exaust valves that were open.
simply turning the motor over can result in the valves hitting the pistons, broken pushrods, rocker stem damage.
Remove the manifolds for exaust port inspection,
Then fill the block from the therm hole in the intake manifold, let sit 24 hrs, recheck fluid level.
 
I would start with a compression test after checking the gear oil and oil in the engine. The raw water pump likely needs replaced anyways. Watch the oil pressure guage and see if it builds up pressure while checking the compression. Of the long list of things to look at and replace I would start with compression. After ten years not running the engine probably needs new crank seals as they will dry out over time and get hard
 
Bt Doctur said:
knowing it has cracked manifolds it most likely had water in the cylinders or it got in thru the exaust valves that were open.
simply turning the motor over can result in the valves hitting the pistons, broken pushrods, rocker stem damage.
Remove the manifolds for exaust port inspection,
Then fill the block from the therm hole in the intake manifold, let sit 24 hrs, recheck fluid level.
Click to expand...
Didnt think about a sticking valve try turning it over by hand with the crank bolt at least two complete revolutions if it stops the heads need to be pulled anyways.
 
..................

Duke, first of all, this is a 29 year old boat. I'd give this some serious thought before spending my hard earned money on a resurrection.


dukedenarie said:
Hi guys and gals, I have had a 1987 wellcraft sarasota sitting for about ten years. I live in new york so winters are obviously cold. I see one of the manifolds is cracked. Other than that the engine looks really clean. Im not going to try and start it or anything and nobody has for the time it sat. It wasnt winterized properly and i just havent had the money or the time until now to fix it. It has a 350 mercruiser inboard. What are my chances that its not totally messed up. I know a fair bit about car and truck mechanics but i just dont know about marine. Where do i start besides cleaning gas tank the manifold either weld or replace. plugs wires battery ect. any help at all would be awesome thank you
Click to expand...

Other than the exhaust manifolds, what is it that causes you to think that it was not winterized correctly?

Of course there are these issues:

After 10 years, the fuel is most definitely bad and must be drained.

If the carburetor's fuel did not evaporate during the first year, it too will need to be looked at.

The seawater pump impeller is bad by now simply from sitting stagnant for 10 years.

A cracked exhaust manifold (left unattended for 10 years) is likely a one-time-event with a one-time-event re; water into cylinders. All may be OK..... but this needs to be investigated.




Bt Doctur said:
most likely its finished but who knows.
check the oil level, if high then drain some from the bottom drain plug or use a hand pump on the dipstick.
remove the manifolds and inspect the exaust ports in the head for signs of rust .
Yes. Water is heavier than engine oil, causing it to sit beneath the oil.

if the valve stems show rust avoid spinning the engine over.
I don't necessarily agree. Pull the valve covers and look at the top side.

remove the therm housing and fill the block up with water . see if water level drops. Yes= cracked block No =see next step
The first step above will let you know whether or not this step is even necessary.


once the heads are removed you can inspect the pistons and cylinder bores for water damage and rust.
I would not yet remove the cylinder heads.
In order to go back on, you'll need new gaskets.... and if the cylinder block is cracked, all this work becomes moot!
Continue testing before removing the cylinder heads.

spray with fogging spray, marvel mystery oil, "free-all" ,penetrating oil, etc
now attempt to spin the motor over. If cylinders were water filled at some point, the rings will be rusted to the bores
Agree.
Click to expand...

kimcrwbr1 said:
Didnt think about a sticking valve try turning it over by hand with the crank bolt at least two complete revolutions if it stops the heads need to be pulled anyways.
Click to expand...
Bt Doctur said:
crank nose bolt is even worse, shear that bolt and the crank has to come out of the engine.
Click to expand...

DO NOT.... repeat.... DO NOT use the harmonic balancer bolt to turn the crankshaft with!
Instead, use a strap wrench on the balancer circumference.




.
 
the reason i think it was improperly winterized is that the guy i bought it from was suppose to do it before he delivered it to me. then later on i noticed the cracked manifold when i went get the boat ready for summer.
 
Back
Top