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Symptoms of water in cylinders? 1997 5.7 L

troym

troym

Advanced Contributor
'97 5.7L, 2bbl, A-I, Gen II. Fresh water cooled (closed cooling system).

- Loosing coolant.
- Starts OK when cold, but has a couple of slow (dead battery sounding) cranks before it cranks over fast enough to fire.
- If I restart within a few minutes of stopping engine, it cranks right over.
- If I wait 30-40 minutes or so, then try to start it, cranks very slow... in fact couldn't get it to refire this afternoon at all. Batteries were at 12.6 and 12.7 volts, and the coolant was down another 1/2 gallon.
- Oil looks fine and oil level has not gone up. No coolant in the bilge.

Pretty sure I'm loosing coolant through one of the 3" exhaust spacers, and the coolant is trickling into the cyclinders through whichever exhaust valve(s) happen to be open, while I'm trying to catch fish.
Won't have a chance to tear into it until next week sometime, just wondering if anyone else has ever seen anything like this, and any recommendations to get it started again to get it to the boat ramp to haul it out... would rather have it in the driveway close to my tool box to work on it. Don't want to tear up another starter (or anything else) in the process. Would turning it over by hand push out whatever water there is in the cylinders?
 
Re: Symptoms of water in cylinders?

I`d be pulling the plugs to check for water in a cylinder first.If the manifolds are part of the FWC system I`d look at the manifolds if there is A/F in a cylinder. Manifolds have been known to leak .
 
Re: Symptoms of water in cylinders?

I wasn't suspicious of the manifolds, but that makes good sense. Going to be that far into it anyway... for the cost of a couple of gaskets I'd foolish not to pull them.
Pulling the plugs out isn't something I thought to do either... would make it a lot easier to get, and see that the water is out, before I start the engine to haul the boat out. Thanks for the thoughts.
 
Re: Symptoms of water in cylinders?

While you're pulling your plugs you may want to do a compression test. Your symptoms could be a blown head gasket. (Water jacket to cylinder.) Are you getting blow by in your coolant reserve tank? Is your temp gauge reading erradically and high or cool and steady while you're cruising? At least it's something you can rule out.
 
Re: Symptoms of water in cylinders?

No blow by into the coolant reservior. No erradict temps. Pulled all plugs yesterday to see what cylinders had water. Water poured out of #2, all other dry. Cranked engine with plugs out to clear all water. Put it back together and ran the engine to move the boat to the ramp.
Got it home and tore into it. The spacer block on the same side as #2 cylinder has some pretty severe pitting around one of the gasket sealing surfaces, and the wall between the coolant passage and the exhaust pasage is very thin, practially no real sealing surface, I think this is smoking gun. There was also coolant lying in the bottom of the exhaust manifold (same side, other side completely dry).
After pulling all exhaust components, pulled all plugs again. Water ran out of #4 cylinder, but #2 was dry.
I think this is evidence enough there is no head gasket issue. Water is getting into whichever cylinder happens to have an open exhaust valve when I shut the engine down. Will do a compression test since the plugs are currently out anyway.
Manifolds don't look too bad, riser elbows are past due for replacement. Still want to blank off the water ports of the exhaust manifolds and pressure test to make sure those will serve thier duty.
New spacer blocks and riser elbows are 'en route.
 
Re: Symptoms of water in cylinders?

troym, it probably has nothing to do with the issue but I figured I would say something anyways. Have you ever run the motor with the drive off without water running into the heat exchanger? If so, you may have melted the exaust shutters which in turn could possibly let water into exaust manifold and into an open exaust valve and eventually into cylinder that has open valve at that particular time. If you could try and run it on a trailer on the ears and see if the condition repeats itself then you could probably rule out the exaust shutters. Then again, if you rule out the risers and or gaskets then maybe this would be the direction to investigate. I have read about this issue on a few different forums and it is generally the same symptom as you stated above. Anyways, you stated that you think you may have found the problem in the spacer on the exaust manifolds. I hope that is all it was. Finally, if it is not to difficult to check the shutters while you have the boat out of the water then I would definitely do so just to be safe. best of luck, Tom
 
Re: Symptoms of water in cylinders?

Blanked off the outlet water ports and hooked up the garden hose to the bottom inlet port on one of the manifolds...at least one of the manifolds has a small leak... no point in testing the other one. On the up-side I now have a pair of really expensive wreck anchors.
Once again, thanks Bt Doctor, for promting me to not be stupid.
 
Re: Symptoms of water in cylinders?

Back in the water; pretty amazing what new manifolds, spacer blocks and risers will do for the running temperature. And the starter seems a lot happier in not having to compress a cylinder full of water.
Big lesson learned is I probably should have repalced the manfolds and spacers when I converted to fresh water cooling. I may have prolonged their life, but having them in the coolant cicuit gave me a false sense that they wouldn't continue to rot. Once that salt water gets into the pores and crevases of cast iron, the iron's days are numbered.
 
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