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Volvo Penta 43L repairs needed

L

L. Lakey

Guest
"We took our boat out this las

"We took our boat out this last weekend for the first time this season. It started right up and had no problems at first. We were even able to tow one wakeboarder. But as soon as we put the boat into idle after he wiped out the engine died. Being novice boaters (only 4 years experience) we figured it was water in the gas from winter. We put some additive in it and it started right back up and took off down the river, but as soon as we put it into idle again it died. We were able to start it again and took it out of the water and brought it home. Upon opening the engine compartment when we got home there was a milky brown substance on the top of the motor that was not there when we had it one the river. I later was told that this was water in the oil. We took our boat back to the shop and without even looking at it, they said we had a cracked engine block. Today they called and said they found a cracked intake manifold. They are continuing to dismantle the engine since they said they still believe the block is cracked. I have a couple questions. First, he quoted us $5000 for repairs. He said it would cost $2200 just to have the block sent off to be repaired but I found sources online that sell brand new blocks for $1400. Is this realistic? Second, can you get water in the oil from just a cracked intake manifold and not a cracked block? Or does water only get into the oil from a cracked block? (Our boat only spewed that nasty creamy stuff when put into drive. It didn't leak anything when kept at idle.) Please help! If you need more info let me know. I am not sure how honest the dealer/shop will be with us since they seemed annoyed by us asking so many questions and asking them to break down the cost of repairs into an itemized list."
 
"1) For $5000 you can buy

"1) For $5000 you can buy two new base engines. Check this:

http://www.ebasicpower.com/engines/base/262.htm

and for less than $1500 you can buy a remanufactured long block:

http://www.rapidomarine.com/default.aspx?p=/engines/default.aspx

2) Yes, you can get water into the engine from a cracked manifold. But if your engine is raw water cooled and it was not properly winterized, I would not be surprised if the block is cracked. However, they should be able to pressure test the engine in situ: they do not need to dismantle it to verify whether the block is cracked (to the point of leaking water) or not.

3) If the block is cracked, I would personally go for a new base engine and transplant whatever I need from the old one. However, I would recommend that to avoid similar problems in the future you consider installing a closed cooling kit (fresh water cooling kit). You will spend about $1000 but as long as you keep the water/antifreeze mix in the right proportion you will never have a cracked block.

4) Trying to see things from the dealer's point of view, it is difficult to give you an estimate when they are trying to find what's wrong with your engine. However, I still believe that a simple pressure test would give them the answer in less than a couple of hours."
 
"I have several 4.3 L bare blo

"I have several 4.3 L bare blocks available if you need one, including brand new #090 blocks (2000 and newer).

(315) 343-6030 M-F 8am-5pm EDT"
 
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