water in engine not winterized

[yourownfree]

I bought a silverline with the 260HP. I know the guy let it go and now when you pull out the dip stick its way up on the stick milky water oil. I just got it and tried to turn the crank by hand with a wrench, just to see if it was locked up, and it is. Anyhow i suppose there is nothing i can do short of changing it out. I have a 350 trans am motor in good shape. What kind of cam does a guy need to convert or will it work without the change? will a regular 350 bolt up to the outdrive stuff or do i need something to make it work? Or is there a way to figure out where the water came from, could it have come from the intake. It freezes in the area where i purchased the boat.
so it is possible the block froze along with who knows what. What should I do?

 

[Coors]

Re: water in engine not winterized

Is'nt a Pontiac block different from a GM?

 

[88wellcraft]

Re: water in engine not winterized

I believe its the same

 

[thrasher]

Re: water in engine not winterized

You might want to just try putting some penetrating oil in each cylinder and leave it a day or two then try turning it over. It could just be rust inside the bores from standing so long that is preventing the motor from turning over. That doesn't explain the water in the oil, but again if it's been standing for a long time the water could have come from somewhere else.. I suspect the block has cracked and the water in the oil came from the cooling system, but you might want to try the penetrating oil just to see what happens.. It might be cheaper than a new motor if the damage is not too serious.

Gary

 

[Coors]

Re: water in engine not winterized

I don't think so; I had a t/a 400 that was different from a gm 400. I think the 350 was different too.

 

[yourownfree]

Re: water in engine not winterized

my first thought was to drain the oil reservoir out then fill it up to and just beyond the point of the level on the stick with diesel and remove the plugs and do the same and let it sit for a few days, as you suggested. Although WD-40 is a water dispersant (hence the name) i thought about trying it first. But it is $13 a gallon, then pump the water off the top of the wd-40. Then again i cant drain the oil out yet unless I'm ready to imediately install the other liquid in its place,else it would get air and rust worse. But on the other hand I worry that even if i do all that and drain and clean it up before i try to rotate it by hand tools, will i stand a chance of really messing it up, scarring the cylinder walls etc. but if the engine is a gonner, i guess it doesn't matter anyway. Thats why my wife makes all the decisions. You know how it goes. You know its worth a try to do all that to see if i can overcome the problem. Also thinking about looking to see if the freeze plugs are pushed out. What would you do try the "see if i can unfreeze it" or remove the engine and inspect?
I have done autos but never a boat engine. I have no clue yet on this one.
Reason of course i haven't stuck my head in there to see yet how it is done,hey it was dark when i got home. Two i never taken one out of a boat. What do you do? It sits back in there,so its going to be a trick to remove.Any hints on that as well?

 

[Esox]

Re: water in engine not winterized

What year Trans Am engine? if it's a 3rd gen TA with a 350 - it's a Chevy (Corporate) engine.​

 

[Bondo]

Re: water in engine not winterized

but if the engine is a gonner,

Ayuh,.......... It Is,.......... No Doubt at All.........

As noted,..... Some Pontiac motors are Pontiac,+ Some Pontiac motors are Chevies..........
There's No Way We can tell you Which your's is...... Not without More Info on it anyways.......

You need a 350cid, 5.7l Chevy of the Same Vintage as the motor in the Boat Now............
A Truck motor is a Close match to a Marine motor,.......
A Car motor will need some additional Work to make it work Well in a Boat........

And,...... We need Alot More Info on the Rest of your Driveline........

What's the Drive it's bolted too,..??.....
What Year,..??...

 

[yourownfree]

Re: water in engine not winterized

You know i will check out the engine numbers and see what it really is. I might be blowing smoke. Maybe they said it was going to go in a trans am. I bought it from a relative. Motor is spotless, no oil anywhere, just sitting in my garage. The boat motor i checked it out and played with it. I took a couple of plugs out and thre front two 1 through 4 are rusty and i drained almost 2 gallons from the oil dept. there is still about 2 gallons in there i think, because its still about 1 oil change above the full mark yet. I will pull it out probably Sturday, looks like ifi remove the gas tank and then pull the engine i should be ok, but now i'm worried about the drive. What happened is he forgot to pull the water plug and the engine compartment filled up with water. I dont think it had a chance to freeze the engine sitting in all that water. It doesn't freeze that hard around here. Maybe I can just rebuild this one.

 

[RubberFrog]

Re: water in engine not winterized

There is nothing to rebuild. That motor is toast. Stop wasting your time playing with it and buy a new one.

 

[cjames]

Re: water in engine not winterized

If youre going to overhaul that engine, make sure you have the machine shop magnaflux ALL the parts, block, heads, and intake. It would suck to miss a small crack and and fill the crankcase on a fresh engine with water again.

If you use the automotive engine, theres alot of parts that youll need to swap. A marine camshaft is especially different than an automotive one. I dont see anywhere in your post what engine is in the boat to begin with, I'll assume its a SBC, and in that case all the marine parts will bolt on the new one. SBC's came with 2 different size flywheel housings over the years. You need to figgure out what this "trans-am motor" really is, and fine out if it has the same flywheel housing as the engine in the boat.

I'd overhaul, at least that way you know what you have.

 

[yourownfree]

Re: water in engine not winterized

Thanks to all of you for the help, I'll find a camshaft, and check the housing as soon as the engine is out, and proceed from there. Hopefully the drive is ok. any one know the specs, lift etc for the camshaft?

 

[Bondo]

Re: water in engine not winterized

Hopefully the drive is ok

What Drive is it,..??....

You gotta Pull the Drive before the Motor........

 

[Coors]

Re: water in engine not winterized

Methinks Rubber has the good idea. Put a known correct engine in it, and don't look back.

 

[180shabah]

Re: water in engine not winterized

If youre going to overhaul that engine.....

I'd overhaul, at least that way you know what you have.

The block is cracked.

There is nothing to overhaul.

It is time to replace.

 

[lilsinker]

Re: water in engine not winterized

I'd shy away from the "TA" motor unless you know for sure that it is a chevy motor. Corp. GM used two different bellhousing bolt patterns in their vehicles, one for chevy, and the "B-O-P" (Buick, oldsmobile, pontiac) pattern. You can tell the difference between the engines easily enough just by comparing the valve covers and the intake.

 

[cjames]

Re: water in engine not winterized

The block is cracked.

There is nothing to overhaul.

It is time to replace.

Oh, I must have missed the part where someone confirmed a cracked block. Last I checked, sbc engine blocks were a dime a dozen. And, why shop for a camshaft and look for specs? theres a camshaft in the engine allready, unless theres something wrong with it.