470 mercuiser milkshake

[Benny67]

I did an oil change on my starboard 470 and to my surprise I pumped out a milkshake.

Bummer....

I had ran the engine to warm it up before pumping out the oil and it ran fine. I just noticed the reservoir was out of antifreeze prior to starting it. It took about a pint to fill it to the top.

I'm guessing that the exaust riser or the gasket have gone to their great reward.

Im planning on a compression test tomorrow morning to rule out a blown head gasket.

Soooo.... My question is, how does antifreeze get into the oil from this suspected bad riser?

I've done some reading and from what I can gather, it sounds typical of these evil 470s.

Please enlighten me on this someone

 

[Scott Danforth]

from the riser, it would have to leak down the exhaust and sit in the chambers, then leak past the rings.

most likely the culprit is the cam gear seal. google 470 speedy sleeve.

 

[Benny67]

I figured that was the only way for it to get in. Each year I crank each engine without plugs in it to see if any crap comes out. This year when I did it it was clear. Nothing sprayed out.

I've heard of the speedy sleeve. What's up with installing it?

​​​​​​And what's the easiest way to diagnose that's the issue?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Google it....

 

[Benny67]

Anyone else have any solid advice other than "Google it?"

If the seal is bad and I pressure test the coolant I'm not going to be able to tell where the leak is because most likely it will leak into the block.

any real tell tale signs to look for?

 

[Scott Danforth]

seriously dude, there are thousands of writeups on it, including the parts to buy. most on this site.

the cam nose wasnt hardened from the factory, the seal wears into it, the water pump then pumps coolant into the oil.

the fix is the speedy sleeve.

only way to look for it is to pull the seal and look. then at that point, install the speedy sleeve, and the new seal.

100% of 470s suffer from this issue, just like 100% of them will have the other common failures

 

[Benny67]

seriously dude, there are thousands of writeups on it, including the parts to buy. most on this site.

the cam nose wasnt hardened from the factory, the seal wears into it, the water pump then pumps coolant into the oil.

the fix is the speedy sleeve.

only way to look for it is to pull the seal and look. then at that point, install the speedy sleeve, and the new seal.

100% of 470s suffer from this issue, just like 100% of them will have the other common failures

Here's the scoop...I was hoping for someone who would give some insight to confirm its that seal by some sort of past experience .


I was hoping I could maybe avoid tearing half the engine apart only to find out that it was something else.

​​​​​
It's pretty arrogant of you to shoot from the hip and say " it's the sleeve" it probably is.. but there's a chance it's not.

I like to gather as much info as I can and that includes past experiences from others.
im asking simple questions. You don't like them then just go away.

 

[kenny nunez]

The reason you may have not seen any coolant in the bilge is the “weep” hole in the timing cover is plugged up with debris or someone put a screw in it thinking that would repair the leak. When the hole is plugged the coolant backs up past the inner seal into the crankcase.
Raise the front of the engine just enough to remove the front mount.
Then pull the harmonic balancer, stator winding, impeller cover, the impeller then the timing cover. The speedy sleeve goes over the cam nose and the seals replaced in the timing cover. Be sure that they are placed “back to back”. Clean out the “weep” hole passage. Put it back together.

 

[stonyloam]

on a 470 the water pump impeller is bolted to the end of the cam. There are two seals that ride on the nose of the cam, and a weep hole in the space between the seals. Both seals face the coolant. When the engine is running the coolant is under pressure. Any coolant under pressure that leaks past the first seal is no longer under pressure and leaks out of the weep hole, rather than past the second seal into the crankcase. If the weep hole is plugged the coolant stays under pressure and will leak past the second seal into the crankcase. Sometimes an owner will plug the weep hole to stop the “leak”, so make sure it is clear, it is on the lower starboard side of the engine water pump casting. There are a bunch of threads here about changing the seals.

 

[Benny67]

The ballancer is in the way of the engine mount? It looks close, but I thought it might make it past without having to take the motor mount off.
​​​​​
I'm just about to dig into it now and was going to read how others tore it down before jumping into it

Thanks

 

[Benny67]

Well, turns out the person who put the speedi sleeve in didn’t seat the seals correctly. The rear cam seal basically was ripped from its bushing.

It was basically dumping antifreeze directly into the crankcase.

glad it’s found.

Jobs not as bad id thought. Glad I had an engine lift though

 

[Scott06]

https://www.google.com/search?q=mer...eeve&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari

you can also search the forum here as most of top hits are on the forum

 

[southkogs]

Let's watch the shovin' matches y'all.

 

[stonyloam]

If you moved the motor mount, make sure you pull the drive and realign the driveshaft into the coupler.

 

[Benny67]

I agree that I should have checked realignment when I was done but I went through painstaking efforts to put it back in the exact place it was before. When I removed the mount as a whole, I just unbolted it from the bracket and the motor itself, leaving the adjustments exactly where they were. When it went back together, I just slid it back and re bolted back on the engine


The way I see it, the shaft was already in place so if it moved slightly the gimbal bearing would have followed it.


anyway, what a crap design.

im up and running and back in the water. I took it out and ran it for a hour and half and all is well.

 

[stonyloam]

Nice work Benny! Yeah they can be a pain and need some TLC, but you should be good for 10 years or so (maybe LOL). Don’t forget to change your impeller every 2-3 years to keep her cool.
they do run pretty well when they are right!

 

[Benny67]

I actually do my impellers every seasons

I'd rather spend $60 than worry about overheating issues.

​​​​My slip is shallow at low tide so I worry about silt getting into the pumps and prematurely wearing them.

​​​​​​Thanks for the input guys...and to the other two guys who seem to think I'm "lazy" because of the way I gather my information to solve a problem.. lighten up.

 

[Benny67]

you should be good for 10 years or so!

lol...the previous owner did this 6 years ago (roughly 130 hrs run time) I hope my job lasts longer

 

[Scott Danforth]

The way I see it, the shaft was already in place so if it moved slightly the gimbal bearing would have followed it.

.

No, it has nothing to do with the gimbal bearing.....if it moved, it stresses your coupler, and eventually your coupler goes out. then you need to pull the motor to replace the coupler. you need to check alignment annually, or every 100 hour or every time you touch a motor mount.

 

[Benny67]

No, it has nothing to do with the gimbal bearing.....if it moved, it stresses your coupler, and eventually your coupler goes out. then you need to pull the motor to replace the coupler. you need to check alignment annually, or every 100 hour or every time you touch a motor mount.

The driveshaft is set into the gimbal (rides between those two o rings) its already set into the coupling. If it was moved SLIGHTLY it should still stay perpendicular (within reason) to everything else.

​​​​​​I'm not saying for everyone else to do what I did but I'm confident it's not out of alignment... maybe it is slightly, but I'm sure it will be ok for this season.