5.7L Mercruiser competition ski...Lacks WOT after overheat.

ADKoutboard

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Jun 14, 2010
Messages
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I'm working on a 1988 Century Resorter w/ a 5.7L comp ski inboard, raw water cooled.

Owner's son-in-law overheated the motor & (wait for it...) "Revved the engine to blow it out." Raw water pump was shot, so we replaced it. Took it out and it ran great but once it reached WOT it slowly lost power. Found port exhaust hose loose and leaking onto spark plug leads & re-clamped them. Couldn't test boat again before owner took it. Now, it runs good and cool up to 2900 rpm, but around 3000 rpm and higher it lacks power. Won't get to WOT (4000-4400rpm) only gets 3200-3000 rpm max. Temp gauge rises @ idle to aprox. 150 degrees, but @ higher rpm gauge drops to bottom of the scale and engine smells hot. I did notice that the port side riser is cooler than the starboard side. Motor sounds almost like an outboard w/ the throttle plates advanced too far. (if that makes any sense to anybody) kind of hard to put into text the sound it's making.

-new water pump.
-new fuel filter.
-new spark plugs.
(part of spring start-up)

Could it be possible that a head gasket is blown? or am I barking up the wrong tree?
Are there any tests short of pulling the heads?
I have mercruiser manuals (i.e.; #17 5.0L /5.7L)

Any help would be appreciated. I'm more of an outboard guy.

Thanks.
Tarren
 

Bondo

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Re: 5.7L Mercruiser competition ski...Lacks WOT after overheat.

Ayuh,... Welcome Aboard,...
Has this inboard got an exhaust that would get Plugged by a burnt up shutter,..??
With I/Os they drop into,+ plug the Y-pipe...
 

Bt Doctur

Supreme Mariner
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Aug 29, 2004
Messages
19,345
Re: 5.7L Mercruiser competition ski...Lacks WOT after overheat.

compression test or leakdown test with all the plugs out and listen to the adjacant cylinders
 

ADKoutboard

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Messages
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Re: 5.7L Mercruiser competition ski...Lacks WOT after overheat.

Ayuh,... Welcome Aboard,...
Has this inboard got an exhaust that would get Plugged by a burnt up shutter,..??
With I/Os they drop into,+ plug the Y-pipe...

I don't believe that it does...it has flaps on the exhaust on the outside.


Tarren

(I have to come up with a cool saying to put at the end of my posts) hahaha
 

ADKoutboard

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Messages
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Re: 5.7L Mercruiser competition ski...Lacks WOT after overheat.

So, does anyone think that these symptoms are indicating a blown head gasket? I just don't want to end up chasing ghosts, if you know what I mean.


Thanks

Tarren
 

jtmarten

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Aug 2, 2004
Messages
825
Re: 5.7L Mercruiser competition ski...Lacks WOT after overheat.

Any water in the oil?
Did you backflush the raw water feed line to make sure it's not plugged with impeller chunks?
Results of compression test?
 

OldNBold51

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Apr 19, 2010
Messages
169
Re: 5.7L Mercruiser competition ski...Lacks WOT after overheat.

So, does anyone think that these symptoms are indicating a blown head gasket? I just don't want to end up chasing ghosts, if you know what I mean.


Thanks

Tarren

Are you getting a lot of blowby at the higher rpm ranges?
 

JustJason

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Aug 27, 2007
Messages
5,321
Re: 5.7L Mercruiser competition ski...Lacks WOT after overheat.

Follow Bt Doc's advice and start with the basics, without compression you can't troubleshoot anything.

Troubleshoot your systems in this order
1. mechanicals
2. ignition
3. fuel
 

surftodd

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Joined
Jan 19, 2003
Messages
14
Re: 5.7L Mercruiser competition ski...Lacks WOT after overheat.

ADKoutboard

What was the final outcome? I have the same problems with the low rmps at full throtle. The engine runs nice and smooth and stays within a good temperature, but the rmps are off and I only get to a little more than 1/2 of the wot speed maxing out at 27 mph instead of the 40mph that the boat should get up too. my engine never overheated either.
 

ADKoutboard

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Joined
Jun 14, 2010
Messages
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Re: 5.7L Mercruiser competition ski...Lacks WOT after overheat.

Well sports fans!!!!!! The verdict is in...... And the person with the closest answer to the problem was........ Bond-o!!!!!!! I wasn't able to log in for a while so I couldn't give you updates. It was over cooling...changed thermostat and cleaned all the garbage out. Then, found when we took off the spark arrester, that at high RPM's the carb was spitting back through the secondaries!!!!! Long story short...(with the help of a friend) it turns out that the exhaust hoses from the risers back to the through hull fittings had collapsed! causing a great deal of back pressure, hence the spitting at the carb.

Thank you all for your advise! Hope I can return the favor!

Tarren
Now get out on the water, and have fun!
 
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