Crack in engine?

[vampirefish]

I own a 1995 Bayliner 2050 Capri Bowrider with Mercruiser A1, Gen II, 5.0 V8 Inboard and have never had any problems with it. I always am diligent with winterizing, etc and taking care of it (myself). Today I went to summarize and upon muffs on/water running, engine started and I noticed no water coming back out the engine. I stopped the engine and noticed water in my bilge (and running from this crack)! Upon inspection, I see a crack in the bottom part of my engine... what does this mean? I'm guessing... that maybe not enough water was out of the engine during winter? Sorry if this seems like a dumb question but I'm dumb-founded and freaked out. I LOVE this boat and now think I may be having to buy a new engine???? Any advice would be much appreciated.

One change in all of this... moved in March this year to E. Washington (state) where it does get colder (moved from W. Washington) ... it froze a few times when we first got here.... I don't know... it froze back home though too... Oh, also back home I had it under cover (like a Costco cover thing) and a boat cover as well... also had a dehumidifier inside of the boat (notorious for mold & mildew on that side of the mountains) and made sure to keep the engine cover off... to help kind of "heat" the boat. Now it sits in an RV storage area with only the boat cover...

I'm just hoping there's a fix to this thing... waaaahhhh~~~

With all of this in mind... what did I miss? I remove the plugs (1 on each side) that the sea coolant hoses connect to and then I lower the engine, tilt my boat and let water drain there... this apparently isn't enough...

 

[proshadetree]

Re: Crack in engine?

Any water in the oil? Did it miss? I have mig welded sever boat engines due to cracks from freezing. I have also seen some people clean the block with brake clean and grind it a little then just epoxy up like jb weld or some of the puttys on the market. Always pull the threaded drains out and back probe for rust buildup to make sure the block is drained. I then pour antifreeze into the input pipe just to make sure I am safe. Pics will help if you can get them

 

[Bifflefan]

Re: Crack in engine?

If there is a crack that water is running out of,,,,, then you need a new block. Good for you that you have a chevy base engine and everyone has a chevy block for sale. Find a good machine shop to go through it, after you pull it and disassemble all but the main engine stuff. Then put in your new engine and enjoy.
This is going to be about a 3000.00 repair. Maybe less as most the other parts should be good to reuse. problably need a new set of pistons for the new block but the rest should transfer over.

While your at it find a good 350 to upgrade to. They are alot more available than the 305.

 

[vampirefish]

Re: Crack in engine?

Any water in the oil? Did it miss? I have mig welded sever boat engines due to cracks from freezing. I have also seen some people clean the block with brake clean and grind it a little then just epoxy up like jb weld or some of the puttys on the market. Always pull the threaded drains out and back probe for rust buildup to make sure the block is drained. I then pour antifreeze into the input pipe just to make sure I am safe. Pics will help if you can get them

Hmm... I'll have to check the oil... doesn't miss... runs like a champ! I have read about JB Weld ... anyone try this and have success? I don't have the money to replace my engine right now. I was laid off for 6 months... finally got a new job but catching up BIG TIME.

 

[craze1cars]

Re: Crack in engine?

I have read about JB Weld ... anyone try this and have success? .

Yes. Bought a boat with similarly cracked block. After it passed all compression checks I JBWelded the cracks (one crack on each side of the block). No water mixing in the oil. Got lucky there seems to be no internal cracks. It now leaks no more water and is still running strong. I'm leaving it well enough alone and will frequently check the patches.

It's a hack repair, many here will say don't do it...but what do you have to lose? Safety is a concern with regards to off-shore running. Not sure where you boat...so assess the situation. If the risk of a dead boat mid-lake won't be a dangerous situation for where you boat, give the hack repair a whirl.

As for your winterizing method....your 1995 may be different, but my 1999 volvo 5.0 have 4 plugs, 2 on each side. You only mention one on each side. There is a plug on the underside of each manifold (yours may be these hoses you refer to)...this will drain the manifolds only, BUT NOT THE BLOCK. There is also a drain plug on each side of the engine block (probably a bit below and behind your cracks). These plugs drain the engine block only. Did you not pull these 2 plugs also? If no, there's the absolute source of your problem...

Then it's generally recommended to pull the lower water pump hose and dump that out too...but that is mostly to protect the water pump and shouldn't have caused your problem.

When you pull the plugs it is important to stick a wire or nail or something in there and root it around to make sure all the water comes flowing out like a solid hose stream...if you just get a trickle it is because you have a mud dam. The holes plug with silt/sand/mud from the lake and the often need a little help to drain. So if you just pulled a plug and the hole was still plugged by mud and little water flowed out? There's the other possible source of your problem...

And I always leave my plugs out all winter just as a wierd safety thing in my mind. I figure a bubble of trapped water will at least find its way out when I'm not looking if there's something hiding in there. Put the plugs back in before first fire-up in the spring.

Your storage description baffles me. Are you saying you're relying on the heat of the dehumidifier to keep the engine compartment from freezing? This will simply not work. Dehumidifiers ice up and shut down at most temps below about 55 degrees. They don't even run at all when temps are near freezing. Maybe I'm misunderstanding what you were trying to describe.

ANY time and EVERY time the boat is subjected to freezing temps, even ONE day, the block must be fully drained.

 

[180shabah]

Re: Crack in engine?

I remove the plugs (1 on each side) that the sea coolant hoses connect to

That is the issue right there - the block drains have no hoses attached to them. Cazy, detailed how to drain the block above.

If you got lucky, and only have an external crack, then it worth trying an epoxy repair. If you do end up replacing the block, you really want the 350. The differences are internal so all of your bolt ons can be swapped over. You will need a new prop though, big jump in power.

 

[fat fanny]

Re: Crack in engine?

As said before the draining of all the water cooling passages is essential to avoiding freeze and propper winterization. I had to learn this lesson the hard way as well but never again and I lucked out and it was my manifold in which a crafty welder (cousin) repaired and no further issues. But with all that being said the use of compressed air to clear the passages certainly helps and starting from the top and working your way to the lowest point helps along with filling the passages with A/F by the same method starting at the bottom until a/f comes out that drain plug it and keep filling until it pours out each one until it reaches the fill point, I know they say air don't freeze but filling it with a/f helps prevent the risk of freezing and it also protects against corrosion during the long months of storage. But back to the ? of repairing the block I guess it all depends on where the crack is and if you can find a good welder or a reliable epoxy (I preffer the welding) like said earier what do you have to lose. Good luck! and let us know what happens.

 

[vampirefish]

Re: Crack in engine?

Thanks everyone... I'll report back soon. Will begin investigating further tomorrow (fingers crossed)...

 

[vampirefish]

Re: Crack in engine?

whew! No water in the engine ... can someone tell me what type of drill bit I would need (to drill into both ends of the crack)? I have an 18v drill and a regular electric one (thinking I need to use this one) ... but not sure on the actual type of bit I'll need...

 

[180shabah]

Re: Crack in engine?

One that cuts metal.....

 

[vampirefish]

Re: Crack in engine?

One that cuts metal.....

Haha! Ya... Just wasn't sure if there is a specific name/strength, etc. I've bought supposedly "stronger" type bits that broke in the past.

 

[proshadetree]

Re: Crack in engine?

Get a person slick with a mig and have them seam it up. Not enough heat to cause further cracking. Jb weld repair will not need drilled. If you get a welder who uses the arc rod method drill at ends of crack. Note they are hard to find by the naked eye. I move out about 1/16 inch from crack end and drill. crack will then jump to that hole when welded. If you just lake boat epoxy will do the job just keep an eye on it.

 

[vampirefish]

Re: Crack in engine?

Ok, so last night I prepped and filled the cracks in with JB Weld. The packaging says give it 15 hrs to cure... should I wait longer? ... call me paranoid but I want this to work and don't want to mess it up!

 

[proshadetree]

Re: Crack in engine?

It is hard as it will get in 15 hrs

 

[Icefire55]

Re: Crack in engine?

you made an error but using jbweld, you should get it tig welded ASAP. jb weld is only epoxy paste, and you are applying this on a engine block which is pressurised (water coolant, at least some psi)

What will happend is you'll run the boat a whole day one time, not thinking of the crack, and it will leak and you'll kill the motor.

Tig welding cost about 35-50$/hour, if it's an external crack, it will cost you 25$ to have it properly welded.

 

[Alpheus]

Re: Crack in engine?

it will cost you 25$ to have it properly welded.

What are you guys smokin up there? I think I would trust JB weld before I would trust a guy that welds up engine blocks for 25 bucks.

 

[Icefire55]

Re: Crack in engine?

Well most local shop here charge around 50$/hour for welding anything. it cover material (rods) and hours.

The place near my house the owner love to work, do it 7/7, have welded countless blocks, and it's always 50/50 with cast iron.

We use Epoxy paste like JB on many things and it crack if too hot (thermic shock)

If he doesn't have to remove the block from the engine, he only need to grind, clean the crack than weld. a 30minutes job

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Crack in engine?

I have said it before...if that was my boat, there is NO way I would repair a cracked block with either method.

 

[proshadetree]

Re: Crack in engine?

You would flat crap if you actually knew how many have been done both ways. Its kind of like solid floors and stringers lot of boats running around rotten as sin.

 

[vampirefish]

Re: Crack in engine?

CRAP, CRAP, CRAP! No more water running out of the cracks, but after it ran to temp... I checked the oil and it's milky as can be. Does this mean I should not drive it again? May seem like a dumb question... but I thought I'd throw it out there.