Have an 87 fourwinns that has not been used in 6 years Engine appears frozen

twicks4

Recruit
Joined
Jun 4, 2021
Messages
2
I decided to pull my boat out of the garage and try to start it.With a new charged battery,tried to turn/start the Merc 3.0 engine.Only here the slave solenooid click,everytime I turned the ignition switch.Boat engine has not been run in 6 years.Starter solenoid, does not appear to do anything.Next I pulled the spark plus and tried to hand crank the engine,using the nut on the alternator pulley.Belt just slips on pulleys.The crank shaft pully appears frozen.Tried carefully to pry the crank shaft pully area,with ory bar against motor mount.Again crank shaft appears frozen.Sprayed some BP down in all 4 cylinders,let sit awhile.Tried again to hand crank the engine.Had same results.Does Anyone have any suggestions to try to unfreeze my engine?Note:eek:n the end of the crankshaft there appears to be a Hex slot,Does any body know the Hex size,so I can get the correct size bit,to try and free up the crank,with Rachet wrench and extention?







extension













the end
 

dubs283

Vice Admiral
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
5,338
i think you mean your engine is "seized" meaning the internals are stuck/rusted in place. on this forum saying the engine is frozen conjures other thoughts and courses of action

pull the drive and try to turn the engine, possible the issue is drive related, otherwise...

use a high quality penetrating oil and soak the cylinders for up to multiple days, with luck the engine may turn over by hand. trying to turn a seized engine using the balancer bolt head can shear the bolt off in the crank
 

Rick Stephens

Admiral
Joined
Aug 13, 2013
Messages
6,118
Take the pulley off the harmonic balancer and then screw the bolts back in and use a bar on those bolts to gently pry directly on the crank. Never put a socket on the crank nose bolt, you'll strip it out and ruin a crankshaft. As noted, pull the drive to be certain it isn't a drive problem. You can also get a borescope for your phone for cheap and take a look in the cylinders through spark plug holes. I'd personally be pulling the valve cover off and seeing if I had rust happening.
 
Top