Is this "tower of power" worth saving?

[MortenH]

Hello all!<br /><br />I have a 1984 Merc 115 Hp - great engine, but;<br />Last time I was out cruising, I suddenly heard a loud knockin sound. I have opened the powerhead, and found quite a mess. One piston completely melted down, water corrosion on two places on the crankshaft, the upper bearing have followed the crank around for a while making the top cover fitting a little loose, and all the rod / crank needle bearings worn out. <br /><br />So my question is - shall I get another engine, or is it better to take the job rebuilding this one? What is necessary to to to get it up running again? And to what price? I will do all the repairs myself.<br /><br />All answers will be appreciated!<br /><br />Norway<br /><br />(Yes I live there)

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: Is this "tower of power" worth saving?

I'd say don't do it. Unless you can find a decent used powerhead to work with. You might be able to save the crankcase, but I'm thinking the rods and crankshaft probably need to be replaced. New parts are going to put the price for parts alone in the ballpark of a decent running used motor. If it were mine, I'd look around for parts motors and make 1 good running one. I've done that with alot of the machinery I have. You learn a ton about your machine that way.

 

[HeadHunt]

Re: Is this "tower of power" worth saving?

Norway,<br /> Contact a member named Clams_Canino. Great man for rebuilding powerheads on in-lines. HeadHunt

 

[Clams Canino]

Re: Is this "tower of power" worth saving?

I'm here LOL, he already found me but I'll answer here so other can benifit from the answers. Willy is right that finding a used powerhead would really help in the parts dept.<br /><br />The crankshaft in NLA from Mercury and when it was, it last retailed for about $2000 (yikes!)<br /><br />The upper end-cap (1161-7616A2) is available at $116 from Mercury, or if it's not too bad, you could have any good machine shop knurl your old one to get a good fit on that upper bearing (preferred cost wise)<br /><br />All the rest of the internal parts are available aftermarket for short change. <br /><br />Your real problem (after dealing with the upper end-cap) is that crankshaft. That's where a donor motor would come in handy, I'll do a post for you on the NNTP inline board to see if anyone wants to part with a crank. I personally never part with cranks because of what it is I do for work.<br /><br />Ebay is also a ready source for cranks, but you'd usually be competing with me to get them. As an act of mercy, if you were to locate one on Ebay and tell me the item number, I'd refrain from bidding on it assuming you already had.<br /><br />Measure the big ends of your rod journals to see how bad off they are. Those are also Ebay items, (since Mercury gets $180 each)and they usually come attached to pistons.<br /><br />-W

 

[MortenH]

Re: Is this "tower of power" worth saving?

Thanks folks!<br />I have had several mails from people with a crank for sale - even a norwegian found me on NNTP inline board. I will keep you posted on my progress in rebuilding my "Tower of power"<br /><br />Morten

 

[Clams Canino]

Re: Is this "tower of power" worth saving?

I love it when a plan comes together.<br /><br />-W

 

[MortenH]

Re: Is this "tower of power" worth saving?

Hello again folks!<br />I have now removed every cover and opened the motor. I have successfully bored the #2 cylinder and am now working on getting the crankshaft. Everything fine so far. When i removed the baffle plate, I discovered a tiny crack in the aluminium block, located in the little "wall" separating the two ports that are leading the exhaust to the lower unit. It is, as far as I can tell, a no load structure. Is it necessary / possible to weld this?<br /><br />Morten

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Is this "tower of power" worth saving?

hello<br /> pics would help. if the crack is under the diverter plate(not the divider) then that may be where your water is coming from.<br /> if its in the webbing on the cyl port and the actual steel liner webbing is not cracked it may be ok. to pressure test the block water passages make a plate from 3/8 aluminium that covers the block water intake and the block water exhaust. then install the diverter,divider and exhaust covers then install the cyl water cover and plug off the tell tale nipple. pressureize the block to about 20-25 psi of water or 30to50 psi air and check for leakage. here in the salt pond the diverter and diverter mounting area and the exhaust covers were weak. when they failed it usually rendered the motor as scrap aluminium. you have described a failure due to water injestion. time to find the water leak or it will do it again. double check all the exhaust port cyl webbs. if the liner is cracked between the webbs a ring failure is assured.

 

[Ronald1]

Re: Is this "tower of power" worth saving?

How do I get to the NNTP inline baord? Clams, I have really enjoyed your posts, especially when Rodbolt joins the fun. Thanks

 

[MortenH]

Re: Is this "tower of power" worth saving?

Images here as requested. First an overview to locate the crack,<br /><br />

<br /><br />then a closer look.<br /><br />

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Is this "tower of power" worth saving?

cool pics<br /> man I gotta get a digital cam right after I get a cell phone .<br /> try to get some shots of the crack going ito the exhast cover area. that may be your water leak. was the lower bearing bad or did the lower part of the crank show any signs of water damage? if all that is cracked is that web odds are it will be ok. may want to have a bead welded on it to make sure it does not come off.there is a water jacket on the other side of that webbing I just cant remember how close it is, fairly close best I remember. if Clams has a block apart maybe he can look at it and give more advice. I would definatly pressure test that block.

 

[MortenH]

Re: Is this "tower of power" worth saving?

A digital cam is a very handy thing - my wife keeps asking why I fill it up whit useless picture of that d... motor though.. <br />I will post some more photos this afternoon, and also check the water jacket.<br />I am not able to find any sign of water inside the block or at the lower part of the crank. I cant find any damage caused by water on the lower bearing either. All I can see is a minor signs of water where the lower end cap will be mounted. When I lifted the power head off, I found traces of silicone, showing that the previous owner had reused the old gaskets and used silicone to seal it

 

[Clams Canino]

Re: Is this "tower of power" worth saving?

Crack between the two exhaust outlets is a VERY common crack. It does not lead to anything else in my experience. You *could* v-grind it all and have it welded. But I usually don't bother as it's totally inconsequential. 8 outta 10 blocks I see have this crack.<br /><br />-W

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Is this "tower of power" worth saving?

on that I am with clams.<br /> its rather common. but if you have water damage its imperitive to find where it came from before returning the engine to service or odds are it will do it again. <br /> on that clams will most likly agree with me

 

[MortenH]

Re: Is this "tower of power" worth saving?

I will replace every gasket and use gasketseal to ensure a waterproof fitting. I am not able to find any other crack in the block where there is water on one side. I am not 100% sure, but I am not able to see any water damage in the block that can come from a leak. But I will keep on looking.<br />It now looks like I have gotten a good working condition crank from the US of A - thanks Clams and Thom!! <br /><br />-M-

 

[Clams Canino]

Re: Is this "tower of power" worth saving?

From your description I don;t think you have water damage. Do not remove that innermost plate unless there are signs that it was leaking. So far, I see you left it alone. If you do have to remove it, use only the Mercury gasket, a thin coat of hi-temp Permatex (red)nad torque the bolts to 200 inch pounds in 3 steps. That is the most critical gasket in the whole block. I never disturb it unless it was leaking.<br /><br />-W

 

[PACERll]

Re: Is this "tower of power" worth saving?

Originally posted by Norway:<br /> Images here as requested. First an overview to locate the crack,<br /><br />

<br /><br />then a closer look.<br /><br />

 

[PACERll]

Re: Is this "tower of power" worth saving?

I alsow would like to know how do I get to the NNTP site for inline owners. Would someone PLEASE explain to me what I need to do to do this and what do I type in to get there. Thanks folfs for a SUPER site. Ive been telling ALL my boater friends about your site and since I have been here I have probably saved some of my friends loads of money especially telling them about Seafoam and Deep Crank. Thanks again.

 

[Droll]

Re: Is this "tower of power" worth saving?

I am also working on a old tower that needs rebuilding ,<br />So I got one question for you , what machine shop did you use to bore the block ?,and the result ?<br /><br />My block got the same cracks too , + the silicone,a Norwegian quick fix

 

[Droll]

Re: Is this "tower of power" worth saving?

Originally posted by 1FASTLASER:<br /> I alsow would like to know how do I get to the NNTP site for inline owners.......

Quick search + copy/paste (old post from Clams Canino ) <br /><br />If you have Outlook Express, try this link. Just cut and paste it ino your web browser and Outlook express outta fire off and go there.<br /><br />news://news.kraits.org/bigweek.mercury-inlines <br /><br />It's an NNTP Inline Six users group, you're gonna need it. LOL