It's cracked, now what?

[wvff525]

Hello, I've got an 3.0L OMC 4 cylinder 140HP. First, I'm not a mechanic nor am I familar with motors, which is why I've got this problem in the first place. Long story short, I knew this boat was not winterized but I got it anyways. I finally got the chance to mess with and and I checked all the fluids and put the muffs on it and tryed to start it. Water was rushing out of the exhaust manifold from a crack on the underside approx. 5" long.

I've been doing some reading on here and decided I would pull the manifold and attempt to repair it with some JB Weld. If that didn't work I was willng to purchase a new manifold for it. So, tonight I removed the manifold only to find another crack, this time on the engine block! This crack is also approx. 5" long and is right between two of the freeze plugs. The first freeze plug was popped but the second one was not. I did not see these freeze plugs and the crack because this area is usually covered by a panel containing I believe the solenoids for the trim/tilt.

So that is where I'm at and the only progress I've made thus far. I'm wondering what my options are now? Sell it for parts etc.? I'm a young guy with a small budget, so any work would have to be done by me. Remember I'm not a mechanic, but I'm willing to try to learn. So far the only thing I've learned is I should have walked away from this boat. LOL Any advice, opinions or instructions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Bondo]

Re: It's cracked, now what?

Sell it for parts etc.?

Because,..........

Remember I'm not a mechanic,

You won't have the Tools, or Talents to pull this 1 off, I'm afraid...........

 

[Dakota47]

Re: It's cracked, now what?

if no water in oil/cylinders -clean the crack real good & drill a small hole at each end of the crack(very small as in not to deep) and then clean again with brake cleen and the apply 3 to 4 coats of JB weld and let dry for 48 hrs or so and that should fix the leaks.

 

[Dakota47]

Re: It's cracked, now what?

oh yea put in new freeze plugs.

 

[firehog6305]

Re: It's cracked, now what?

you know the same thing happened to me with my first boat first of all the jb weld thing. it does work for a while, but what the other gentleman on here said about drilling in 100% right. What I have had sucess with is, its called stop drilling the end of the cracks (but dont go through) then I take a small grinder on a dremel tool and grind down the crack to make a little V to accept the jb weld, before applying the jb weld, I wipe it down with acetone, not lac thinner, but acetone (less oils) then apply jb weld with a latex glove on, and push it into the crack, it holds for a 1-3yrs if done right, but remember one warning about doing this!!! it will give way or even worse when you least expect it its a good way to ruin a trip, best thing you can always do is look for another motor sorry

 

[whywhyzed]

Re: It's cracked, now what?

What's he going to do about all the internal cracks? It wasn't winterized. Engine is scrap metal.

I agree part it out, or call around and see what local places want to repower it with a new or used engine.

OMC though? Cobra?
drain drive fluid(s) and see if the outdrive is junk too.

EDIT - I just searched poster's messages - it's a 1979 OMC hydromech - not worth working on- sorry - cut your losses

 

[wvff525]

Re: It's cracked, now what?

I kind of figured with a crack in the block it would be toast. I've read about why not to weld exhaust manifolds, but what about the engine block? I know that may be a stupid question to some, but I was just wondering. The JB Weld sounds tempting, but then being stranded in the middle of the river when it goes isn't my idea of fun.

I'm not sure if the oil had water in it, because there was no oil in the engine. Now I know this should have been a big red flag. The guy I got it from claimed he was in the process of changing the oil when I got there. This guy was susposed to be a pastor too! I guess I just trusted him too much. I can say that after turning it over and trying to start it for a few minutes didn't put any water in the new oil. All the other fluids were fine on the outdrive and it shifts in and out of gear easily. The trim and tilt work great and it appears to have a fairly new starter. What all parts should I expect to be able to get rid of ? and what would a fair price for them be?

This was a good lesson for me, a hard one, but still a good one. I've learned alot so far and will continue to learn as I part it out. In the end, I'll be left with a nice boat and a trailer. I've been thinking hard about converting it to an outboard. I've read a few threads on how to do it and it seems pretty simple to me. What do you think? Thank you thus far, for you help.

 

[cheburashka]

Re: It's cracked, now what?

Your main problem at this point is knowing how much money to throw at it to figure out whether it's worth throwing money at. That's a tough one. Sounds like the very least you need to do is to get a new manifold and gasket set and bolt them up. That, plus a couple of packages of JB Weld will tell you if there are internal leaks. Once you determine whether there are internal leaks, you need to determine whether they are in the head (which can be replaced at a reasonable price) or the block (which means you're SOL.) It sounds like you tried to run it with the cracked manifold and no water leaked in. That's a good sign, but it isn't the end of the story. You still need to verify that there aren't other smaller internal cracks. They'll only show up when you've sealed the biggest crack.

My advice would be to look through this forum and find posts about pressure testing the block. Do the absolute best job you can of JB Welding the block, then see if you can track down a good used manifold. There should be a few around, since that particular engine/outdrive combo failed a lot. Mount up the manifold and pressure test it. If you have leaks that can't be detected then they're probably on the inner side of the water jacket and they can't be fixed.

One final thing--I don't get why people are recommending drilling only part way through the crack before using JB Weld. The point is to end the crack with a smooth machined hole. If you only drill halfway through the wall of the block, the crack will still be there and it will be able to migrate. There's already a crack in the block. A small hole won't hurt anything, especially since it will be filled with JB Weld.

 

[4Winns2]

Re: It's cracked, now what?

Hello, I've got an 3.0L OMC 4 cylinder 140HP. First, I'm not a mechanic nor am I familar with motors, which is why I've got this problem in the first place. Long story short, I knew this boat was not winterized but I got it anyways. I finally got the chance to mess with and and I checked all the fluids and put the muffs on it and tryed to start it. Water was rushing out of the exhaust manifold from a crack on the underside approx. 5" long.

I've been doing some reading on here and decided I would pull the manifold and attempt to repair it with some JB Weld. If that didn't work I was willng to purchase a new manifold for it. So, tonight I removed the manifold only to find another crack, this time on the engine block! This crack is also approx. 5" long and is right between two of the freeze plugs. The first freeze plug was popped but the second one was not. I did not see these freeze plugs and the crack because this area is usually covered by a panel containing I believe the solenoids for the trim/tilt.

So that is where I'm at and the only progress I've made thus far. I'm wondering what my options are now? Sell it for parts etc.? I'm a young guy with a small budget, so any work would have to be done by me. Remember I'm not a mechanic, but I'm willing to try to learn. So far the only thing I've learned is I should have walked away from this boat. LOL Any advice, opinions or instructions would be greatly appreciated.

Had the same thing a couple of years ago when I bought my 90' Four Winns with the 4.3 OMC. I researched all of the options and ended up with a remanned long block for just under 1k from a local crank shop here in Syracuse. Found a guy there who had flipped many marine engines and hired him for another $700. Altogether, I spent about 2.8k. I concluded anything less than this measure wouldn't keep me on the water very long without a paddle.

My hull is in great shape and so is the boat overall. I'll keep the boat for a lifetime so I don't mind too much being upside down on the value. Plus, I have the comfort of a new engine to boot. If your hull is in good shape, start shopping around for a remanned long block and a good mechanic. My two cents and I know this proposition isn't cheap but boats are never cheap.

 

[DayCruiser]

Re: It's cracked, now what?

I would JB weld it and see if there is water in the oil. If not, then strip it and then take it to a good cast iron welder. Most likely the "Pastor" and I use that word lightly in this circumstance lol had no oil in it for a reason. Never buy a boat without test driving it.

 

[Coors]

Re: It's cracked, now what?

If you jb weld it; you have a pond boat.

don't take it out in deep water with waves, and have it die on you.