1989 OMC 302 Ford V8. 650 hours. Man/Risers never been replaced to my knowledge--18 years of freshwater use.... I have owned for 4 years/200 hours, has run great until last week. Been reading all of the recent water intrusion, hydrolocking, cracked mainfold, repair/replace thread etc.
I had the dreaded "dead in water after running fine hydrolock" where after running great, very s-l-o-w cranking, no start/dead in the water, then next day it started right up on first try. I now understand that with cracked mainfold, water can seep into piston(s) when engine is not running, leading to problem described above. Oil level is fine, but looks more amber than dirty/black so I'm changing also. While water is fun to drink and drive a boat on, it doesn't compress in cylinders or lubricate internal engine parts very well...
Here are my next steps--looking for anything else I should do:
1. I have borrowed a compression tester-will be testing over weekend. Understand to remove sparkplugs, ground coil. I'll check/record the cyl readings to see if one (or several) are bad/low and replace plugs in order.
Q: How will I be able to tell by looking at spark plugs if they've had water damage? What will they look like?
Q: Do I need to do this step--or is it just good practice to see if there is anything else to be fixed? Since boat has run very strong since I've owned it, I've never done a compression check.
2. Inspection of Manifold.... Will the mans need to be removed to be visually inspected, or can it be obvious to see crack just by looking while still on engine? Any Hints/Tricks would be appreciated here (I have the CLYMER manual--so I assume I can just bolt off and inspect? )
3. Replacement of mainfold, or man/risers. As luck has it, checked with my shop, then online and the v8 OMC man/risers are on national backorder, so this will be an offseason project. Will the new man/risers also have the flapper--or is that for inboards only?.
4. Pressure testing manifold? If I am planning on replacing, does this need to be done?
5. Finally....Is this a job for a "willing to learn guy/(me)" with a socket set and manual , or is it better to be done by a real mechanic? If this will be a bear, I am ok with writing a check to someone to do.
Your advice/wisdom/counselling sought--and I may actually follow it.
I had the dreaded "dead in water after running fine hydrolock" where after running great, very s-l-o-w cranking, no start/dead in the water, then next day it started right up on first try. I now understand that with cracked mainfold, water can seep into piston(s) when engine is not running, leading to problem described above. Oil level is fine, but looks more amber than dirty/black so I'm changing also. While water is fun to drink and drive a boat on, it doesn't compress in cylinders or lubricate internal engine parts very well...
Here are my next steps--looking for anything else I should do:
1. I have borrowed a compression tester-will be testing over weekend. Understand to remove sparkplugs, ground coil. I'll check/record the cyl readings to see if one (or several) are bad/low and replace plugs in order.
Q: How will I be able to tell by looking at spark plugs if they've had water damage? What will they look like?
Q: Do I need to do this step--or is it just good practice to see if there is anything else to be fixed? Since boat has run very strong since I've owned it, I've never done a compression check.
2. Inspection of Manifold.... Will the mans need to be removed to be visually inspected, or can it be obvious to see crack just by looking while still on engine? Any Hints/Tricks would be appreciated here (I have the CLYMER manual--so I assume I can just bolt off and inspect? )
3. Replacement of mainfold, or man/risers. As luck has it, checked with my shop, then online and the v8 OMC man/risers are on national backorder, so this will be an offseason project. Will the new man/risers also have the flapper--or is that for inboards only?.
4. Pressure testing manifold? If I am planning on replacing, does this need to be done?
5. Finally....Is this a job for a "willing to learn guy/(me)" with a socket set and manual , or is it better to be done by a real mechanic? If this will be a bear, I am ok with writing a check to someone to do.
Your advice/wisdom/counselling sought--and I may actually follow it.
