I have a 1986 Wellcraft 190 with a Mercruiser 170 engine. Owned and ran for about a 1 1/2 months. Supposedly rebuilt last Summer. Ran awesome until it all of the sudden bogged down, spewed large amounts of oil out of the valve cover vent and died. Compression check showed very little in #2 and 0 psi in #4. I removed the valve cover and the #4 push rod was bent, spring broke, and rocker barely hanging on. Pulled the head... significant holes in #2 and #4 pistons. It appears the previous "rebuilder" used a liquid gasket on the coolant tank to exhaust manifold joint and almost completely blocked the jackets, which I believe caused an overheat situation and it went downhill from there. Long story short, I am pulling the motor for a rebuild. My question is whether I can order Ford 460 pistons and rings for this engine? I have found pistons at the Summit website that appear to match but I am inquiring here for for insight on this matter. The pistons I found there have the valve reliefs and the notch that the currently installed pistons have. I am not sure of the full commonality with these two motors. The replacements I found there are significantly cheaper than the Mercruiser's that I found online elsewhere. Any insight on my situation here would, as always, be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!
