Mercruiser 3.0 engine replacement questions

[jthor3277]

Hi guys. Well did an engine tear down after some horrific noises coming from my '01 Mercruiser 3.0L last week. My engine timing gear cover had a huge hole in it on the top, right underneath the water pump. The water pump had excessive water leaking out of the weep hole and I think it went directly into the oil. My oil pan had quite a bit of water in it and that explains the gray oil. I removed the head from the block and the piston heads, rods, lifters and valves all look great. The head gasket is in excellent shape as well. No signs of bypass anywhere. The block shows no sign of a crack. So I dropped the pan to do some lower end inspection. I removed the crankshaft piston journals to see the conditions of the bearings and to my dismay, I found the source of my noises. All four piston journal bearings are galled really badly. Two of them were starting to wear so thin that big slivers are breaking off easily. The crankshaft journals are scored badly as well. The crankshaft main case bearings, on the other hand, are in great shape. All of them are showing typical wear. The camshaft is pitted on the lobes and I am not to sure on that. #4 cylinder is pretty corroded at the bottom and I am thinking it's because the oil/water is at it's highest when on a trailer.

So my questions are as follows:

-Can I save the crankshaft by having it milled or is it better to just buy a new shaft?
-Is it more economic to buy a short block?
-Should I replace the camshaft bearings and can the shaft be saved?
-Since I have the head off is it wise to have the blocked shaved or is that done when you need it done?
-I have heard of having the cylinders oversized...does this effect performance?
-Where would I go to have the block worked on and any ideas of price?

Sorry for the long story. Any help would greatly be appreciated. Thanks for listening guys.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0 engine replacement questions

Howdy,

-Can I save the crankshaft by having it milled or is it better to just buy a new shaft?

ANY good automotive machine shop can usually grind a crankshaft. It's very common and they have the limits for all of them. They'll tell you if the crank cannot be ground when they inspect it.

-Is it more economic to buy a short block?

Probably, depending on how much work is going to be needed on what you have.....

-Should I replace the camshaft bearings and can the shaft be saved?

Absolutely. you never use old bearings The machine shop will either replace or have the cam reground (they usually ALWAYS replace)

-Since I have the head off is it wise to have the blocked shaved or is that done when you need it done?

The machine shop makes that decision.

-I have heard of having the cylinders oversized...does this effect performance?

not appreciably on stock engines.

-Where would I go to have the block worked on and any ideas of price?

ANY local machine shop. (yellow pages)..... Go to a good and reputable car dealership that does major engine work and ask them where they send their engine machine work.


Your other option would be to get a long block engine. The 3.0L engine can be replaced for about $1800-1900

http://www.usengine.us/marine.html



Cheers,



Rick