Mercruiser 3.0L - What to do with it?

[jr1017]

Hey everyone, here goes...Just found out about 2 weeks ago taking the boat in for clean up and get ready for summer, that it has a crack in the block, just under the exhaust manifold toward the top of the block? 1988 Glastron X17 3.0L 130 HP. I am still beside myself and devastated by this. I have been told I am looking at an engine. The drop in ready to go engines I have seen are around $3800. So for right now, I cannot afford an engine and that has to go off the table until next spring so I have some time to save money. I have been told 3 things I could do.

1 - Clean the cracked area and dry, use some jb weld or liquid steel (drilling holes on each side of the crack to prevent it from spreading I have also been told) and hope the crack is only external. Put it in the water but stay close to shore and run it a couple of hours then check the oil to see if all is good. It may get me through the season until I can do more.

2 - Find someone that does "pinning" Sort of like the step above but a more permenant type of repair. Would I need to have the block removed for this type of repair? Would it be worth it?

3 - Keep searching until I can find a replacement block to swap out. I was told they don't make these anymore as far as buying a reman replacement or something...

So what would anyone else do out there? Would you do any of these or just stay on the shore and watch until the money is there to buy another engine. The boat is in super shape, and the motor has been perfect the last 4 years I have owned. Does anyone know of a block or other repair methods that can be done. Just a thought and thanks for all the info and for this forum.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L - What to do with it?

Ayuh,.... Option #1 is a possibility, IF the crack is Only External....

Option #2 is Not an option,... Pinning the crack will distort the block's Deck,+ the headgasket will Leak, quite Badly...
It's not a heavy enough casting to pin,+ it's in a Bad place to pin...

The 3.0l is an extremely popular motor,+ there are BaZillions of them out there,...
You don't need a Complete drop-in,... Just a Long Block motor....

 

[jr1017]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L - What to do with it?

well thanks for the input. I will start calling around to see if I can find some kind of donor boat or something. I was told that option 1 is worth a try at least because it shouldn't cost that much money and since I'm looking at an engine anyway, try it and hope for the best.
Do you recommend drilling holes on each side of the crack to prevent it from spreading? And I'm not sure about bazillions, because they seem hard to find, with so many of us cracking blocks each year, maybe we are running out of ones to find.

 

[tmh]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L - What to do with it?

How big of a crack? One or more than one? Have you run it on muffs to see how bad the leak is and check for others? Couldn't you also check the oil after running on muffs a while?

JB Weld (or other similar) is something I researched a while ago for my last engine with similar issue. Mine wound up to be cracked internally as well, so it was a no go. However, I did find that for small cracks (and some larger) the JB Weld fix worked very well for some, even many years later.

Most said to drill pin holes to stop the crack, then grind out the crack a bit to more of a "V" shape, wire brush, clean with ???? (what is that stuff - acetone I think). Then apply a few thin coats of the jb weld. Let it cure completely before using the boat.

 

[fat fanny]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L - What to do with it?

My 3.0 LX had a similar crack 3 trs, ago had my cousin weld it haven't had an issue yet knock wood @ any rate what do you have to lose until you find anothe rpower plant. Try boat recyclers.com saw some decent deals there on all kind of parts even long blocks and parts boats. Good luck

 

[Volvoartictech]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L - What to do with it?

Wow.... I thought I was the only one having this type of trouble now that i am on this site I see that I am not alone. I just bought a 1990 Bayliner 1850 with a 3.0 Mercrusier, I saw it had a leak from the heat exchanger and was hoping it was a gasket. I pulled the manifold and found a big crack in the block at the top under the manifold. Seems to be a pretty common problem. I just finished the JB weld fix and am hoping for the best, at least to get through summer this year. Fortunetly i dont have any water mixing in the oil. After i run it for a bit I will repost with how it went. I got the boat and trailer for $1200 the hull and interior are in great shape so if I do have to replace the block i am not too upside down in the boat. i am a mechanic by trade so I am luck there I dont have to pay someone to fix it for me. Good luck to the other guys with the same trouble!!

 

[1980Galaxy]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L - What to do with it?

i have a big issue with my mercruiser 120 with a cracked block. i was dumb and didnt winterize it properly. my advice is that you find out what exactly is the problem before you go and buy a new motor or block. if its just external than i guess you are alright. i found a crack on the outside and ran it on muffs for a while and checked the oil(for water) and found nothing so i took it on the lake and ran for about 2 min and checked the oil and found chocolate milk.

morale of the story: figure out the problem and then work from there. right now, you dont really know how serious the problem is.

 

[Volvoartictech]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L - What to do with it?

The boat I just bought was winterized by a hack mechanic up here. I had a lot of rust build up around the bottom of the manifold and the crack in the block which is telling me that the boat may have been this way for a while and the guy that had it before had no idea. I think the JB weld fix would be worth while to try, at least it may prolong replacing the engine (if it holds) while you look for a good deal on a used set up.

 

[nlott]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L - What to do with it?

I have a 3.0 block if interested.

nlott@empressaudio.com

 

[maxumized]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L - What to do with it?

JR - Sent you a PM.

 

[jr1017]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L - What to do with it?

Thanks to everyone for giving me your input and I have responded to both of you for the help about getting another block. Just a quick update, the epoxy patch will be done this week, then I should be able to find out if there is also a internal crack. If no internal crack, I think I will try and get by for the summer and take care of all this over the winter. I will have a indoor heated place for parking the boat over this coming winter which will be very nice. But there could be an internal crack so I am still looking around for the just in case scenario and need to get this fixed asap. So here is my question, scanning the classifieds tonight and I saw this...

Mercruiser 120 motor and outdrive - motor came out of a late 70s early 80s fiberglass ski boat. Hull was bad on the boat, but boat was hardly used. The guy ran the boat to test the motor and outdrive and they both worked perfectly. The only issue was with the exhaust manifold on the motor. It was cracked and leaked when he ran it. The outdrive is complete and would come with the prop and trim cylinders. (not that I would need it?) The motor is a 2.5L GM and comes with the carborator, intake, alternator.

If i don't take the outdrive, he wants $300 for the motor. Is this compatable with a 88 3.0L. Could I buy this and just use the block??? The whole thing could be swapped out? Would I lose power?

Just wondering what your thoughts are again. I had been thinking when I get another engine to go up instead of down. I have seen stock 3.0L that have 140 HP instead of mine with 130. I have also seen some that say they are beefed up for even more performance but I don't know how many horses are in those. How much power can one get from a 3.0

 

[Susquehanna Squid]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L - What to do with it?

I have the same problem with my 88 Fabuglas (3.0 Liter). I apparently did not get all of the water out last year (it leaked a tiny bit last year). Anyway, I took it out this year and ran the heck out of it only to find that the bilge fills up pretty fast from the water that is shooting out of the motor just under the exhaust manifold. Long story short, there seems to be no water in my oil and it still looks like new. Does this mean that the JB Weld trick should work? Any help would be appreciated!

Also, just a reminder to everyone else with the leak problem...... check your Core (frost) Plugs!

 

[Riggy]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0L - What to do with it?

First thing I would do is drain oil along with water ASAP ! The reason being if you decide to rebuild the motor later you will need to replace many rusted parts . I just dealt with the same trouble . mine was cracked under the manifold and the head was cracked . I had motor rebuilt replaced head and manifold . some parts where replaced during the rebuild simply from rust . The water wasnt drained after the person discovered it .