Mercruiser 5.7 tuliped valves

[ddg100]

My brand new (less than 15 eng hrs) Mercruiser 5.7 on Glastron GS-259 was stalling at low RPM and neutral.

Mechanic did compression checked and says valves are tuliped.

1 - How the heck does this happen so soon?

2 - Anything I can do to help ensure that Mercruiser honors their (2 yr) warranty

3 - If they don't honor? what kind of expense am I looking at?

4 - Anyone have any luck with 'boat lemons' law suits in Virginia?

< 15 eng hrs, I mean, c'mon....

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Mercruiser 5.7 tuliped valves

A compression test only give you pressure readings, it cannot tell a broken/tuliped/burnt valve condition. Only by removing the head with it be visable. On rare occasions the valve stem will be slightly above the others showing a deepening of the valve in the seat.

 

[dubs283]

Re: Mercruiser 5.7 tuliped valves

how does the mechanic know by just a compression test that the valves are tuliped?

 

[Fun Times]

Re: Mercruiser 5.7 tuliped valves

how does the mechanic know by just a compression test that the valves are tuliped?

More then likely he is just guessing with out seeing them, But the next step would be to do a leak down test.

 

[dubs283]

Re: Mercruiser 5.7 tuliped valves

More then likely he is just guessing with out seeing them

thats smart troubleshooting

 

[Fun Times]

Re: Mercruiser 5.7 tuliped valves

thats smart troubleshooting

 

[jtybt]

Re: Mercruiser 5.7 tuliped valves

Did you at least get the readings?

How many cylinders were affected?

You'd have to get them cylinders pretty hot to do that but doesn't take long.

How far along did you start noticing power loss?

 

[HazMac]

Re: Mercruiser 5.7 tuliped valves

Who installed the motor? When I had mine done 4 yrs. ago it came with a spec sheet for the mechanic to fill out for oil pressure, compression...etc and a warranty card.
I would say without any of this information you pretty much bought yourself some major engine repairs

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Mercruiser 5.7 tuliped valves

My brand new (less than 15 eng hrs) Mercruiser 5.7 on Glastron GS-259 was stalling at low RPM and neutral.

Mechanic did compression checked and says valves are tuliped.

1 - How the heck does this happen so soon?

2 - Anything I can do to help ensure that Mercruiser honors their (2 yr) warranty

3 - If they don't honor? what kind of expense am I looking at?

4 - Anyone have any luck with 'boat lemons' law suits in Virginia?

< 15 eng hrs, I mean, c'mon....

1.) With overheated combustion chambers, it doesn't take long at all. A lot less than 15 hours of engine running time.

2.) Yeah, lie about what's really going on.

3.) Reconditioned 5.7 heads were $179/ea at my local machine shop four years ago. Labor is a bear though, you'll pay a fortune for that, unless you do it yourself. Figure about 16 billable hours labor and $200 in Mercruiser gaskets.

4.) No experience.


How dirty is the bottom of your boat? How far under the recommended WOT RPM range were you running? Most likely, you caused this damage by lugging your engine.
For all you naysayers, if the mechanic has ever dealt with tulipped valves, it's very easy to i.d. them from a compression test, and a simple removal of a valve cover. When you have ZERO compression on a cylinder (which is what you get with a badly tulipped valve), and squirting oil in the cylinder makes no difference, you know you have a valve issue. Then you remove a valve cover, loosen the valves on one of the cylinders with ZERO or real low compression, and recheck. If the pressure rises, Voila, tulipped valve. Not rocket surgery.

 

[dr_bowtie]

Re: Mercruiser 5.7 tuliped valves

if the valve is/was tulip'd loosening the rocker nut wont help it any...once it's tulip'd it will still leak because it wont seal...

if you loosen the rocker nut and it seals that means the lash was set too tight..

 

[ENSIGN]

Re: Mercruiser 5.7 tuliped valves

Some of the boaters here at the marina only know one speed,WOT.Try running your car like this! It will not last long

 

[divinginn]

Re: Mercruiser 5.7 tuliped valves

I had one that tuliped the valves,I suspect it was from running with too low of octane causing detonation. I did not know about it until I tore the motor apart when the block cracked due to improper winterization,don't ask,but I know where all the block drains are now after tearing everthing apart and putting it all back on a new block. I would take it to the dealer if it is a new boat and still under waranty.

 

[Don S]

Re: Mercruiser 5.7 tuliped valves

1 - How the heck does this happen so soon?

2 - Anything I can do to help ensure that Mercruiser honors their (2 yr) warranty

3 - If they don't honor? what kind of expense am I looking at?

4 - Anyone have any luck with 'boat lemons' law suits in Virginia?

< 15 eng hrs, I mean, c'mon....

RELAX !!!!!!
Whatever it is, it will most likely be covered by warranty. NEW things break sometimes. Don't start getting all crazy over WHAT IF's.

I've had Merc cover warranty on an engine that lost a piston. Only 2 years old and 3 months out of warranty. New long block. No questions ask.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Mercruiser 5.7 tuliped valves

Mechanic did compression checked and says valves are tuliped.

1 - How the heck does this happen so soon?

Ayuh,... My WAGuess is,...
You got water in the fuel causing a Lean condition, which allowed it to Detonate to Death...

 

[rodbolt]

Re: Mercruiser 5.7 tuliped valves

relax, like DonS says.
take it to a mercruiser dealer and tell the truth about the usage.
bad fuel due to age, and todays ethanol blends have a shelf life of about 90 days from the date of BLENDING not the day you placed it in your tank.
the other common cause of tuliped valves,especially intake, is overpropped and lugging.
just because the prop works good with one person and a half a tank of fuel doesnt mean its the correct prop for 5 people 4 coolers the dog and pulling 250 uncle fat boy on a tube.
just recently replaced an F115 yamaha powerhead for that very issue.
left the shop new propped for 2 people and 26 gallons of gas.
the customer got it home added seating for 14 and went.
came back in less than 20 hours.

 

[dr_bowtie]

Re: Mercruiser 5.7 tuliped valves

Some of the boaters here at the marina only know one speed,WOT.Try running your car like this! It will not last long

it should....car engines are designed to run 24 hours at WOT and not die...this is how the factory test them for durability....as long as the cooling system is up to par and the fuel is fine a car engine should live at WOT just as a boat should...

the more performance you crank out of an engine beyond factory specks the lower that window becomes.. unless it is built for that term...like a nascar engine...

how does lugging an engine tulip valves...?

heat tulips valves...like heat from detonation...but then again the pistons usually burn before the valve will tulip...but then again what do I know...

I have rebuilt several engines that were lugged to death and the most I have ever seen is the bearing literally pounded out....

 

[Don S]

Re: Mercruiser 5.7 tuliped valves

it should....car engines are designed to run 24 hours at WOT and not die...this is how the factory test them for durability....as long as the cooling system is up to par and the fuel is fine a car engine should live at WOT just as a boat should...

the more performance you crank out of an engine beyond factory specks the lower that window becomes.. unless it is built for that term...like a nascar engine...

how does lugging an engine tulip valves...?

heat tulips valves...like heat from detonation...but then again the pistons usually burn before the valve will tulip...but then again what do I know...

I have rebuilt several engines that were lugged to death and the most I have ever seen is the bearing literally pounded out....

Some day, you may learn that boats operate different than cars.
You keep wanting to make them the same. they are not.

Running a marine engine overloaded at 3500 rpm at WOT for a few hours is a lot worse on an engine than a few minutes going up a hill in the wrong gear in your truck, then coasting down the other side.

 

[futz]

Re: Mercruiser 5.7 tuliped valves

And therein lies the problem: guy's who build and run cars, " think " they can build a boat motor, with all sorts of mod.s and think it's gonna run like a motor in a car.

First a car you can put in a high volume oil pump, in a race car you can do that, in a boat motor your gonna suck the pan dry and not let oil circulate fast enough to lube the motor.

There have been a few here who have built no sump motors. Serious motors, with serious hp, but they understood the unique needs and requirements, of a motor in a boat.

 

[dr_bowtie]

Re: Mercruiser 5.7 tuliped valves

Some day, you may learn that boats operate different than cars.
You keep wanting to make them the same. they are not.

Running a marine engine overloaded at 3500 rpm at WOT for a few hours is a lot worse on an engine than a few minutes going up a hill in the wrong gear in your truck, then coasting down the other side.

we have built some competition boat motors....and some stockers and they do operate much the same as cars but on a different end of the spectrum...

yes I do know they have different needs and should be built around the lifestyle it leads...car or boat...they engine does not know what it is in only the load placed on it and whether it will live with that load or not....

loading placed on an engine is something the engine should be built around...

And therein lies the problem: guy's who build and run cars, " think " they can build a boat motor, with all sorts of mod.s and think it's gonna run like a motor in a car.

First a car you can put in a high volume oil pump, in a race car you can do that, in a boat motor your gonna suck the pan dry and not let oil circulate fast enough to lube the motor.

There have been a few here who have built no sump motors. Serious motors, with serious hp, but they understood the unique needs and requirements, of a motor in a boat.

this is something any engine builder knows....even if you put a High Volume pump in a car and run it down the track or out on the highway at WOT you run out of oil...High volume pumps are made for High Volume oil pans...stockers have a 5qt pan and a high volume pump will suck that dry in no time...

this is something that is common sense and something I learned way before I ever had the chance to make the mistake of doing....

 

[jtybt]

Re: Mercruiser 5.7 tuliped valves

"loading placed on an engine is something the engine should be built around..."


...and that's the name of the game.

The high load put on a marine engine creates high combustion chamber temps which promote detonation. Add a lean condition and you have a recipe for disaster