Not been started in 5 years

[Restoration man]

Hi all My 5.7 1989 mercruiser that has not been started In 5 years

"a house build got in the way,

I winterised it when I left it, when I tried to start it was seized so I put some wd40 in the bores and left this for a few hours and it unstuck it ,then just to be on the safe side I injected a little bit of engine oild into each cylinder and left the plugs out and continued to hand turn the engine over by hand , then i spun it over on the starter and a bit to get the oil pressure up, re fitted some old crap pugs i found in the boat and fitted a old outboard motor petrol tank directly to the fuel filter and with some fresh petrol in it to my amazement it start, iam running the engine with the drive removed with a hoze connected directly to the engine with a home made fitting , all seemed good But the the engine seemed to be steaming out of the rocker cover breathers quite a lot, I put this down to maybee there was some condensation in the engine so when it was up to temp so I changed the old oil I just put some new cheap stuff in there and a cheap oil filter but it is still doing it and also I can see what looks like a kind of a air leak or something in the seal between the inlet manifold and the block at front of the engine little bubbles , I'm now worred I may have a cracked block in the valley ? The rest of the bock looks fine bone dry , also i have been running it with the thermostat removed so i know the water is going round the bock ,There is no water in the oil and I've left it running on the hoze for a good hour and all is well other than that what do you think ?

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Not been started in 5 years

Pictures would be good to get a better visualization.

blocks usually crack where there is water. Could be a bad intake gasket, or something. Show us where the steam and bubbles are coming from with a few pics.

 

[dubs283]

Re: Not been started in 5 years

I put this down to maybee there was some condensation in the engine...when it was up to temp...

also i have been running it with the thermostat removed

with no t-stat the engine will not come up to temp, so is there a t-stat or no??

the engine will not purge condenstation unless it is at operating temp, also if the block/intake is cracked internally sometimes the cracks will not "open" until a heat soak (warm engine shut down) happens letting water leak

 

[Restoration man]

Re: Not been started in 5 years

I've only tried it without the thermostat ,but If I increase the revs it does get upto temperature ,am I correct in saying to presure test the engine I need to remove the elbows off the manifolds and get some metal to blank them off and Then put my compressor on the hoze that I've been using to feed the engine with water and then pump it up to a certain pressure and see if it leaks down ?if so what is the correct psi to put in the engine and what is an expectable leakage over time ?

 

[NHGuy]

Re: Not been started in 5 years

Here is how I pressure tested mine. Got some hose block off clamps at harbor freight. Blocked off the water outlet hoses that go to the exhaust elbows and the exhaust manifolds. Took off the hose that feeds the thermostat from the power steering oil cooler end and rigged a plug with a tire valve in it to pressurize the cooling system there.
Once you have that stuff done put about 12 or 14 psi in there and listen for air. If it hisses come back and tell us where the noise is from. I hope it doesn't...

 

[Bondo]

Re: Not been started in 5 years

I've only tried it without the thermostat ,but If I increase the revs it does get upto temperature ,am I correct in saying to presure test the engine I need to remove the elbows off the manifolds and get some metal to blank them off and Then put my compressor on the hoze that I've been using to feed the engine with water and then pump it up to a certain pressure and see if it leaks down ?if so what is the correct psi to put in the engine and what is an expectable leakage over time ?

Ayuh,.... I think yer jumpin' the gun,...

A cold runnin' motor will put out Alota steam from the valve cover vents,...
A cracked block will put water in the base, 'n the oil Level would rise a noticeable amount in an hour run time...

Do a compression test, 'n leak-down test on the cylinders,....
that'll give ya an idea of the ring, 'n valve conditions...

Bad rings are more apt to cause yer symptoms...

I don't see any cracked block symptoms here, at All...

 

[Silly Seville]

Re: Not been started in 5 years

I'm with Bond-o...me thinks your piston rings are stuck. Or you have bad valve guide seals.

 

[Restoration man]

Re: Not been started in 5 years

Ayuh,.... I think yer jumpin' the gun,...

A cold runnin' motor will put out Alota steam from the valve cover vents,...
A cracked block will put water in the base, 'n the oil Level would rise a noticeable amount in an hour run time...

Do a compression test, 'n leak-down test on the cylinders,....
that'll give ya an idea of the ring, 'n valve conditions...

Bad rings are more apt to cause yer symptoms...

I don't see any cracked block symptoms here, at All...

I think you might have something there as I said earlier the engine was sized so the rings could be stuck do you think they would free themselfs up after its been run on the water ? The reason I wanted to be sure the block was not cracked was because I have to pull the motor to replace the timber in the engine mounts and if it's comming out I don't want to refit it if its got a cracked block