OMC engine tradgedy...HELP

[grantk]

I have a 1976 fiberform with a omc engine that recently died on the lake ( 4 miles from the campsite, WOW that sucked) It was running good all weekend and the last time it was really hard to start, I thought I had flooded the engine ( as this has happened before) so I let it be for a while.
It was always harder to start when hot.
I tried it again and finnally she fired, after breathing a short lived sigh of relief the engine "TICKED" loudly and sputtered to a halt.
After getting back to the boat launch and loading it back on the trailer I gave the engine a quick try and it did fire but died right away again.
The oil level is fine and clean ( no water in the crank case) I am at a loss.
I know that the engine is an GM built engine but I am not sure if it is a 2.5L or a 3.0L, there is a sticker on the leg that says 140HP.

Does anyone know what may have happened to the engine and also let me know what exact size it is.

Many thanks ,

Grant

 

[cheburashka]

Re: OMC engine tradgedy...HELP

You'll have to do some more inspection. This could be a lot of things. Is there oil in the engine? What does the oil look like? Does the engine run at idle and die in gear, or does it die no matter what? When is the last time you did a complete tuneup on it?

Describe more about the "tick." Was it a single sound, or something that repeated itself a lot?

Can you get the engine to rotate easily with the starter motor?

At this point it could be any of a number of things.

Sounds like it's a GM 3.0 140 horse engine. They're pretty simple.

 

[grantk]

Re: OMC engine tradgedy...HELP

Hi there, thanks for responding.
The oil in the crankcase is clean ( fresh oil change ) and not milky.
When the engine died it had been running good all day then when were done fishing and I went to start the engine a loud repeating tick, like a valve or rod letting go, then the engine died.
The engine will still turn over and even fire briefley (1 or 2 seconds)

I 'm hoping this may sound familiar to someone and save me removing the engine if I dont have to.

 

[Bondo]

Re: OMC engine tradgedy...HELP

A Compression Test might narrow down the possibilities of What happened........

 

[bjcsc]

Re: OMC engine tradgedy...HELP

Yep, time for a compression and possibly leakdown test. My old engine made a tick once, sounded like a golf ball leaving a metal driver. It was the #3 intake valve dropping half of its face...