So the latest in my 1978 v150 saga is this:
I pulled the heads today (after breaking off most of the bolts despite following all the suggestions on how to avoid this I could find) and found that it had only been running on two cylinders. These were the same two cylinders that had been reading right at 100 psi compared to the other 4 which were around 70. The number 4 piston was melted on the side down to where I could see the top ring and ring stop. The other pistons all looked good and none of the cylinder walls were scoured that I could tell from a visual inspection.
So it's clear that I've got a lot of work to do if I plan on salvaging this thing. First off will be to get all the broken bolts removed. Then I'll need to pull the block and bore all cylinders followed by replacing all pistons and rings. I'm leery of getting into this motor that much because I've observed a lot of corrosion in all the areas that are subject to water cooling.. This leads me to believe that the motor was used in salt water and not taken care of at all. I'm afraid that after doing all this work I'll take it out and throw a rod. Perhaps I should rebuild more than just the head? Maybe a complete power head rebuild is in order. Prices for rebuilt powerheads are about $3500 which is about $2000 more than I paid for the boat and motor together.
Is this thing worth working on or should I try to find a cheap powerhead somewhere to bolt onto my lower unit and gear housing?
How much work is it to rebuild these things? I haven't got much of a shop here, but can buy some of the necessary tools if need be. I just don't know if I should proceed or throw in the towel. Any help from the masters that have been following me since the beginning (I'm thinking of Laddies here) will of course be appreciated.
Thanks.
I pulled the heads today (after breaking off most of the bolts despite following all the suggestions on how to avoid this I could find) and found that it had only been running on two cylinders. These were the same two cylinders that had been reading right at 100 psi compared to the other 4 which were around 70. The number 4 piston was melted on the side down to where I could see the top ring and ring stop. The other pistons all looked good and none of the cylinder walls were scoured that I could tell from a visual inspection.
So it's clear that I've got a lot of work to do if I plan on salvaging this thing. First off will be to get all the broken bolts removed. Then I'll need to pull the block and bore all cylinders followed by replacing all pistons and rings. I'm leery of getting into this motor that much because I've observed a lot of corrosion in all the areas that are subject to water cooling.. This leads me to believe that the motor was used in salt water and not taken care of at all. I'm afraid that after doing all this work I'll take it out and throw a rod. Perhaps I should rebuild more than just the head? Maybe a complete power head rebuild is in order. Prices for rebuilt powerheads are about $3500 which is about $2000 more than I paid for the boat and motor together.
Is this thing worth working on or should I try to find a cheap powerhead somewhere to bolt onto my lower unit and gear housing?
How much work is it to rebuild these things? I haven't got much of a shop here, but can buy some of the necessary tools if need be. I just don't know if I should proceed or throw in the towel. Any help from the masters that have been following me since the beginning (I'm thinking of Laddies here) will of course be appreciated.
Thanks.
