Engine problems!

[tsixam]

We found water in the oil in our boat ( Ski Nautique GT-40) and it didn´t run well. When I removed the engine heads I found some water in 1 cylinder but I couldn’t really see if the gasket was blown but I think and hope that it is the reason. I also checked the exhaust and intake gaskets. What else cause can there be except cracks (God forbid) in the heads, the engine block and exhaust? Any suggestions?

 

Tsixam

[Director Darwin]

I had the same problem (head gasket) and once replaced, could never get more than 126 psi in the cylinder.  The compression ring had stuck.  Do yourself a favor, have the block checked and rebuilt - have the heads tested as well.  If it all checks out, do a complete rebuild.  Otherwise, get a long block and replace.  I chased around this problem for 6 months before ordering a reman long block and dropping it in. 

[eleeski]

With the way I maintain stuff, I'd check for water in the bilge and a corroded oil pan (when that happened to me I had more oil in the bilge water than water in the oil. The intake manifold gasket can also fail and cause a similar problem. But when water in the oil happened to me (after an overheat - make sure the exhaust manifolds are good) I had to overhaul and mill the heads and replace the head gasket. Eventually I replaced the whole engine but I got good service from the repair.Good luck,

Eric 

[DW]

Water in cylinder #1 probably indicates a bad head gasket / intake gasket or cracked cylinder head.  Check the cylinder wall for a crack to see if water got in to the bottom end through a crack there.  Was winter storage done properly?  Should be the typical ways to get water in to the bottom end, but one weird thing could be via the exhaust manifolds either the water coming in from backing the boat up way too fast or a crack in the manifold itself.  That scenario would have the water go to the back holes rather than the front ones since they are lower.

[tsixam]

This is a sad day. We finally found what caused the problem with water in the oil. There is a hole between cylinder 7 and 8. So I need a new block or a new engine. Where can I get the best deal on a complete Pcm GT-40 or a new block?

 

Tsixam

[Director Darwin]

Contact Discount Inboard Marine about a PCM long block.  Also, you can find reman long block 351's at various marine engine suppliers.  Palmer Power in Houston had the best deal I could find.  Expect to pay around $2,400 for a long block.  You'll need to salvage your intake, oil pan and timing cover. 

[tsixam]

We are up and running again with a brand new engine. Thanks for all the help and info.

 

We found a completely new engine with the help of Henrik at the Miami Ski Nautique Inc. Henrik took care of the whole issue, found an engine, arranged the air freight and everything. He is very service minded and a great guy to do business with. I can recommend them.

 

We got a competition this weekend at our lake. It has been a hard to keep the skiing stamina, but at least I have been able to ski once a week with friends in other ski clubs. I am not near peak performance but it´s going to be fun anyway. (I hope I not have to join the ski throwing club)

 

Tsixam

[slalomdude]

What year was your boat and how many hours? Did it look like the walls had corroded from the waterside, or some sort of detonation?

[tsixam]

Year 2000, about 1500 hours.  I think it was some kind of fault in the casting from the beginning. There was a hole in the 8 cylinder in to the cooling channel. The size of the hole was like a dime and an area around the hole (about the size of a quarter) was “beer can†thin. I think the corrosion was normal but because of the lack off material in that area it had blown.  When I recall the sound from the old engine I think it had a very “hard†sound, compared to the new engine which is much softer.

Tsixam

[slalomdude]

Thanks, glad you are back up and running.