yanking the motor

[dcso]

I got a really nice 85 sea ray 230 w/260 mercrusier given to me. the previous owner apparently pulled the spark plugs for some unknown reason and left them out for a year. Although the motor cover was in place and the boat was covered it took on moisture and siezed, i'm assuming its only the rings. Question, when i pull the motor is there anything i ought to be careful of that might not be in the book. It appears pretty straight forward, i have already removed the outdrive

any insight would be greatly appreciated !

ted

[L&M]

Ck Your pm's Left you a message.

[borderline 350]

Dear Dcso, Removing the engine looks fairly simple. Just a few pointers, remove the shift linkage from the SB manifold as an assembly!( four 1/4 inch bolts with 7/16" heads. if you disassemble this unit, their aren't six people in upstate Ny who can properly adjust these units! Remove the large nuts(1 1/8 or 1 1/4 inch hex) from the front mounts and do not disturb the lower nut. (Engine alignment reasons!) Remove the rear mount bolts(5/8 hex) and note the order of the bolt/sleeve/double wound spring) assembly so you know how to reassemble these two mounts. These have to be torqued properly upon reassembly. You will need an alignment shaft to properly align the engine to the drive housing upon reinstallation. ..Now the kicker....former owner left spark plugs out? My years of experience tells me that the former owner was looking for something! I think they found water in the wrong places! If you tackle this job, buy a Mercruiser Service Manual for your model and year. It will answer a lot of questions that come up. Your old drive unit will have many age related problems with the U-Joint bellows & gimbal ring bearing. I am glad you got this unit for short dollars. It will take some $$ and manual labor to bring this engine & drive up to usable status. Do the math on what the parts are going to cost before you tackle this project. ....Jet Boat Bill

[seasquirrel]

Marvel mystery oil down the cylinders and let her soak for a few days. Breaker bar on the crank pulley nut to break it loose. Some corrosion may create initial wear, but I would try that first. If the engine has been seized for mechanical reasons that is another story.

[dcso]

like i was telling Hank i filled the cylinders with PB blaster, i hope the penetrates and loosens any rust in the cylinders. the oil in the pan is in good shape no visible moisture/ frothing that you find in a bad head gasket. i think the previous owner was in the process of winterizing it and never finished the job, word is crack got the best of him. the out side of the motor it's self is immaculate. ill know this weekend, i got a steel crank pully and cut the pully part off and welded a karge nut to the face, ill be able to pull against the three 5/16 bolts as opposed to pulling against the crank bolt, if that broke i would definitly be pull the motor. if i can free it i can check the compression and so an so forth. if i have to do a rebuild my local BOCES will do it for nothing if i supply the parts.

worst come to worst ill repower it with a factory rebuild. best thing is the wife is all for it. half the battle!

[seasquirrel]

I might have misunderstood your last post but..... I wouldnt try to pull the crank pulley, unless that would help you reach the crank bolt easier, I would just try to turn the crank over by turning the crank pulley bolt by hand with a ratchet. I would not put too much pressure on the bolt as you could possibly snap it off. However, if you can snap that bolt off by hand you are a better mine than I am. I know space is probably a concern but a wooden dowel down the spark plug port that you can tap with a hammer may break the rings free from the cylinder head. You would be tapping on the piston head directly that way. Could be very hard to access however. just a thought. good luck.

[L&M]

Trying to tap the top of the pistons sounds reasonable, but with the plug angle not feasible. What Ted has set up should work out well. You can apply pressure both ways to see if it comes free. From what he has told me it might have more problems than just stuck rings as he bought the boat as is, with no pryer knowledge of it.

Ted. Let me know how you make out.