bigblock454
Petty Officer 1st Class
- Joined
- Apr 28, 2008
- Messages
- 206
Bad day... well SOME of it good. Got my rebuilt outdrive back on, with new bellows, shift cable, gimbal bearing, etc.... all works great... EXCEPT!!!! Fired my "new" boat up for the first time "on the muffs", and... water coming out of bilge drain... FAST!! Quickly shut it down and determined that it was coming from the port side of the motor, around the power steering heat exchanger area. Anyone who owns a 2452 and does their own work knows THERE'S NOT MUCH ROOM TO WORK DOWN THERE!! Thank you to the previous owner for using "anti seize" on the bolts/studs/nuts, as all came apart rather easily... BUT... NO THANKS for NOT winterizing your boat properly!! It is not the heat exchanger leaking, but a popped "core" plug!! Yup... the one behind the port side engine mount. I will press a new one back in... but I'm now taking bets on the odds of everything being fine (no cracked block). Oh well... I guess my "good" luck had to hit a snag somewhere! I will do an oil change (very dirty), press in a new plug, and start testing/inspecting for leaks, compression loss, milky oil, etc. Sad day... taking bets... and advice. I've read that the odds seem worse than 50/50 that she could be cracked. Here's to hoping that the Virginia winter didn't do her in. Trying to prepare for the worse, and pricing shortblocks from Summit, Jegs, etc. Tipping a beer in misery as I write this... any moral support, or encouragement is welcomed! I DO have a FRESH 383 on the stand for another project... Just got the heads back last week! I did not build it with "the cruiser" in mind though, and if needed, will probably just go with a run-of-the-mill 350 from a reputable source.
Sad,
Norm
Sad,
Norm