rings bad, can i run it this season????

[dugcarr1]

i have a volvo 250a/sp

rings are bad, compression is 90, 155, 35, 125
leak down confirmed rings.
ive changed oil from 10w30 to 20w50

when i use my boat I run main engine out to fishing grounds for 15 minutes there and back. I use the kicker the rest of the time. will any damage occur from running in this state for the summer?
what are the risks involved. Ive herd varying reports and didn't find to much on the threads Ive searched here.
thanks again guys.
DOUG

 

[Don S]

Re: rings bad, can i run it this season????

For the compression to have that much variation, I would bet money on water and rust as the problem. If the piston goes, it will probably take out the cylinder too. Thus, no chance for rebuilding.
Personally I wouldn't run it again until it was fixed and the reason it got that way was corrected.

 

[donnyskz1]

Re: rings bad, can i run it this season????

remember the saying pay me know or pay me later. I would get it fixed soon.

 

[dugcarr1]

Re: rings bad, can i run it this season????

I hate you Don S ......cause your always right!!!!! and I wanna go fishing!

 

[a70eliminator]

Re: rings bad, can i run it this season????

I think you have a little more than a ring problem having only 35psi, heck I just pulled a piston scuffed so bad it's skirt was only half it original thickness and the cylider is junk unrebuildable without sleeving, and it pumped 55psi! I would love to see what 35psi would look like.
Oh wait a muniute we're talking four stroke forget what I said.

 

[dugcarr1]

Re: rings bad, can i run it this season????

I would run it "as is" until it stopped running

then i may replace with another used engine.

are there any serious dangers besides having to use my kicker to get back to shore???

 

[Don S]

Re: rings bad, can i run it this season????

Run it, it will work great, no problems. You won't notice any power loss, or any thing else. It will be perfect.


There, I told you what you want to hear. Have fun.

 

[dugcarr1]

Re: rings bad, can i run it this season????

Don , don , don

I red what you said before, and took it into consideration.
I feel that taking it apart and rebuilding/replacing everything that needs it would cost me well over 1200$???

what i am contemplating is taking it out fishing, while only running main engine for 15 min at a time for this summer (if it lasts) and using the kicker as usual for the rest of the day.

I have been debating for a while now weather to sell, fix, or run till summers over or she breaks and then replace engine in the off season.

If i had the $$$ i would buy a brand new boat. I do not. And seeing as i would love to get on the water I am leaning toward running it for now.

I dont want to here everything will be fine.

I want to here

1) all the risks of running it as is
2) a educated guess what ill find wrong and the estimate of what it will cost me to fix/ replace (and if there's anything else i can do for now that dosnt involve a new head gasket kit, cause once I go there i might as well go all the way)

like I said before I have a auto mechanic friends, tools, manual, and about 400-800$ im willing to put into her.

what should i do, what are any reasonable options?

thanks again

 

[45Auto]

Re: rings bad, can i run it this season????

Best that will happen is that it will run all summer for you.

Worst that will happen is that it'll throw a rod through the block, your bilge pump won't be big enough to handle the leak and your boat will sink and you and your friends will drown.

Most likely it'll just crap out (who knows when) and you can come in on your kicker. You're probably looking at a total rebuild anyway (bore, pistons, crank, head, - $800 to $1000 if you do the work yourself). If it trashes a cylinder bad enough you'll just have to find a used block to rebuild (might have to do that already anyway).

 

[mylesm260]

Re: rings bad, can i run it this season????

35 PSI sounds like it could be a valve issue....

Have you tried removing the spark plug to that cylinder and adding some oil (through the spark plug hole) then re-doing the compression test for that cylinder?


If adding the oil temporarily increases compression, than It's most likely the rings. If adding oil does little to nothing, than I would suspect your valves.

 

[Maclin]

Re: rings bad, can i run it this season????

It must have been in this condition for a while and I am sure you made more than one trip with it like this. If you are going to find a replacement engine then just use this one until it is not useable. If you plan on using that block for a rebuild I would stop now, although it may be already too far gone due to scored cylinder walls to be able to bore and reuse anyway as has been mentioned. The head should be re-useable.

But truly you are asking for crystal ball readings with what-ifs, or for a movie plot with multiple endings that you can replay later.

 

[dgopetactical]

Re: rings bad, can i run it this season????

My cousin has a merc v8 just like mine... he has around 150psi on 7 cylinders and 70psi on one did the oil in the spark plug thing and it confirmed rings... Still gets 4,300 wot loaded this will be his 4th season with the compression that way...and he just dont see the need to fix it (denial).....with any compression issue it needs to be adresses....if you want to run it till it blows then do it but there is a million different things that can go along with that and none of them are good.
Denny

 

[Robj]

Re: rings bad, can i run it this season????

There is that Volvo junker on the Island. Go and get a good used automotive engine, install your marine parts and you are good to go. I would not run it as it is. You asked a question and got an answer, too bad it is not the one you wanted to hear.

Have a great day,

Rob.

 

[dugcarr1]

Re: rings bad, can i run it this season????

thanks guys,

yes the cylinder that was 30 psi went up to 60 with oil then back down to 35.

what do mean "There is that Volvo junker on the Island."

i tried some "restore" in the cylinders, when i get my compression tester back ill see if that helped at all.

 

[mylesm260]

Re: rings bad, can i run it this season????

I would absolutely run it for this season.

The Key is to listen for noise.

If you accept the fact that your better off getting a new motor rather than rebuilding (your motor is already most likely a write-off), than I say giver er' till she quivers'.


It is very unlikely that you will encounter a sudden catastrophic failure. It is much more likely that the engine will continue to run, and if anything does go bad, you will most likely hear it get worse. If your piston to wall clearance gets worse, and your piston starts slapping around in the bore, you will hear it slapping around, and you will know to shut it down.


Once you start talking re-boring, that means new pistons. New pistons quickly tips the rebuild vs replace scale, and makes it not worth it. You may also need a line-bore, over sized bearings, etc, etc.

It's one thing to rebuild a "tired" engine, it's another thing to rebuild a "blown engine"

Right now your engine is teetering on the border between "tired" and "blown", and for all you know, it's probably already tipped into the "blown" category (needs new cylinder walls/new pistons/cylinder boring)

 

[dgopetactical]

Re: rings bad, can i run it this season????

thanks guys,

yes the cylinder that was 30 psi went up to 60 with oil then back down to 35.

what do mean "There is that Volvo junker on the Island."

i tried some "restore" in the cylinders, when i get my compression tester back ill see if that helped at all.

"RESTORE" in the cylinders I thought that went in the crankcase???? ist that stuff just a glorified 50 wt oil?? Let us know how it work out for you.
Denny

 

[meesh]

Re: rings bad, can i run it this season????

I wouldn't run it that way, especially off shore. If it pukes on you it could be a long ride on a kicker. When I was younger I raced more than one thunderstorm back in on a 9.9. And that was on lakes, not the ocean. Weather can change fast and when the lightning is so close it blinds you and your hair stands on end you will be wishing that you had not put yourself and your passengers in that situation. Please be smart about this.

 

[dugcarr1]

Re: rings bad, can i run it this season????

not super concerned about it dying out when fishing.

were i fish off of Vancouver island there is a marina 5k north and 3k south of the marina i fish out of.

I will NOT be fishing for halibut from my boat this year, only salmon and that is at the Beachy head the mouth of the bay were my marina is. there always lots of boats around and my kicker is a new yamaha.

So the volvo does crap out it'll only be a 10-25 minute troll back to my marina.

the restore can go in cylinders or oil.
it is not thick, it MAY let her live another few months.
alot off good reviews and the mechanics here use it to.
so for 20$ i thought id give her a try, and yes ill let you know how it goes.

 

[Silvertip]

Re: rings bad, can i run it this season????

What happens if the engine gives up depends to a certain extent on how fast it was reving at the time and what actually broke first. Note that whatever breaks first can break other things before the rotation stops. Ever see a rod go through an oil pan? Ever notice how close to the bottom of the pan is to the bottom of the boat? It is fairly obvious what happens when you get a hole in your boat so let's just put it this way -- "Does your bilge pump work and is it a good one?" Yup -- that's an extreme event but bad stuff happens at high RPM. A CAT mechanic once showed me pictures of an engine block that was broken in half due to a runaway situation. The crankshaft was expelled from the engine. Of course that was a great big stationary power plant but small engines can still make a mess.

 

[wca_tim]

Re: rings bad, can i run it this season????

I know this is shade tree engineering at it's worst, but you can always drop the pan, remove the rod and piston for the dead cylinder, slit a piece of hose and clampt it around the main bearing journal with hose clamps to keep the oil pressure in... take the push rods and rocker arms for that cylinder off and you're good to go minus one cylinder....