Water in the # 2 spark plug

ferebeem

Cadet
Joined
Jun 8, 2006
Messages
9
I've got a friend with 93 Sea Ray with a 3.0 mercruiser that was not used for 15 months because the owner was deployed. When he got to start the boat it would not start. He replace the fuel pump. When he tried again the starter went out. He got the started rebuilt and now the engine will not turn over but the start is trying hard. We started to remove the plugs and when we removed the # 2 plug, a lot of water came out. What is the problem? Is it a cracked blocked. No water in the oil.
 

dubs283

Vice Admiral
Joined
Jul 27, 2005
Messages
5,058
Re: Water in the # 2 spark plug

15 months?

when re-commisioning a boat that has sat for that long and you have no idea what condition the boat/engine/drive was in before storage, a lot needs to be done

was it winterized properly?

if the motor has not run there is no definite way of telling where the water came from

it may be rain water entering through the carb and through the intake, open valve on #2 cylinder, just a WAG though
 

ferebeem

Cadet
Joined
Jun 8, 2006
Messages
9
Re: Water in the # 2 spark plug

The boat was covered up the whole time. He said that his father-in-law did winterized it. Don't know if he did it properly.
 

littlebookworm

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Nov 30, 2007
Messages
574
Re: Water in the # 2 spark plug

As was said, it could be a result of a number of things. So... you've got to work with what you've got ( Ideally, you would have pulled the distributor and spun the oil pump to distribute some oil to the bearings and the cylinders before you tried to start the engine, but it's too late for that now.) So, leave the plugs out; squirt some oil in each of the cylinders; spin the starter to distribute the oil. Connect the earmuffs to the outdrive and spin the starter, without the plugs. See if water comes into the engine. If so, you got either a manifold crack/rust-through, a lown head gasket, or a cracked block/head. Then you'll have to tear everything aprt to check it out. If no water shows up, put the plugs back in and try to start the motor. Since the boat was, as you said, covered for fifteen months, I do think rain water is unlikely, but hopefully I'm wrong. More likely, however, it's a manifold, head, or block problem. Let us know what you find. Good luck. Hy
 

ferebeem

Cadet
Joined
Jun 8, 2006
Messages
9
Re: Water in the # 2 spark plug

Thanks for the suggestions. I will see what I can do. First thing I need to put some oil in the plug hole and work on it some more in the morning.
 
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