4.3 mercury and freeze damage

[deere342]

I am new to owning an inboard. I recently purchased a early 90s sea ray with 4.3 mercury. The previous owner had winterized it with antifreeze. We put muffs on and cranked it up. He told me the plugs had all been removed but i found they hadnt. The day i brought it home i knew it was giong to get to 16 so i took both plugs out of each side of the block and orange antifreeze ran out and i let it drain. I know i didnt drain the manifolds and assume that they are cracked but wondering if the block was salvaged. I understand i made mistakes but just wanting some input

 

[paultjohnson]

Re: 4.3 mercury and freeze damage

If there was anti freeze in it, you very well may be ok. As long as the water was drained before the antifreeze was added I believe the majority of people just drain the water from the block, exhaust manifolds, and hoses and call it done. [To winterize] Some feel the need to refill the engine w antifreeze. Its a highly argued point. BTW Mercury, generally refers to an outboard
What you have is a Mercruiser, and its an I/O... inboard, outboard. A true inboard has a fixed prop and a rudder.. Welcome to the forum.

 

[deere342]

Re: 4.3 mercury and freeze damage

my concern is running the water in there to crank the boat when i looked at it. the motor was intially drained in the fall tho and winterized with antifreeze. I felt ice in two of the smaller hoses going to the intakes is why i became concerned

 

[dubs283]

Re: 4.3 mercury and freeze damage

if you ran the engine on muffs with water, then yes - the exhaust manifolds are probably ruined

you may have got lucky on the block IF the engine did not come up to operating temp and the thermostat stayed closed

the antifreeze solution probably has been watered down with the engine water pump running but if the t-stat didnt open allowing what was left in the block out, you may have dodged a bullet - at the very least i would see replacing the manifolds, the t-stat housing, oil cooler(s), and engine water pump

keep in mind you definitely want to get what is in the block and manifolds out ASAP, if you need to heat it up to do that you may be SOL

you can pressure test the cooling system to check for leaks, or just run the engine for a bit and check for oil level to rise and become milky

 

[deere342]

Re: 4.3 mercury and freeze damage

thanks dubs283..like i said i drained both plugs on each side of the block and no water came out before it froze...only antifreeze so im hoping that its fine..Do you have an idea what the manifolds, water pump, etc costs?

 

[dubs283]

Re: 4.3 mercury and freeze damage

i would verify first what you need to replace, and im not sure what you will spend on certain items, you can look up aftermarket prices right here on iboats

 

[deere342]

mercury 4.3 freeze damage again

mercury 4.3 freeze damage again

so ive already posted this once but i have a couple more questions. I bought a ski boat with a 4.3 mercury i/o. The owner had the boat winterized but we put muffs on the boat to crank and let me see it ran. The boat was run for less than 10 seconds. He thought that all the plugs in the motor had been left out. It was supposed to get down to 18 the night i brought it home and that afternoon i checked and the plugs were all in. I took both manifolds hoses off and let drain and both plugs out of the block. It was mostly orange but there was a little water in there. The next day you could feel ice in the hoses that i disconnected from the manifolds. Im guessing that the main amount of water got to the water pump and some other places first. My question is when it warms up is it ok to put muffs on and crank? I was concerned that the water pump may have froze. Any advice appreciated

 

[Bondo]

Re: mercury 4.3 freeze damage again

Re: mercury 4.3 freeze damage again

so ive already posted this once but i have a couple more questions.

Ayuh,... It's Better for All if you go back to the same thread, about the same problem...
It cuts the confusion, 'n yer Info is there...

Yes, When it warms, put the hoses back on, 'n the plugs back in, 'n the muffs on it, 'n Light it off....

You'll know in short order whether it's already cracked or not....
Keep a close eye on the oil level,... If it's Rising, she's Junk...
'course, if it's sprayin' water all over, that ain't so good either...

 

[Utahboatnut]

Re: mercury 4.3 freeze damage again

Re: mercury 4.3 freeze damage again

did you lower the drive after you ran it? if so the waterpump(in the drive) should be okay, however the circ pump on the engine could be suspect. Bout the only way to test is to go ahead and start and run it, but keep a very close eye on the oil level, ANY visible water leaks, feel the risers often while its running if they get too hot to touch you have issues. It will need to run for 10-15 minutes to open the t-stat and be effective in testing for damage.

 

[deere342]

Re: 4.3 mercury and freeze damage

I got the boat out this afternoon and put the muffs on. I didnt have the hoses under the exhaust manifold tightened and water was leaking there. After tightening the clamps everything seems to be fine..no leaks. I let the boat run for 10-15 mins. Oil isnt milky and the level hasnt risen. Is everything ok. How can i be sure the water pumps are ok and functioning correctly. The temp gauge never got over 130

 

[littlebookworm]

Re: 4.3 mercury and freeze damage

I'd suggest you get service manuals for the engine and the drive. There are some basic maintenance items that should be done and the manuals will explain how to do them and how the various systems work. Try 4shared.com for free downloads. Welcome to the forum and enjoy your new boat. Hy

 

[dubs283]

Re: 4.3 mercury and freeze damage

I let the boat run for 10-15 mins. Oil isnt milky and the level hasnt risen. Is everything ok. How can i be sure the water pumps are ok and functioning correctly. The temp gauge never got over 130

you should check and mark the oil level, let it run for about 20 mins -half hour, then let it sit for a half hour then run it again for about 20 mins - half hour, then check oil level again

i would say your pumps are working, if you have discharge out the back and are not overheating - you're set

 

[rickryder]

Re: 4.3 mercury and freeze damage

I'd suggest you get service manuals for the engine and the drive. There are some basic maintenance items that should be done and the manuals will explain how to do them and how the various systems work. Try 4shared.com for free downloads. Welcome to the forum and enjoy your new boat. Hy

http://www.4shared.com/office/IqpHQm7h/Mercruiser_Service_Manual_7_GM.htm This might help

 

[deere342]

Re: 4.3 mercury and freeze damage

Ok so i cranked the boat on the muffs again for about 15 mins. The temp was around 135 but the manifolds felt kinda hot. I put a digital thermometer on and they were about 150. It was pumping water through the manifolds bc i took a hose off and water was coming through them. Also there wasnt a lot of water coming out of the prop area.