Catastrophic failure? Should I cut my losses???Please help!

[hismajst]

Re: Catastrophic failure? Should I cut my losses???Please help!

Frank, thank you so much for that reply! You are giving me hope that the engine can be saved. I have a rebuild manual for it but could not find a definitive answer as to the flow of water for cooling. I imagine the easiest way to get to that gasket would be to remove the entire engine?. It does not look plausible to get to the lower bolts on the exhaust manifold on my 2070 Bayliner Capri engine compartment. I know exactly what hose you are talking about, seemed like a bit of a design flaw when I first noticed it. I think you are dead on in your diagnosis and everything is starting to make sense. I owe you one for this!!!Thanks again! I am pulling the engine tomorrow and will post pics and results. Can anybody think of anything else I should replace as preventative maintenance while I have the engine out??? Thanks again from my wife and I for all your replies!!!

 

[hismajst]

Re: Catastrophic failure? Should I cut my losses???Please help!

Ezimmerm and Frank were correct. I pulled the motor and removed the exhaust manifold. I found splits in the gasket at the edges of the sealing surface of the exhaust manifold. The "dogleg" hose (part #F695254) is in good shape. I have thoroughly gone through the entire powerhead and found no blockage. I also confirmed that #4 cylinder is in very good condition and the dings in the head are from a previous failure. Here are pictures of the motor swing and results.Please look at the pics of the head and determine if it will be o.k. to run as is, or if I should buff out the dings to prevent hot spots? Also for all you veterans of 2 stroke please check out my pics of the cylinders (had to put pics in next post)and tell me what you see(i.e. misfire,detonation etc..)
I have definitely came to a conclusion through all this, what Force may have lacked in design they made up for it in user/repair friendliness!!! It took me a whopping 20 minutes to remove the engine!!!!!

Just swingin!The ONLY way to swing a motor!!!

Exhaust manifold removed (without intermediate plate)

Close up of failed gasket

Yep, that would be water there at #4 cylinder exhaust port

 

[hismajst]

Re: Catastrophic failure? Should I cut my losses???Please help!

Cyl.#4

Cyl.#3

Cyl.#2

Cyl.#1

Head (#4 is furthest to right.)

 

[ezimmerm]

Re: Catastrophic failure? Should I cut my losses???Please help!

Glad you found this issue, wish I had a hoist like that

Since you have it apart I would certainly clean what I could, I don't know that I would tear the whole thing down but clean as much gunk/crap/etc off as you can.

 

[hismajst]

Re: Catastrophic failure? Should I cut my losses???Please help!

Cleaned er good and resealed EVERYTHING!! Sad to say it was a total waist of time. Cylinder head temps. are still high after all of that!! What else could cause this??

 

[Babylon519]

Re: Catastrophic failure? Should I cut my losses???Please help!

I have the exact same motor in a 21 foot Maxum. A few years back I had the same problem with water in cylinders 3 and 4. That summer, I replaced the head gasket and exhaust gasket separately and still had water in the cylinders - not at first running, but by Day 2. Really frustrating. It sounded like a weak battery or bad starter, because the motor would hardly turn over when this happened. Turned out that there was so much water in the cyclinders, they were literally locking (because you can't compress a liquid). In the end, we pulled the power head, replaced both gaskets at the same time, and it's been doing fine ever since. These motors are very heat sensitive, and I'm concerned with the number of times you've mentioned overheating. Does your alarm sound each of these times? The mechanic I rely on for the really serious stuff said that if you run these motors with the temp alarm blaring for more than a minute or two, you're gonna replace the head gasket - even if it looks brand new. I thought he was just cleansing my wallet when I saw the old head gasket still looking spiffy and new, but it obviously wasn't cutting it. Another thing: I have the actual shop manual from Force, and it's a godsend. It makes working on these rigs very straightforward. Anyway, the manual makes serious reference to the need for an absolutely flat cyclinder head. When you lay the head on a piece of thick glass, is there any play at all? The spec was like, if you could insert a piece of paper anywhere between the head and the glass, replace the head. Looking at the pitting on your head, and hearing about the overheating issues, it could be the case that you're not getting the kind of seal that's necessary for a light-cast 2-stroke to be really tight, even with a new head gasket. In answer to your overall question, I think these are great power plants. They're quick for their horsepower, and easy as hell to work on. It's true that parts are getting harder to find, and I'm starting to stockpile things I think will need replacing. In '03 I had the gearcase rebuilt for a nasty $3 grand, and earlier in its life we paid about the same to have the power head rebored etc. Last year, the u-joint housing seized up, and I rebuilt that over the winter for about $900 total. But in between these big repairs, I've had 3-4 years in a row of inexpensive boating. All things considered, I've calculated it costs $1000 a year to run this outfit, and we get a lot of enjoyment for many weekends each summer. You know what BOAT stands for? Break Out Another Thousand! Dollar-for-dollar, I say it's cheaper than golfing (at $50 a round), and my whole family gets to do this with me. My rationale is that fixing this machine is still my most cost-effective solution. But I love hearing everybody trashing the L-drive - means more parts will be coming available as people sell them off! Ha!

 

[ezimmerm]

Re: Catastrophic failure? Should I cut my losses???Please help!

Is the engine pumping water out the pee hole and is there any still leaking into the cylinders?