Starter fell off of engine block

[greencounty]

I have a 1995 18' Dynasty BR with a 3.0 liter Mercruiser engine and I last had it on the water 1 week ago Friday(June 7th). The boat started up first crank and ran well all day.

Today I washed the exterior of the boat and removed afew stains from the upholstery and sprayed down the hull and areas where I cleaned with a garden hose with no nozzle(not high pressure).

When I attached the bunny ears to the outdrive and cranked it, I heard a grinding noise and looked back to find that the starter had fallen off the engine block and was hanging by only the wires attaching it to the battery etc. I believe the starter was recently replaced when I bought the boat 2 years ago.

The long bolt on the starter is broken off in the block and the shorter bolt broke the casting on the starter. Is this a typical problem? Although I know I got some air in the air vents on the side of the engine compartment, I find it hard to believe that got anywhere near enough water to hydro-lock the engine.

I am not comfortable drilling the bolt-end out of the engine block, so I will likely take it to a shop to have this done. I am very experienced in auto-mechanics, but this is my first boat and I don't really want do anything that could cause further problems.

I can post pictures/part numbers as needed. I am interested to know what you guys recommend I do.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Starter fell off of engine block

Is this a typical problem?

Ayuh,... Only if the bolts loosen....
Replace it,+ go boatin'...

 

[IES99]

Re: Starter fell off of engine block

Been there. Those starter bolts loosen a little, then crack due to vibration and also stress from the starter activation. Now part of routine (I mean every couple of weeks) maintenance is a 9/16 wrench on those bolts to make sure they are tight. Best of luck, no serious damage to your engine was done. You'll be back on the water in no time.

 

[greencounty]

Re: Starter fell off of engine block

Thanks guys. I expect that I will need to replace the starter since the cast bracket on it is snapped, but from what you say, it should be no more difficult than that and getting the piece of bolt out of my block where the other one broke off.

 

[indy440]

Re: Starter fell off of engine block

this literally just happened to me and I just fixed it this weekend. Read my thread, I posted my solution at the end:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=403813

 

[greencounty]

Re: Starter fell off of engine block

Ok, I will give the reverse turn bit a try. I have a 90 degree drill and the port (Long bolt) bolt is the only one lodged in my block(the short bolt broke at the starter bracket instead).

 

[indy440]

Re: Starter fell off of engine block

its certainly worth the 10-15 dollars they charge for a left handed bit to give it a try! I used a 3/8 bit and it worked like a charm!

 

[greencounty]

Re: Starter fell off of engine block

I'm gonna try it with a smaller bit because I don't want to accidentally grab the threads in the block. I have drilled a hole down the center of a bolt and I will be using this as a spacer to guide me in straight.(put the bolt around the bit and stick it in the hole). I've also got some PB blaster to spray up in there to try to loosen everything up.

 

[Jerico]

Re: Starter fell off of engine block

Take a mirror and look at the end of the broken bolt in the block. I was going to do the reverse bit on mine, but when I got a good look at it there was just enough of a deformity where it broke to get a small screwdriver to catch on it. It took a while, but working it slowly I managed to get the bolt to back out enough to get it out without the drill.

 

[greencounty]

Re: Starter fell off of engine block

Take a mirror and look at the end of the broken bolt in the block. I was going to do the reverse bit on mine, but when I got a good look at it there was just enough of a deformity where it broke to get a small screwdriver to catch on it. It took a while, but working it slowly I managed to get the bolt to back out enough to get it out without the drill.

I'll check it out. That would be awesome if that's all it takes. I looked at mine with a mirror earlier and I don't think i'm that lucky but I'll definitely take another look. I also thought about dipping the end of a screw in J-B weld and attempting to remove it that way but that's alittle risky cause you don't want that on the threads.

 

[greencounty]

Re: Starter fell off of engine block

I was able to get the bolt out. I used the reverse threaded bit to drill a pilot hole and then used a bigger bit (also reverse threaded) to catch the edges of the smaller hole.

thanks all

 

[Silvertip]

Re: Starter fell off of engine block

Any auto-electric (starter/alternator) rebuilder in your city can fix you up with a new/used starter nose. He probably has a pile of them laying around.