Bad news, cracked head

luvinlife

My worst fears can’t true this week, I have a cracked head on my 270.  It’s a Volvo 5.7 MPI with 635 hours. I’m frustrated because I take supreme care of my boat and do all of the maintenance, preventative too.  Had her professionally winterized every year. No idea why it happened but the boat has been hauled and the mechanics will let me know if the cylinders are okay. If not i
may need a long block.  Either way I’m looking at a big nut $$.  My Rhode Island season is probably over. Well I had a great summer anyway! 

Liberty44140

Sorry to see this, could it have been cracked all summer or is this something more recent?

GMSLITHO

sorry to hear that ,you sure its the head ?

reneechris14

That is terrible thing to hear. The head it self is not really expensive its the work to get it off and reinstall. Good luck. If you need to go for a boat ride come over to Stonington CT. 

212rowboat

it isn't your fault... most often a cracked head, so long as it wasn't overheated, is a casting problem.  imperfections in casting cause hot spots and hot spots cause cracking.  

it's not a hard job.  you don't even need to pull the engine.  heads for SBC's are a dime a dozen... checkout clearwater heads.... you can get them already dressed with valve springs and valves, already adjusted (but do that anyway!!!)... add an upper engine gasket kit, and within 8 hours you're back in business. 

word of caution: you can't tell from the outside, but when you pull off that exhaust manifold you'll be able to see the interior wear/corrosion.  the the water jacket is cracked, well- there you go. 

so... 'they' know it's cracked... how do they know this for fact with heads still on? just curious... 

luvinlife

My original guess was exhaust manifold failure. The marina mechanic hauled my boat out of the water and pulled the head you can see the crack.  The engine was somewhat Hydro locked and all four plugs in the starboard side were wet.  think they have to pull the engine and outdrive to do the work. If the cylinders look good I could get away with just replacing the head. I will have a discussion with them on the difference between this work and just buying a long block. 

randy56

Sorry  to hear the bad news, knowing you took upmost care. It only takes a couple hours and the engine is on a stand.  And you will be able to inspect it. then make a decision. Good luck. Maybe a faulty head. 

F1100

you can replace a head without pulling the engine.. get a gasket kit and a new head...it takes about 1hr work... and its pretty easy, just follow the torque pattern.. hardest part is getting the old gasket off

luvinlife

I’m not sure why they thought they needed to but the engine is already out of the boat and the outdrive. I’m hoping the block is OK and if his head replacement. I’ll post the outcome. 

GMSLITHO

The they pulled the motor without checking with you ? Well since it’s out you can get in there and clean up the bilge real good and check everything on your transom assembly it’s a good winter project .you can have it all set up for next season 

luvinlife

 I’m meeting with the mechanic this morning at 11 AM. With the engine out I am going to clean the bilge thoroughly. I will let you know what I decide to do after speaking with the expert.

luvinlife

Good news, the cylinders looked good so I think I can get away with replacing the head.  Could be done by the weekend. Hoping that's the case. 

Dream_Inn

luvinlife said:

Good news, the cylinders looked good so I think I can get away with replacing the head.  Could be done by the weekend. Hoping that's the case. 

That's great news!

randy56

Good news.

GMSLITHO

That’s a big savings 

reneechris14

Sweeeet

rasbury

Dodged a bullet on that one!

luvinlife

Looks like it. It will still be $4,000 - $5,000 with the parts, engine removal and lots of labor. But an engine would be more like $13,000 

aero3113

Would insurance cover something like this?

F1100

$4000 to replace 1 head?    you should have done it yourself and saved $3400 , max 2hrs work

luvinlife

They pulled the engine and outdrive and will do the work on a stand in the shop. They showed me the cylinders and the head crack. The marina charges $100 per hour labor, that's the big hit. Crane, pulling motor, head replacement, gaskets, oil, filters, spark plugs, putting it back in.  I'll let you know what the bill breaks down to. Changing it in the boat was not given as an option 

rasbury

2 hours to pull the drive and maybe have the motor out- and 2 hours to put it all back( probably a liite more) and then the engine work....

Michael T

100% with Al. I believe Mercruiser will pay 8 hours for a complete R&R for warranty purposes and the techs at my former marina said they would be hard pressed to remove seats etc. and do the R&R without chipping gel coat, kinking hoses, etc. even in that time. I watched the guys one afternoon (while our EC 360 was in the shop) remove a 377 Mag from a Rinker 342 - I had forgotten how many thinks have to be disconnected, plugged, taped-off, zip tied out of the way, wrapped-up, numbered and put aside. It took over 4 hours to get that mill out. Mind you these guys are very careful not to dent generators, water tanks, battery chargers etc. when removing engines and are real fussy around gel coat! 

luvinlife

Thanks Al. I agree a backyard guy could shoehorn into the engine compartment and do it but the shop conditions are much better. I’ll let you all know the final breakdown. The mechanic ball-parked it for me. I was glad it’s not a new engine needed. That would be much more expensive. 

aero3113

Check the bottom of your oil pan for corrosion while the engine is out.

luvinlife

Good idea on oil pan. Plus the second bilge pump is accessible now too. I’ll see if it is in working order. 

aero3113

If you haven’t replaced the starter in a while, now would be the time to do that also.

F1100

IMO forget pulling the motor, pull the manifold and busted head check the cylinders, air buff the mating surface to take the old gasket material off. torque new head on(most important part). Its literally a bolt on and bolt off affair.. done it many times...  yeah its cramped.. so what... its a ton of wasted money to pull a engine that does not need to be pulled. If mechanics had their way they will always take the easy way.

F1100

I was saying 2hrs to fix it, not to pull the engine and outdrives off. I would never do that without pulling the head first and seeing what the damage is.

212rowboat

it can be done in the boat... 

but... 

i spent a weekend building a gantry to make it easier.  using dimensional lumber- (2)2"x12"x14' on outside, with (2)2"x10"x14' inside buildups.. atop 6"x6" posts 12' tall with 2"x8" on either side allowing notches for 45* braces.. on skids made of 1 2"x12" flat and I beam'd with 2"x6".. all of that^, only if I recall correctly.... I put a couple 2"x12"x36" stacked atop the main beam centered, and draped a doubled 12k# chain around it which connected to an electric winch capable of 2500# double line (pulley) lift.. why? ... 'casue i ain't taking any chances.... 

rolled the boat on the trailer under it.. bolted the balancer to the engine.... disconnected all lines... pulled outdrive... pulled mounts... the engine was out in literally an hour.  it's not hard.  it's actually quite easy. 

what is easier?  having that engine on a proper stand and having everything available with ease- including inspection of every part... heads? can be off in an hour with the engine out and on a stand... FULL tear down? can be done in likely four or five hours.  water pumps, timing chains, cams, all can be done with ease when you can walk around that engine.. flip it over.. do whatever you want.... 

that gantry is worth it's weight in gold... when you need it.   

F1100

My point is.. that the guy is spending 1 months salary (for most) to do what can be done over a few beers and a Saturday. The only time I would pull a motor is on some wretched cars like 3000gt, mr2 and the like, that have zero room to get your hands in to work. A boat is a dream to work on especially since its all push rod heads. Mechanics will always take the expensive/easy way out to do things cause its to their benefit to do so.