Repowering

Troubles began

On March 7, 2009 the engine went to heck in a hand basket. Basically it started with a loss of coolant. Then there was hydrolock and overheating. Pictures of the problems that I had follow.

Here is the broken shaft seal on the fresh water pump. I rerigged the engine as a raw water cooled engine to try to fix the other problems.

The broken pump seal permitted water to leak into the oil. It got emulsified as the engine ran. After sitting for three weeks the water never settled out. I changed the oil six times hoping to fix the problem but no luck. The water kept coming back. I then did a pressure test on the coolant system with a bicycle pump and a crude fitting. At 5 psi water started coming out the aft intake.

Here is the blown head gasket. The head was also warped. This permitted coolant water to enter the cylinder causing hydrolock after it had sat for a while. It is also possible that there was another breach in the coolant system to allow the water to get into the oil.

Dave and I did a complete teardown. Many of the pieces showed wear. There was a broken oil line to the valve rocker. Also a bolt did not come out of the manifold. The conclusion was that I would have to spend a couple of thousand on parts and hope to put it back together properly. I wasn't sure I would get a reliable engine though. Dave recommended a new engine.