Texas Deep Freeze = Cracked...something on 2016 Mercury 4.5L Alpha

+1 to what Dennis said - you are lucky lucky! I had the same thing happen once. Make sure you winterize it correctly next year, that cat does not have any more lives.
 
BEH said:
Thanks, I’m the same as Pirate Lady.
Marina does my winterizing, so last time I did it was years ago and used vehicle anti freeze, Prestone etc.
The pink you guys are talking about, is it the Plumbing Antifreeze?
Thanks.
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This kind of stuff.
upload_2021-3-21_16-26-54.png
 
scoflaw said:
Not to sure about "out of the woods" yet. Fix the plug then see how it does.
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Yeah, hopefully it doesn't start squirting out somewhere else once the plug is back in.
 
You’re very lucky that’s one of the accessible ones. Some are hidden behind motor mounts. They can be put in but require some Magiver like creativity.

Get it back in there and see how it goes.
 
You'll have to remove that dipstick to access the freeze plug and then reinstall. Shouldn't be too bad.
 
LastCall350 said:
I don't have a lot of the insider details such as you were asking, I just own a Marine service center here in TN and 80% of what we service is Mercruiser. I have seen freeze damage on the 4.5's and 6.2's, and typically it results in cracking at the cylinders. I uploaded a couple pics of a busted 6.2 last winter, notice the cracking at the top of the cylinders.

Last time I was at Mercruiser school, I believe I was told they bought a casting facility in Indiana maybe? Over all I have been impressed with them in the field.
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Thank you. I am a consumer and have also been impressed by Mercruiser. They have always responded to my inquiries too. I hope the OP does not have substantial freeze damage.
 
Marcus Matos said:
Hi all,

First, I meant PROPELYNE GLYCOL (the pink stuff), specifically Camco 30757 RV And Marine Antifreeze.
Sorry about that confusion.

I got a video of the leak today. I'm thinking a cap or something busted off. Thoughts?

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The most satisfying jobs include brute force:
 
Marcus Matos said:
I took it out on the water and within about 45 seconds the engine went in to "limp" / "self protect" mode. I shut it off, opened up the engine bay, and notice a bit of smoke coming off the undersides of the engine, and that my bilge pump was pumping a good amount of water out. My first reaction was to check that I didn't leave the seawater drain open - I had not.
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Hopefully you dodged a major bullet but I am wondering why it went into limp mode unless is was detecting low water pressure? Did you pull the dipstick and or the oil cap to make sure you don't have milky oil? Fingers crossed for you as I was in your shoes a couple years ago but didn't get so lucky.
 
Some updates...

  • I guess I had my terminology mixed up as it relates to the cooling system. The 4.5L on my boat is raw water cooled (no heat exchanger).
  • Progressive came out today to document some things. No water in the oil which I suppose is a positive sign, but until the core plug is re-installed and everything operates under pressure, I'm not going to presume I'm in the clear.
  • I ran the engine for a few seconds to get some video and to listen to it - it starts up and sounds perfectly normal, but again, not holding my breath.
  • Rather than deal with it myself (some work stuff is leaving me with very little free time), I decided to just take it to the dealership to have them do the work and check the engine for freeze damage.
    • From one of the service guys: "Is that the 4.5L? Yeah, it's cracked." - so it seems like it's developing a reputation.
  • For those wondering, the boat is operated entirely in-land in freshwater, so I'm not sure about rust theories (although I was suspicious of the color of the edges when I first saw the hole).
I should know more in about a week.

As an aside...this happened a few days ago at a neighboring marina: Docks and Boats Break Away From Marina on Lake Ray Hubbard During Early Morning Storms. Glad I got mine in line earlyish.
 
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Been following this. Looks good and hoping that it is considering the circumstances.
 
Mini-Update: It's not looking good. They're just now getting started on my engine but report that out of the 10 4.5L and 6.2L they have, 9 of them had cracking in the cylinder walls. In most cases, some damage to the exhaust manifold too. On top of that, no availability for long block remans for this engine...

So basically, everything @LastCall350 and @Arminius said on Page 1 of the thread. :(
 
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