I bought a sea ray to fix up. It has a 4.3 mercruiser. Compression was 115 to 117 on all cylinders at cold temp. I have water in the oil and loosing power steering fluid with no leaks in power steering fluid. I do know one of the exhaust manifolds needs replaced. My next guess is the power steering cooler. Any suggestions, could I also have cracked block, should I just go ahead and replace the motor?
Water in oil
- Thread starter Mtoddr
- Start date
Express 390
Well-Known Member
- Sep 14, 2018
- 661
- Boat Info
- 1986 SeaRay 390 EC
1993 SeaRay 290 DA single 7.4 /Bravo 2
1992 SeaRay 230 DA 4.3LX Alfa drive
- Engines
- Twin 454 Crusaders inboards 4 blades
You can't just do one Exhaust Manifold one is bad the other right behind it. Welcome to CSR
BillK2632
Well-Known Member
PS cooler is cheap/easy to replace. Manifolds / risers can add up - I bet yours has the old one piece style manifold/riser. Nothing wrong with those until they fail like the others - problem is you have to buy manifolds and risers so it can add up. Also, 115 on compression sounds a little low - but could be due to the water in the oil - the more important thing is that they are all close to the same compression. Need to pull the manifolds and verify it is a manifold leaking and not a cracked block. Then decide if you want to invest in new manifolds.
scoflaw
Well-Known Member
- Aug 10, 2011
- 6,395
- Boat Info
- 1999 Powerquest legend 260 sx 502 mag
2005 Baja 242 islander 496
- Engines
- 502 mpi Bravo 1
496 mag B1
Cracked head will also put air in the block. They do rust through
Espos4
Well-Known Member
I would do a leak down test too before tearing it apart.
Just good info to know before tearing it apart.
Just good info to know before tearing it apart.