77 Merc 165 wont crank

[SevenTeas]

I have a Sea Ray 260DA with twin 165 Mercs. The port engine runs great on earmufs in the driveway. The Starboard is the problem. The last time out the alternator belt broke and the engine died. Guages did not spike for temp on either engine. I limped in on the port engine and pulled the boat. Due to many factors the boat sat in the driveway for a year.

I got the belt replaced and the engine would not turn over. I replaced the slave solenoid, which was visibly broken and the starter engaged. The engine will not crank. Pulled the plugs, still no crank. put oil in the cylinders to free up last night. The oil does not appear to have water in it and is not milky. There was some condensation in the valve cover so the oil will be changed.

At this point I plan to do the following.

1. Lower drive all the way.
2. Try to crank again, if that fails then
3. Pull outdrive and see if it spins free and try engine again.

Am I missing anything? Is there anything else I can try? I am really trying not to pull the head off of the engine. Any suggestions are greatly appreciated.
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[RLKBOB]

Did you try cranking it over by hand with a socket on the crank bolt or just with the starter? Before doing anything else try to turn it over by hand. If it turns over by hand then the problem is probably the starter relay or the starter. In this case try jumping the starter relay first, if that doesn't work then it's most likely the starter. If it won't turn over by hand then you have bigger problems, if this is the case try ATF in the spark plug holes not oil. I have freed up more than one engine this way.

 

[SevenTeas]

The engine mount will not allow a wrench or socket to be put on the crank shaft. I have only used the starter. I will try ATF instead, thanks!! Also seen on Chat rooms that a mix of ATF and Acetone is very good at penetrating any thoughts on that?

 

[MorichesBayBum]

Sounds like your on the right path. I would take the belt off and make sure all the accessories are spinning freely. Pulling the drive is a good idea anyway. It may just be a gimble bearing that is locked up.

 

[SevenTeas]

That was my first thought as well, the alternator, waterpump and power steering all turn freely. Im going to work on it this evening and will post the results.

I also got a flexible camera to look into the cylinders to see whats going on in there....

 

[SevenTeas]

So I pulled the Drive unit:

View attachment 10685

And tried to crank the engine:

View attachment 10686

And nothing. Ran a scope into the cylinders through the spark plug holes and there corroded bad. Talked to an engine builder who believes that the engine "hydrauliced" and should be replaced.

So, where is the best/cheapest place to get an engine? Is there anything special that must be done to remove the engine?

The next step is to remove the alternator, Power steering pump and water pump. Pull the carb. Remove and label all of the wiring.

 

[RLKBOB]

I've never heard of acetone and ATF, don't think acetone in an engine is a good idea. I have heard kerosene and ATF though. Try soaking the cylinders first for a few days with this then see if it turn over. If you get it freed up and can then get it started change the fluids, run it long enough to warm it up and do a compression test. If compression test results are bad then pull the engine, if good then run it.

Also, not likely you sucked water into one engine, if it got hydo-locked there would be water in the oil pan and any mechanic would know this. Sounds like it just died because of the belt initially. I've seen engines freeze up in one year of sitting(aluminum piston in a steel cylinder), this is why they recommend fogging the engine with oil before storing or winterizing. If this is all that happened then the ATF should be all you need to do, I doubt there is much if any damage. It's definitely worth a shot to save you the cost of a rebuild. I ran a truck for years before selling(still running fine) after going through this and it sat for 2 years with one of the heads off and the pistons were froze to the cylinder walls bad.

 

[SevenTeas]

Thanks Bob,

Would it make a difference if I mentioned that the other engine never stopped running?

So equal parts ATF and keroseen? Then put plugs back in and wait couple of days pull plugs and try to turn? Ill give it a shot, no harm gonna take couple days to get all of the accessories off the engine anyway.

Ill let you know if it works!

 

[RLKBOB]

The fact that the other engine didn't have any problems is what also makes me think that it all had to with the belt coming off. Like I said if it was hydro-locked there would have been water in the oil pan and if that would've happened more than likely you would've had a lot of water in the bilge when this all happened and probably also sucked water into the other engine at the same time.
I wouldn't use equal parts ATF and kerosene, I would only use enough kerosene to thin it a little. I've never mixed kerosene with it only heard about it. When I've done it I always used straight ATF.

 

[MorichesBayBum]

If the engine is hydrolocked it means that there is water in the upper half of the engine. Pistons travel up and down in the cyl, compressing air and fuel... It then fires when it is on the combustion stroke.
If you get water in the cyl, it cannot be compressed, therefore it is locked. This is where the term comes from. You will not always have water in the oil or crankcase. If your rings are shot some water will pass through into the crank case.




If you have that much corrosion, you probably had water intrusion from an expired exhaust system. If you want a quality reman, try looking at Jasper engines. They give a great warr. Also if there is an issue, They pay for the mechanic to remove and replace the defective engine. They are the only company that we deal with.

Gook luck!

 

[SevenTeas]

Thanks for all the input so far. Here is the status update. I swung by tonight and poured ATF into the cylinders and put the spark plugs back in. I wont be able to work on it till Sat anyway so WTH, cant hurt anything at this point. Hey it might even work. Took over two quarts of ATF.

 

[SevenTeas]

Update: I got another engine and am in the process of swapping them.

Anything I need to know about getting the darn thing out?