Reed Block Gasket

[Jonezin]

Well here we are again, after much research I come to find out that I've got a 1988 Mariner "Marathon" 135 V6 stock from sea Ray. boat has been in the family since new so its been cared for, I cant find a manual on just this motor but anyway, I'm leaking water at the top left side of the reed block. I guess this is why she is so hard to crank sometimes. To just replace the intake gasket is this an all weekend thing or can it be done with a beer and a few hrs?

Also she is running a little hot, she holds 180 steady no alarms (well I don't know if the alarm works) but she hasn't shut down. I ordered new thermostats i know she is getting good circulation,so i don't suspect Impeller. water really hot from the **** port.

What you guys think?

 

[sschefer]

Re: Reed Block Gasket

Could you post a pic of the area where the water is leaking from. It's hard to imagine water at the reed block or crankcase half unless you have a cracked block.

 

[Jonezin]

Re: Reed Block Gasket

will do today, its not at the block it self but the housing plate. the gasket part # is 27-93536 or 27-93536-1. part 22 on the mercury diagram.

 

[Jonezin]

Re: Reed Block Gasket


this is where I'm leaking at,
this is the reed block housing correct?
I cant find a book so I'm doing the best I can
by researching.
The mercury part diagram say's it only calls for 1 gasket
but I just looked at it again and it looks like 2 gaskets a top
and bottom. Damn knew I should have got 2 of them.




is this the temp alarm sensor?
How do you test this? Or set the alarm off.

 

[Doug57]

Re: Reed Block Gasket

That's not the reed block that's the exhaust chamber cover. There two gaskets, one for the cover and one for the divider. Simple to replace, also check the divider plate for cracks while you have it out. It should be fine.

 

[Jonezin]

Re: Reed Block Gasket

Thanks for the correct part name, I ordered the right gaskets. I got them from boats.net there experts suck. I explained to them as I did here and he "mike" agreed that's what the part was. Cant beat there prices(oem parts) or shipping. Just know what you need when ordering from them.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Reed Block Gasket

Now it makes sense, the reed block is on the other side of the engine and as you've been told that is the Exhaust Divider Plate and Cover. Your's is a two piece version. You may want to look around (eBay, etc.) for a one piece. They tend to be a little more leak resistant.

You may get lucky and get two gaskets. The rebuild kit has two but not sure if the individual package has two or not. If the boats.net site had two set as the default number then that's what you should have ordered. If it had just one it might mean that there's two in the package.

 

[Jonezin]

Re: Reed Block Gasket

The reed block housing calls for 1, but the exhaust cover calls for 2.

Now what about the other pic i posted is that the alarm sensor?
and how do i trigger it to test it?

 

[Doug57]

Re: Reed Block Gasket

yes,that's the heat sensor. Follow the wire bact to where it connects to the motor, should be connected to a small block, now just take a wire and ground the wire out to the block, The alarm should sound, if it dosen't then you have a bad connection somewhere or buzzer is shot. If the buzzer sounds you can pull the sender out and check it with hot water to see if the spring reacts. The sensor just reacts to heat and grounds to the head causing the buzzer to sound not much can go wrong with it. The wire is normally covere by a plastic sleeve you need to check the condition of the wire they can decay inside the protective sleeve. If you have a water temp gage it may be wrong. If the 180 temp is when you are at 2000rpm or above it may be the popet.

 

[sschefer]

Re: Reed Block Gasket

The reed block housing calls for 1, but the exhaust cover calls for 2.

Now what about the other pic i posted is that the alarm sensor?
and how do i trigger it to test it?

Yes, the starboard head has the temp switch. This is a switch, not a sender like would be used with a gauge. When it reaches a specific temperature it creates a closed circut.

If it is connected correctly you can perform this test.

1. Remove the switch from the head.

2. Place a thermometer in a cup of water and heat it to 210 degrees.

3. Turn on the ignition (do not start the engine) and drop the switch into the cup.

The switch should close and the alarm should activate. When the alarm stops, read the temp on the thermometer. This is the temp that the switch opens and closes at. It should be very close to 190 degrees.

As a side note, on the port head you may also have a similar looking device. This should be a temp sender and can be used with a temp gauge. A temp gauge coupled with a water pressure guage can tell you a lot more about your engines cooling system. It all depends on how closely you feel you need to monitor it.

 

[Jonezin]

Re: Reed Block Gasket

If the 180 temp is when you are at 2000rpm or above it may be the popet.

what do you mean?
its runs about 180 @ 2500-3500 rpm that's what we cruise at haven't really checked it below 2000

but what is popet? there's nothing on the other side. I just want to make sure i got some kind of warning before burning up my motor. If the buzzer is bad how can I replace that or put a new one in?