Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser (UPDATE-FIXED)

[Ridewright79]

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Ayuh,... If there's Any doubt, toss 'em,...

By the nature of their design, pressure testin' ain't an option...

Here's some informative readin' for ya,... The Adults Only section,...

Good info. Thanks again. The risers look like they are more of a wear item.

 

[achris]

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

I completely understand what you mean..0D832433 is the serial number from the tag on the starboard side.

Ok... 1993 5.7L Alpha engine....

Just disconnect the hoses running to the elbows (do you have risers??) and plug them...

A couple of word definitions.
Risers are spacers between the manifold and the elbows, for the purpose of raising the elbow up to above the waterline in boats where the engine is set very low in the water... They come in 3" or 6"

Elbow mixes exiting exhaust gas and exiting cooling water so the gas is cool enough to not damage anything further down the exhaust path.

HTH

Chris........

 

[Ridewright79]

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Ok... 1993 5.7L Alpha engine....

Just disconnect the hoses running to the elbows (do you have risers??) and plug them...

A couple of word definitions.
Risers are spacers between the manifold and the elbows, for the purpose of raising the elbow up to above the waterline in boats where the engine is set very low in the water... They come in 3" or 6"

Elbow mixes exiting exhaust gas and exiting cooling water so the gas is cool enough to not damage anything further down the exhaust path.

HTH

Chris........

Ok that makes more sense to me. I do not have risers. I have elbows with a hose going into it. It also has through-hull exhaust thats above the water line. Not sure if the through-hull exhaust matters

 

[achris]

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

.... Not sure if the through-hull exhaust matters

It doesn't...

 

[Ridewright79]

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Thought I would add that when i was hearing the light rattle noise and popping back, i could throttle down and then throttle back up and didnt return until i cruised for about a minute then it would do it again. This is the first time I ever heard that or burned a plug. Last time they were just wet and never had a running issue just the hydrolock after it sat

 

[Ridewright79]

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

I guess that is staying in my mind due to the fact the dual plane intake feeds the two outer cylinder and opposite inners per side of the carb. And none of the other plugs show any damage that couldve been from water in the fuel.

 

[Ridewright79]

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

I will leak check the manifold and start there also do a compression test and cylinder leaks down test. Should be able to do that this weekend and post results. Thanks everyone.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Thought I would add that when i was hearing the light rattle noise and popping back, i could throttle down and then throttle back up and didnt return until i cruised for about a minute then it would do it again. This is the first time I ever heard that or burned a plug. Last time they were just wet and never had a running issue just the hydrolock after it sat

Ayuh,... Check the contents of the fuel filter for water,.... You've got Detonation goin' on...

 

[Ridewright79]

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

I will also inspect that for water. Guess that's why I was leaning to a head gasket thinking water was being burned and only had one with the plug damaged.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

I will also inspect that for water. Guess that's why I was leaning to a head gasket thinking water was being burned and only had one with the plug damaged.

Ayuh,.... If the head gasket failed, 'n allowed water into the cylinder, the plug would be brand new Clean, 'n Not Detonated....

Water in the cylinder, does NOT cause detonation...

Water in the fuel, Will cause detonation, from a Lean condition...

 

[Ridewright79]

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

I will get a sample of the fuel in a jar and let it sit to see if there is water in it. Sorry to sound like a broken record on some of this stuff just the brain is going and haven't had the time to check things. I am hoping its just a manifold/elbow issue and not internal. Either way I can fix it just the money difference. Lol.

 

[Ridewright79]

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Thinking about the manifolds/elbows the thought of not knowing how old they are kinda bothers me. I think I will replace them regardless. What's your opinion regarding osco vs OEM??

 

[achris]

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Thinking about the manifolds/elbows the thought of not knowing how old they are kinda bothers me. I think I will replace them regardless. What's your opinion regarding osco vs OEM??

For elbows and manifolds, I wouldn't consider anything but OEM...

Chris.....

 

[Ridewright79]

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Being I work for a dealer and see all kinds of weird stuff with aftermarket parts I figured OEM would be best.

 

[NHGuy]

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

It's the middle of the winter, at least you won't be paying July 4th boat part prices.

 

[Ridewright79]

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Very true!! I have found a set of OEM manifolds and elbows for 650 shipped. Still not that bad.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Lots of folks suspect the manifolds and/or head gasket when encountering water in the cylinders. An additional thing to consider is the cylinder head and valve guides, particularly on an older engine. In addition to doing the compression and cylinder leak tests, you should also do a cooling system pressure test with air to see if you have got leakage.

also, another thing to consider is that you may at this time have some damage to the rotating assembly, based on what you have described. If so, you will probably get some funky results on your compression test.

 

[ENSIGN]

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Water in your gas is not going to hydrolock the engine.Disconnect the hoses going to the manifolds and elbows and plug them up.Drain any water from the block and use a radiator pressure tester connected to the water inlet fitting on the thermostat housing.Pressure test the block and heads to 15psi and see if it holds pressure.GL,Ted

 

[Ridewright79]

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

I know there are two issues. I figure the water in the cylinders is my main concern right now. That is a good idea and I have everything I need to do that. Thanks. I plan to check these thing tomorrow.

 

[Ridewright79]

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Re: Water in starboard cylinders only. No water in oil. 5.7 Mercruiser

Lots of folks suspect the manifolds and/or head gasket when encountering water in the cylinders. An additional thing to consider is the cylinder head and valve guides, particularly on an older engine. In addition to doing the compression and cylinder leak tests, you should also do a cooling system pressure test with air to see if you have got leakage.

also, another thing to consider is that you may at this time have some damage to the rotating assembly, based on what you have described. If so, you will probably get some funky results on your compression test.

I thought about that as well. That's what concerns me. Both times it ran fine after the water was remove and plugs changed. Definitely going to pressure check the engine. That's why the detonation concerned me and having one cylinder burn a plug like once the engine was hot water could've came in through a crack in the head. Will find out tomorrow