Cracked block or Intake manifold - Shoot me!

[2001SAN]

Well,

I left my 'new' boat into the shop due to a clatter in the tranny at low revs. The tech calles me today to tell me that there is water in the engine oil. He dipped the oil and it seemed a little high so he pulled the filter. Said it's full of emulsified oil. Looks like a crack in one of the above. I am gutted.

When I bought the boat I did water test it. Oil pressure was good, temp good, dipped the oil and it was nice and clean. PO said he had done an oil change but not done the filter.

The confusing thing is that we have not had severe frost here since 2010 so does this mean the PO has been running the boat last season with a crack in the block? I can't believe for one second that he would have sold me this expensive (for me anyway) boat knowing it had this major issue. If so he let me get a ferry and drive 400 miles to collect it, then have lunch and a cup of tea with me before parting company. He even said he'd give me a shout next time he's in Ireland and come for a board and I've spoke to him on the phone a couple of times to chat about various bits and pieces!

I'm insured for frost damage but it has happened when the boat was not owned by me so that's out the window. I know he was insured by the same company prior to selling but I doubt that would make any difference.

As stated above, I am gutted. I had myself geared up to hear that the coupling needed realignment or something nice and simple. Worst case scanario, a new tranny! Little did I know.

I can only pray that it's the intake manifold. If it's not what are my options??? I know it's going to cost no matter what. What are the chances of finding a replacement gt-40? Slim to none i bet.

My last words to my friend before towing it up to the garage last weekend were 'at least the engine is running well'! The irony...

D.

[Chexi]

If frost cracked the block, claim it. If it was under the same insurance company under the prior owner, all the better, because then the insurance company has nothing to complain about.

There are GT40s out there, they are just hard to find. Perhaps the block is repairable?

[2001SAN]

I just spoke to a nautique specialist in England. He reckons he can get a short block made up. I hope I'll be able to go down the insurance route. I'll wait an see what my guys inspection shows up when he breaks the engine down and take it from there. Maybe the block will be repairable. So far based on what I've been told be the nautique guy, £5k ($8000 US) will fix the boat. I do not want to have to pay it though as it's money I just don't have.

Thanks chexi,

D.

[2001SAN]

Still no word from the tech - back log of work it seems. Did speak to the PO though. I asked if he had run the boat at all after winterising. He said he ran if for twenty minutes the week before it was sold. I think I remember him telling me that on the phone around the time of selling. What are the chances of a boat being freeze damaged and it not showing up the first time out? We didn't even have any major cold weather in the UK this year. I need put out of my misery ASAP. The boat is getting fixed either way but this waiting is killing me. The boat did sit on a trailer with the bung in for about a week with fairly heavy rain - it had a cover on but i later found out it has no water repelling properties at all. I guess it's wishful thinking to hope that was the cause.

A long bank holiday weekend ahead...

D.

[swc5150]

You'll realistically need a solid 24 hour period below freezing to have an effect on an engine. With that said, a cracked block or manifolds will show themselves first time as well. It sounds like all checked out during your water test when you took delivery, so whatever happened appears to be post-sale. Regardless, your situation is very unfortunate, and I feel for you. There's a GT-40 on ski-it-again.co for sale ($2,000US), which could be dropped into your boat with relative ease, but it I'm sure it would cost quite a bit to shop it to you. Definitely cheaper than $8,000 though.

[2001SAN]

Sounds like that may be the case. Strange thing was that all the guages read ok both times i had it out since the initial water test. No overheat and no check engine light. The first time out (prior to the week of heavy rain) we were ouf for a coupe of hours, 5 people on board and pulling a wakeboarder and no issues at all. Second time out is when I think i hit the prop and knocked someting out of alignment and hence (i think) the low rpm gear clatter. There was no indication of engine trouble at all.

Thanks for the pointer to the replacment engine. I'll maybe look into shipping costs in the meantime.

D.

[Chexi]

MAybe get a second opinion.

[nms1991]

Also check your exhaust manifold riser gaskets before saying your engine is bad.

[nms1991]

Check your riser gaskets also as some times they leak and the water gets into the crankcase from the cylinder.

[2001SAN]

Well,

The tech had a look today and when he pulled the intake manifold it was full of milky oil. He also said that the bolts seemed a little looser than he would expect. He reckons when he cleans it up tomorrow morning he'll find a crack. When I asked about the block he said he's confident it's ok although I know this is only a visual inspection. I don't want to get my hopes up too much but I'm hoping that this is a dodged bullet and its either down to a loose or cracked mani. I guess it's so far so good although I wont be happy until I'm several outings down the line if you know what I mean.

This process has made me completely rethink my 'self winterisation' game plan that I've been using for the last few years. I think I've aged about 5 years in one week.

Fingers crossed.

D.

[2001SAN]

The tech just called.

Seems my celebrations were too early - the block is cracked. I've just bought someone elses mistake. I am gutted beyond belief. I thought I did every thing right. The cracks are so fine that he had trouble locating them again, even with a blow torch but he's sure they are there. Intake manifoild checked out ok as well with no cracks.
I had some money available for little bits and pieces but a new engine was not one of them.

If I could rewind 6 weeks...

[CradGen2]

Man I feel for you.... WOW. Who is PO? Not important. I can't tell what year your boat is, but I might get a second opinion. Something isn't adding up for me in the story. I'd just get a new block and rebuild the rest of the parts will last forever.

I see posts all the time on here about freezing and it taking 24 hours. My trigger is 34 degrees, below that, I'm winterizing myself, finding my heated garage, for putting a halagen bulb in the bigle as a last resort. Don't ever risk it.

Air is air, 32 degree is freezing and steel is steel.

[2001SAN]

Hey Crad,

By PO i mean previous owner. The boat is a 2001 super air. The tech said he'll send me photos of the cracks and stuff. I'd love to think it was a mistake but I do trust the mechanic, he's a friend of a friend and the best around here.

I've winterised my last boat myself for the past three years - I never took a chance with freezing temps, just not worth it. So as I said, I'm now paying for someone else mistake.

On the plus side, at least I'll have a new engine and this is the boat I want to keep. It would be worse on a lesser boat that I didn't like as much - at least that's what I'm telling myself.

My last hope is contacting the previous owner to see if he'll help me out - not holding my breath but it's worth a shot.

Thanks for taking the time to reply,

D.

[Nautiquehunter]

Have you contacted the insurance company ? If you have freeze coverage and the engine is cracked due to freezing then it should be covered. Who can tell when the damage occurred. If you follow the time line it ran fine when you first got it now its got water in the oil . If they deny your claim then they will have to prove it happened before you got it.

[HS]

If they deny your claim then they will have to prove it happened before you got it.

Worst case it would then possibly lead to a claim under the PO's policy, meaning you will need his "cooperation". Is there a way to provide him with the incentive needed to gain his cooperation?