mercruiser/ searay is a bitch ?

[aerobat77]

lol ... sorry to let out steam , delete if you feel so .

here and now our 240 / 5.0 mpi wrecked our holidays second time . i wrote here i was happy to be on plane for 2 hours and i did such a trip again . this time both exhaust manifolds are blown leaking outside - thanks god no oil in water .

we blew the stbd manifold last year become stranded on holidays ( i reported here ) and paid a premium to replace during holidays and one year later we blew both being again stranded during holidays .

dont tell me to check impeller or bravoitis since the temperatures are 160 all the time and the impleller is new .

i learned to love 240 searay because it offers little space , i learned to love searay because the cabin step carpet gets wet , i learned to love searay because the watertank was leaking , i learned to love searay because all faucecs are cheapest plastic and need quick replacement , i learned to love searay because its tippy and needs trim tabs all the time , i learned loving searay nevertheless it wrecked our last time holidays but i start to learn this overprized trash is simply not desinged to plan long trips but only to take a cocktail at the dock .

i will not learn this american trash will burst our holidays twice and is only worth to be selled quick . now i have to sort out my problems being stranded again and i learned to never again ever think about purchasing an american boat or an american engine ...

i really hope bigger / diesel searays are better than this cheap overprized ...

i had some beers after looking at my mamifolds.

best regards

 

[scoflaw]

Be more specific about what a blown manifold means. those should be dry-joints. It's a dumb piece of iron with no moving parts

 

[aerobat77]

this dump piece of iron named exhaust manifold cracked both sides wrecking our holiday . believe me - sure no freeze and no engine overheat , replaced last year.

 

[scoflaw]

So what would take a bite out of it like that? Fine 1 day, chunk missing the next ? Never seen the likes of that. Cracked both sides of that 1 manifold or 2 failed?

 

[CaptRonn]

lol ... sorry to let out steam , delete if you feel so .

here and now our 240 / 5.0 mpi wrecked our holidays second time . i wrote here i was happy to be on plane for 2 hours and i did such a trip again . this time both exhaust manifolds are blown leaking outside - thanks god no oil in water .

we blew the stbd manifold last year become stranded on holidays ( i reported here ) and paid a premium to replace during holidays and one year later we blew both being again stranded during holidays .

dont tell me to check impeller or bravoitis since the temperatures are 160 all the time and the impleller is new .

i learned to love 240 searay because it offers little space , i learned to love searay because the cabin step carpet gets wet , i learned to love searay because the watertank was leaking , i learned to love searay because all faucecs are cheapest plastic and need quick replacement , i learned to love searay because its tippy and needs trim tabs all the time , i learned loving searay nevertheless it wrecked our last time holidays but i start to learn this overprized trash is simply not desinged to plan long trips but only to take a cocktail at the dock .

i will not learn this american trash will burst our holidays twice and is only worth to be selled quick . now i have to sort out my problems being stranded again and i learned to never again ever think about purchasing an american boat or an american engine ...

i really hope bigger / diesel searays are better than this cheap overprized ...

i had some beers after looking at my mamifolds.

best regards

No problem, I’m sure there are plenty of local boat and engine manufacturers that you can choose from.

Best of luck with your next purchase.

 

[KevinC]

Casting issue?? Could these have been over torqued when installed ?? I would certainly contact dealer and mercruiser if this is truly about a year old.

-Kevin

 

[aerobat77]

both sides manifolds cracked in the vicinity of the bolts . the stbd more severly leaking outside . no hydrolock or water in oil .

risers look ok . change them also ? i,m ready to sell this ... lol

its easier to write than to do find parts and change this on water since we are far away from home on a small harbour, no trailer and no slip.

 

[aerobat77]

Casting issue?? Could these have been over torqued when installed ?? I would certainly contact dealer and mercruiser if this is truly about a year old.

-Kevin

yes . it was a certified mercruiser dealer and i can proof with invoice . i hear him debating about freeze damage while it was not . it was two trips she got 2 hours on plane .

 

[CaptRonn]

Casting issue?? Could these have been over torqued when installed ?? I would certainly contact dealer and mercruiser if this is truly about a year old.

-Kevin

Over torquing can certainly damage these. Once a bolt is over torqued it can set up a stress riser in the cast iron.

 

[KevinC]

yes . it was a certified mercruiser dealer and i can proof with invoice . i hear him debating about freeze damage while it was not . it was two trips she got 2 hours on plane .

Then I would ask them to look into the cause of the cast failure and he should stand behind it. If they argue it was a freeze issue then I would go to my insurance company and ask them about a freeze claim and see if it it covered. Keep in mind that the dealer may know that if it is a "freeze" claim on insurance then the may get paid again.

-Kevin

 

[BillK2632]

Something is not right - chances of both manifolds cracking in the same place at the same time are almost zero. I would suspect the installation.

 

[aerobat77]

freeze damage is not covered by insurance because everybody would claim for a new engine in the spring by not draining it in the winter.

i looked at my insurance - engine and drive is insured but no wear damage and no operational damage .

best ideas how to sell this damage to the insurance so they must pay ?

i fully give you a point something is not right because both sides are cracked at same time at the same place .

i would exclude installation fail because last year only the stbd manifold was cracked and changed , the port one was not touched and nevertheless both are now cracked at the same time and place .

in fact i have zero ideas why this happened , my wife might be spot on that this piece of crap is simply not built for a 3 week journey covering a distance every day for hours and especially not built for a 2 hours continous run at load ( about 3800 rpm cruise ) but only for a quick cocktail run . a

we both agree we do not need a boat that in spite of best maintanance and care since new dissapoints us and ruins our holiday leaving us stranded , so a serious debate is going on if she will be repaired only to be sold and in future we will run as fast as we can if somebody offers us a sea ray or anything else with a mercruiser engine .

 

[scoflaw]

Interesting you had a cracked one last year as well. Not a normal way for them to fail and may be a clue what the problem is. Maybe an uneven surface on your heads. Think about the millions of these things in service now with no problems.

Careful examination will reveille the cause. Please post up some good photos of the damage.

 

[juggernaut1]

aerobat, we've probably all felt the same way you are feeling at some stage of our boat ownership, so keep your chin up .

That said I've seen where the face of the head along the exhaust ports has evidence of corrosion when the ex manifolds have been removed. Normally, the swollen part of the corroded head occurs into the exhaust manifold runner.

This occurs because water or moisture runs down the manifold and sits in the lower part of the runner and up against the lower face of the head as the diameter of the exhaust manifold is larger than the exhaust port of the head and allows water to pool in this area.

I guess it's entirely possible the corrosion eventually swells the head surface directly behind the manifold mating surface and cracks the manifold. However, I would have expected that you would have firstly blown an exhaust manifold gasket, but perhaps not.

I would pull one of the culprit exhaust manifolds and check if there is any corrosion, or at least that the head surface is flat. Good luck.

If only AMG made a boat!!

 

[Golfman25]

Interesting you had a cracked one last year as well. Not a normal way for them to fail and may be a clue what the problem is. Maybe an uneven surface on your heads. Think about the millions of these things in service now with no problems.

Careful examination will reveille the cause. Please post up some good photos of the damage.

This here. There are literally millions of these engines on the water. While not the best, they are not the worst. OP has an interesting set of circumstances. Go about finding the root cause and correcting it.

 

[aerobat77]

Careful examination will reveille the cause. Please post up some good photos of the damage.

that ist the stbd manifold ( new last year ) , you see the salt crust from leaking in the vicinity of the rear bolting.





that is the port one ( the old ) , better in shape but developed also a slight leak in the vicinity of the rear bolt .

head was inspected last year during the change of the stbd manifold and claimed to be good , riser and spacer were inspected and claimed to be good , both manifolds were IR gunned after the repair - all done by certified mercruiser mechanic .

boat got a full service ( by myself ) this year with engine oil / filter , driveoil , brand new iridium plugs , fuel filter , new tstat and impeller . never had an overheat .

now i,m sitting here and words are not enough to tell you how pi**ed off i am to looking at this mess ;-)

 

[scoflaw]

Take more pics when get them off, engine side and bottom. Put a straight edge across all 4 ports on the manifold and head. Pic of the cleaned up head ports as well. Very unusual for sure

 

[CaptRonn]

Notice the damage is near bolt holes. Over torquing bolts through cast iron distorts the metal and stress risers form. Heating and cooling only begin to fatigue the part even more.

 

[El Capitan]

My 2c only. The failures to both risers are indicative that there may be warping on the heads.

If so, it will continue to blow risers till you eventually get water on the engine.

I can only guess how both banks would be warped but that is where I believe the fix lies.

Breathe. Have a drink. Make a calm decision. Get home. Reconsider. Do it and be done w it. Life too f’d up nowadays to let a damn boat ruin your time w your wife.

Good luck.

 

[techmitch]

This here. There are literally millions of these engines on the water. While not the best, they are not the worst. OP has an interesting set of circumstances. Go about finding the root cause and correcting it.

Yep, he found the "what" but what's the "why"?