Mercruiser water ditribution housing

[GCHOG]

g'morning all. So, while getting ready to splash the boat yesterday I'm test running the boat in the driveway. Everything looking good, all systems go. Notice a small drip of water from the water distribution housing on lower right. ( 6.2 Mercruiser). I reach down to snug up the blue plastic drain plug with just my fingers (no pliers) and turn it not more than a 1/16th of an inch and the housing cracks into two pieces where the threaded bung is located. After sitting there with a look of disbelief and realizing my putting the boat in was shot ,I went online to research the needed part only to get a little sticker shock at the price of these things. Anyway , I ended up ordering one, will get it in 2-3 days and hopefully be ready to go. Its not a big job to replace, just 3 hoses and two small mounting bolts. What I'm looking for , besides just venting a little bit, I guess is, is this a common problem with these housings and if so , any tips / advice / heads-up for the future ? Is Mercruiser aware of this "problem" ?, cause I'm sure I'm not the only one to ever have this happen . Thanks, have a good one !

 

[Lazy Daze]

It happens from time to time, but the first place my mind always goes - and the reason that I've personally seen it happen - is due to freeze damage from improper winterizing procedure. Other than that, from someone that sees these things a regular basis, they've been pretty reliable. But certainly anything is possible.

 

[dmorin]

Same thing happened to me 2 years ago on one engine. Dealer told me they had no problems with part till it got over 6-7 years old. I keep checking other one to make sure it not getting brittle.

 

[blaster]

Mine broke too. But like Dennis said, it was likely freeze damage.

 

[tcason]

Broke mine by over tightening the blue plug - my theory tight is just not tight enough unless you use pliers - lesson learned hand tight same with oil and fuel filters..............

 

[GCHOG]

Thanks for the replies. Hopefully it was just old and a little brittle. I'm sure going to be very careful with the new one.

 

[IslandTime]

Thanks for the replies. Hopefully it was just old and a little brittle. I'm sure going to be very careful with the new one.

had same issue this year- noticed slow drip after de-winterizing... not a big deal to replace, but felt pretty stupid when I had to pay $200 ish for what should be a $ 15 plastic part.

 

[blaster]

Winterized properly, then went out before freezing temps were over. Drained, no antifreeze the second time, and forgot to remove the blue plug. See results above. Easy fix, but a $300 mistake.

 

[Stray Cat]

I can relate, I accidently stepped on the blue plug once. One SOB and $300 later all good again.