mercruiser 120 hp ( been sunk )

Not sure what year this thing is it is, but I think it is a 4 cylinder engine. It is a 120 jp mercruiser that ha sbeen allowed to fill with rain water and sink. Not sure how bad sunk, but what can be expexted if I attempt to fix this boat? I say total dis assemblt and good cleaning. Been told that may not be necessary. comments?

 

Hello: Boman

Unclear exactly what you mean by fixing this boat? The boat is one aspect and the outboard motor is yet another. Both in need of serious indepth repairs. Especially the motor.

Outboard motor usually needs a complete tear down, cleaning, inspection for damaged parts, etc and or complete rebuilding. Much also depends on time duration underwater and in what type of water. Fresh or salt water???

Boat is yet another problem and much the same applies. Fresh or salt water? Time underwater duration. Floor boards will need to be removed. Hull inspected and dried out.

Electrics will most likely need to be replaced and or repaired. Much again depending upon water type (fresh or salt) boat sunk in, time duration, etc. Salt water is the hardest of both. Fresh water not so difficult.

Boat sunk in ocean or lake harbor?

Either one, much work to do.

Regards, Good Luck & Safe Boating.
Sharp Advice. Life Long Boating, Fishing and Navigation Enthusiast. Web Site Host, Forums Monitor & Multiple Topics Moderator. TCB4U2B2B Business Management Services.

 

Like sharp said break the engine down right now and get some oil in it and on it. Id also look and see if it has any air tanks or foam built into the boat and if they have any water in them. If so drain them so they can dry out also

ED

 

I'd say it depends on the time frame. I once had a situation where some deck hands dropped a 25hp outboard into the sea at the dock. We got the motor back and I immediately hosed the engine down with fresh water. There was a gallon can of WD40 in the engine room that I used to spray the whole engine down. The spark plug was removed and we got a bunch of WD40 into the cyclinder itself while someone kept pulling the starter cord. A bunch of WD40 was also sprayed into the carb while the engine was being pulled through. After about an hour of messing with the engine we put it back on the rescue boat, gassed it up, and it started, but with some difficulty. The guys ran it for about 30 minutes and we didn't have an unusual amount of problems with it after that. I'd say we got real lucky. If the motor got flooded with fresh water you have more time until the real damage sets in. If more than a day or two has passed then I'd say you will need to do some serious wrenching on the motor.

 

I should have been a little more clear. I meant the engine. Not sur eif it would be called inboard or inboard/outboard. The engine is like a car engine and sits in the rear of the boat, prop is out the bottom rear. It sank in th eriver ( fresh water ). Not sure how long it was like that. I checked the oil and if course it was milky nearly all the way up the dip-stick. A bud of mine was paying my son storage for letting him keep the boat at his place, quit paying and would not retun calls. So, I bought it from my son to get him out of the picture and keep down trouble, or hard feelings. Anyway, I may be stuck with it. It would be a fun boat if not too expensive to fix. I think it has been a couple of years since it sank, so I don't know. I have put rings, inserts, etc in a truck engine and can usually fix most things I set out to fix. This is a new game for me though. Looks like I had the right idea about a complete teardown and inspection. These engines are expensive to replace. Any ballpark ideas on the cost of parts if someone does the work themselves? Might still be expensive, but it could be done a little at a time so as not to hurt the wallet so bad all at once. Be an interesting project too.

Thanks for the feedback.

 

Yea, I'd say you are faced with an engine teardown. Since you don't seem to have a clue as to how long the engine was underwater I would at least take a look. At this point the way I would proceed is to leave the engine alone and take the heads off. With the heads removed you can look inside the cylinders and see if there's any rust on the cylinder walls. If you turn the crankshaft over you will partly distroy that evidence. After you get a good view of the cylinders then you can spin the crank over and see if everything is free. You might get lucky if there isn't much cylinder damage. I'd also try to inspect the main bearings, but you will have to pull the engine to do that. If you find that the cylinder walls are pitted & pretty much destroyed and the crank is siezed then you can make a decision about what to do before you go to the work of jerking the engine from the boat. Boat engines are usually heavier duty than the average car engine so the parts will be more expensive. You can spend thousands if the major components need to be reworked because of rust or corrosion damage.

 

Hello: boman

Based on the new info provided, the boat is a stern drive. Most likely a Jet Drive. Meaning no prop. Jet drive like a jet ski. Which is what I suspect you mean by "120 jp mercruiser." JP indicating Jet Power. No prop.

Regardless, B. O. A. T. applies.
Bail Out Another Thousand.

Which means it is going to cost thousands to have the boat restored.

The outdrive will have to be removed. Than the engine. All electrics replaced. Engine and drive rebuilt. Hull dired out and fully inspected. All hull and frame parts in need of replacement done.

If any area of the hull and frame is not inspected and brought up to original specs, danger lurks. A weak spot will develope and you may not find out about it until it is too late.

Usually and most likely to happen under loads and at high speeds, all resulting when it's too late to go anything about it. An accident awaiting to happen. The g forces on the transom and hull are tremendous at speeds.

Best left to the pros. Boat yards are best as a place to insure boat hull and frame safety. A dead engine is a problem and or condition that can be dealt with. Not a cracked hull and or transom that cracks, fractures and or comes apart at speeds.

"My Dimes Worth"

Regards, Good Luck & Safe Boating.
Sharp Advice. Life Long Boating, Fishing and Navigation Enthusiast. Web Site Host, Forums Monitor & Multiple Topics Moderator. TCB4U2B2B Business Management Services.