3.0L engine problems

pimpadelic · 05-12-2009, 06:12 PM

i have a 1996 shabah 180. 3.0L mercruiser with alpha one Gen II. i just bought it. does anyone know if there is a core plug in the rear of the engine. i had to replace two plugs on the side but know i have water coming out behind the engine. i have never worked on a boat so the best i can do is say it coming out from where a transmission would go. i guess by the flywheel. does anyone know the possible places water could be coming from? im pretty sure block is not cracked b/c i have no water in oil. any help would be great.

***mikeyt*** · 05-12-2009, 10:57 PM

That doesnt sound good at all.

There is one behind the flywheel on the back. Pray it's not this one, as it means removing the motor, then taking the flywheel off.

Start motor on muffs and see if water is leaking from the back, between the block and flywheel. That is the only other one I can think of right now.

Then say a prayer that the leak is not evidence of a cracked and destroyed block from freezing. Aside from ice...not much else could make it pop. Was the engine winterized properly?

pimpadelic · 05-13-2009, 06:59 PM

the guy i bought it from said he winterized it. and show me that when he did it he took off the hoses from water pump and poured something in and then did something else. i dont think he did it right.

i think maybe there was enough antifreeze to make the water freeze slowly so it didn't have a quick hard freeze, and thats why it poped the plugs. and didnt crack block9hopefully)

i saw the water coming out when the muffs are on and the engine is running. so it looks like ill be taking the engine and flywheel off.

is it hard to put the flywheel back on and align the engine? i read instruction on how to take engine out and that looks like the easy part. i just dont want to f@#% anything up.

***mikeyt*** · 05-13-2009, 10:18 PM

The only flywheel i ever replaced was on an old MGB sports car.....and it was a ***** of a job that required a lot of patience and the right tools. I dont recall the reinstallation of the flywheel as being that difficult (just follow the torque settings & bolt tightening guide). While you have the flywheel off though i would consider replacing the rear oil seal too as well as find out where the engine is leaking. With a bit of luck it will just be the core plug. I dont think i want to do that job again though.

My motto is now...if doubtfull about your skill, dont even think about proceeding.

You might want to consider removing the engine, placing it on the back of a pick-em-up truck & taking to a auto shop & letting them do that part of the job. That would still save you a considerable amount of $$$