[greencanuck]

The old girl let me down. First time since I have owned it. It is pushing water out the side. Likely the head or the exhaust. (May be just a gasket or could be a crack). It has close to 900 hrs on it mostly easy and at idle so it seems a little early but I am no man’s land. The mechanic is taking a look at it today as I cannot get my head in there while it is running to see exactly where it is coming from and don’t want to hurt it any more. Anyone been in this dilemma? Weighing cost to patch what you got (and hope nothing else gives or got hurt) or go ahead with a fresh rebuild on these motors. Mercury has a 383 stroker scorpion remanufacture option for these combos but I am not sure if that is too much for this hull. (400hp instead of the 320hp it has now) I have never had to do any major motor work on any boat I have owned but plan to keep this one for at least 5 years. I always like to hear what others have experienced as it sucks to go down a path and then kick yourself after you are in too far. I want a reliable boat in the end as my baby girl starts riding next season. This failure left me stranded at night.

Any help is appreciated.

2002 (yes it really is by the serial) 245Z mid cuddy Jubilee with 6.2L MX and Bravo 3

[ShabahZ280]

Sorry to hear about that. 900hrs is a lot of hours, I've always heard engines will need to be rebuilt around 1000, so you're pretty close. Keep us updated with the progress. If you're planning on keeping it for another 5 years, research your options and look at the long term benefits, what it would cost to rebuild the 6.2L, what a new 6.2L costs, and then start looking at other engines too. Just an FYI, the hull is rated to a max HP of 425.....

[rooperdan]

Hey Greencanuck, Sounds like she gave you some great times with that many hrs on her.
I have a 210 with a 383 stroker and LOVE it . Strokers are great engines which produce lots of torque and can easly pull, just about any thing you want.
Good luck to you.

[greencanuck]

Well thanks for the info guys. I found out tonight that the block is cracked on the port side. Likely due to winter damage somewhere along it's life and it finally found it's way out. Sucks but it was getting a little tired so now I am forced into a repower. I would love the 383 stroker scorpion option but did some checking and $21,737 is ridiculous for a motor from merc. So now I will likely go in search or a long block and fresh'in everything up. The wild thing is she still runs great until the water starts pouring all over the spark plugs and such. The 6.2L is already a stroked motor at 377 and delivered pretty solid power at 320hp. What a kick in the pocket but that is boating I guess.

[greencanuck]

A new long block is in the works so it will be a 383 when it is done. FYI for the 6.2 L owners the blocks are real scarce right now. Mercury is stating 1 - 2 months wait on a remanufactured unit due to the shortage. It’s a great motor but just not as easy to get parts due to the age and aftermarket. Not a big deal if you know a reputable machine shop that can build one up..

[greencanuck]

Well it will be ready for a water test on Monday. A little info for anyone in the same position in the future. The 6.2 (after working with the speed shop and ripping it apart) is a standard chevy block. So getting it redone is not a big deal. What merc has done is used a standard 350 chevy crank (instead of a 400 sbc like the street guys) and then used longer rods and a modified piston with a higher wrist pin to get the stroke of 3.75. The bore is just a standard 4.00 like the 350. All in all I am into around $4300 with all new parts in the long block except the crank which was good. This is much more attractive then 10k that mercury wants for their long block and 1 - 2 months wait. Anyone in sw Ontario in need feel free to drop me a line and I can get you in touch with the shop that does it all and stands behind it for 1 - 2 years depending on the timing on the season. They even made a bracket for me to straighten the power steering pump that was a cronic issue with these when the belt was under tension. I tore a belt up once a season.