[Lakeside]

Hey Mariah friends, I'm in a delima...
I purchased a 2001 Mariah Jubilee 215 with 5.7 / 250hp Bravo 3 from my sister/brother-n-law last year. I initially had it inspected before purchasing it, and they told me everything looks good, and it runs good. When I had it winterized last year, the boat serviceman told me he found a crack on each side of the block (you really have to get your head underneath the bottom side of the block to see the crack, and there's a crack on both sides). The serviceman said it's not leaking water, but he thought it's only a matter of time. This Spring before taking it out on the lake, I took it to another shop to get a second opinion, they ran it for a long time, and said they too saw the crack on each side, but it is not leaking any water, and they checked the oil, and it's not leaking water in the oil either. My question to my Mariah friends is what do I do? I simply cannot afford to purchase a new block or r&r. Since it's not leaking, do you think it will last ???
Should I put JB weld on these cracks to get a longer life out of my engine? I'm hoping someone out there has delt with a similar problem, or has known someone with a similar situation... The boat serviceman stated that he's never seen a block that shows visible signs of cracks that did not leak even after running it for a while. I talked to my brother-in-law about it, and he said 3 or 4 years ago he through a couple of rods in the engine and it seized up on the lake. He said it cracked the block, but he did an r&r on the engine after that happened. He spent $4079 on a long block, $433 for a coupler, filter, oil, and $960 in labor (about $6000.00). The year after that, he found that the gimbal ring was bad, removed the gimbal ring, and the bell housing, and installed a new bell housing and a steering pin assembly, and spent $2000 so I felt like I was getting a completely restored engine when I bought the boat. Sorry for the long note, I just wanted to give the readers some history on the boat to help me figure out what to do to with my problem above. Any suggestions?

[Lakeside]

Do you think JB Weld will work on these cracks, or is there a better product out there? Any advice is much appreciated!

[mikeyt]

I've heard of people using JB Weld successfully and it probably wont hurt anything in your situation.

[845paulg]

Go with the JB weld. You have nothing to lose. Go have fun. Check the situation periodically. If a leak starts, it is likey to be minor so it might end your day but wont leave you stranded in the middle of the lake.

[z275st]

Years ago, with my first boat, I failed to get it winterized in time. the block froze and leaked into the bilge but not into the oil. The shop welded the crack and it never leaked again. I would either have it welded now or just wait to see if it ever leaks and do it then. If you cover the area with JB Weld it may make it difficult to arc-weld if you ever need it done.
Just my 2-pennies worth

[Lakeside]

Well, I picked up my boat from the shop today, and talked with the lead mechanic. He said he ran the boat for a long time in the shop and even took it out to the river to run it on a full load. He checked the areas that show evidence of a crack on each side of the block and found it not to be leaking at all... and the oil was fine. No problems... He said, he's never seen a crack that didn't leak. He said not to worry about it; just run it... watch the temperature, check the oil periodically, and just run it... I asked him about the JB weld, and he said he would not do this because you would have to sand paper around the cracks to get the paint off so the JB weld will adhere to the block (not the paint), and you might realize that there are not cracks under the surface, or you could make the cracked area worse... He agreed with the above post, that covering the area with JB weld could make it difficult to weld it if a problem ever occurs... So I took all this as good news, and I don't have plans to do anything, but take it out and have a good time.

[Dredd]

Interesting topic. Thanks for following up. I hope it provides good times for a long time.