Complete DEVASTATION...Not for the Weak

[itsdgm]

@Seadeals in short, yes, imho the easiest way to JB weld it would be to remove the exhaust manifold bolts and separate the exhaust at the rubber connection at the front of the engine. However, remove the outer rubber hose out of the way first, then you'll find an inner exhaust hose beneath. This would give you plenty of room and only require you to replace one gasket (exhaust manifold). They're about $20 on eBay.

However, as @cybuch mentioned. I think it's going to continue to split.

If you decide to pull the engine on the 21'ers Id recommend using an engine leveling bar to angle it out of the engine compartment, and pulling it out with the engine mounts still attached. It's way easier to make a temporary engine stand out of 2 x 4's if you have the mounts still attached. Also the engine should line right up when reinstalling if you don't mess with the shims/mounts.

Anyway, good luck with your decision.

 

[CrankyGypsy]

i too had the cracks in the case along the bottom of the cylinder water jackets, under the manifold. just like @itsdgm , i discovered mine while working on other issues.



i removed the hoses and bolt-on items, then had it welded by a local guy i trusted. no issues for 2 years.

normally, i'd say go for it as i hate when people who have never tried what i'm attempting tell me something won't work - which is what i experienced when i was in your position. I was considering JB Welding mine - well, actually an alternative to JB Weld that i cannot remember/find. i looked at tensile strength and heat resistance and was ultimately not confident in any of the options (i like overkill), though i did find examples of it working. most of the examples i found did not have long term follow-ups as most seemed to either sell the project after the fix or never bothered to relay results. for me, i would have wanted to grind the crack and drill the ends to prevent the split from worsening. at that point, i figured i may as well have it done with a welder who would be doing that anyways. for me, i already had the engine pulled for other reasons, so it was a no brainer. that said, i would still love to see you prove that a JB Weld-type fix would work.

one thing i do remember from my research, is people drilling tiny holes along the cracks they grinded out. this is called "stitching" - i assume this allows the epoxy to seep behind it to help anchor it into the repair, but i may be wrong about the reasoning. either way, they stitched it.

 

[Jgorm]

In for comments. I'm in the processes off troubleshooting bad compression on 2+3, with oil water milkshake. I got the heads off, but the hg is fine.

 

[Seadeals]

If you do not stop-drill a crack, the local stress around it will propagate the crack, so I get the stitching concept. The visible crack is presently less than .25", so it should be minimal invasive comparatively. My thought was to grind out the crack with a dremel to minimize stress risers in the area. Then what is left would be "relaxed" metal and the JB would serve as a true bonded repair rather than just a band-aid on top. Definitely NOT going to do that standing on my head in the boat though. The visible crack is presently less than .25", so way earlier in the game than yours. Does anyone know what it is like on the inside? If any metal debris (dust) happens to fall inside, will it just flow out with the water? Are there any clearance issues on the inside should the JB ooze in a bit? I think I should be good and it is worth a shot.

 

[Seadeals]

@Seadeals in short, yes, imho the easiest way to JB weld it would be to remove the exhaust manifold bolts and separate the exhaust at the rubber connection at the front of the engine.

Thanks! I thought I read somewhere that the bolts are too long to remove it on the starboard engine as the sidewall gets in the way. Tons of room on port. Can anyone confirm if there is clearance issue removing the starboard exhaust manifold on the 210?

 

[itsdgm]

Some of the bolts are very long. However, they only screw into the block about an inch. So I would think that you could just back them out of the block and leave them in the manifold. Then just lift the manifold out with the bolts if they were too long to remove while in place. But I haven't actually done this myself while it's in the boat on the starboard side.

 

[CrankyGypsy]

i remembered the stuff i was considering for this repair: Devcon 10610. i was also considering Dura Fix Aluminum Weld.

not recommending anything, just throwing some options out there.

 

[Seadeals]

I am moving future posts to the following thread with more content on the case crack issue.

https://jetboaters.net/threads/2005-ar230-saga-continues-now-i-have-water-in-the-oil.10555/page-5