Water leak from engine block

[Seadeals]

More of the mold line to the left (aft). That is excess metal, not a crack.

 

[Jon D]

I found an organ donor. 2010 vx deluxe with a leaky hull and some other exterior issues. 180 hours on engine, sounds good and good compression in all cylinders. How concerned should I be about the plug on the valve cover being missing? I hear that is common and I can replace it with the plug from my bad engine but wondering if anything should be checked out because of it.

 

[Jon D]

So am I the only lucky one to have this crack show up on both engines?

I successfully swapped out the starboard milkshake machine expecting my bilge to go back to being dry only to find that my port engine was watering the bilge. I figured maybe I'd get 4 years out of it before it cracked on the inside like I did with the other one but when doing the winterization oil change noticed a tiny bit of the foamy milkshake water/oil on the oil tank cap and opening, very odd that I didn't notice it in the oil that was removed but I think it is probably done.

I bought YJS and according to that this engine has 456 hours. Both engines only had one diagnosis event logged and on both that was one overheat warning at 66 hours which would have been back in 2008. My boat is a 2007 but both engines were built in 07/06.

On the outside this one doesn't look anywhere near as bad as the other one did when it started leaking on the inside.

 

[Jon D]

I never followed up on my waverunner engine swap. I couldn't find anyone willing to take on the swap so rolled up my sleeves and did it myself, I don't think anyone wanted the risk of it not working correctly and had plenty of other work to do. In the end it was probably a good thing given the amount of money I probably saved, especially now that I likely need to do it again. Hardest parts ended up being figuring out how to rig up something 11' high to lift the engine out with and getting the stupid water hoses detached from the waverunner engine as the tabs on the clamps were rusted off. The hatch openers were kind of a pain to get back on without help also but the fact I call this out shows how few real challenges I ran into, it really is a very straightforward swap but takes some time.

Before doing anything I decided/determined that I needed to keep the boats wiring harness and ECU with the boat which caused me to disconnect things a bit differently than I have seen in other writeups on this site. Note that keeping the ECU with the boat means that it still reflects the hours and stats for the original engine but I know how many hours were on both engines a the time of the swap so I will always know how many hours the replacement engine has. The waverunner does not have no wake mode but had a beginner mode and security key fob, not sure how much of that is tied into the ECU but wasn't going to risk being stuck with that just to have the correct hours.

I did find this writeup on greenhulk for removing the waverunner engine without removing the ECU or wiring harness which I basically followed on both the waverunner and the boat - Yamaha VX110 Engine Removal post #3. Using this method there is no need to disconnect fuel lines on the boat which seems to have been a bit of a hassle for some in other writeups I have seen. This is because along with the ECU and wiring harness the entire intake with the throttle body and fuel rail stay with the boat. I wasted a lot of time labelling everything as I disconnected things but I believe all the plugs are unique and everything laid right back in place such that it was obvious where everything should plug in so I never had to look at any of my labels (and I am the type that always reads and follows instructions). Below are a few pictures from the swap, after hooking everything back up it started up an ran like it had always been there first try.

Here is the engine ready to be lifted out of the waverunner. Note the ECU, wiring harness and intake/fuel rail removed from the engine and laying in the footwell. I also pulled the airbox so the engine could be shifted forward when removing.



This is the engine with cracked block ready to be lifted out. Again, notice the ECU, wiring harness and intake/fuel rail removed from the engine and just set aside on top of the port engine without disconnecting the fuel lines or any wiring that didn't need to be. I put tape over the openings for the intake but probably should have just stuffed old socks/rags in them because I ended up having to remove some tape residue when I pulled it off. The big round air filter box was unbolted from the wall of the boat and removed to make room. I was able to just wiggle free and set aside the section of the exhaust that you see removed after loosening the clamps on the rubber connectors and it went back in with similar coaxing.



And here it is hoisted out and enjoying the view. The top of the ladder was strapped tightly to a tree which gave the whole hoist rigging much of its stability. Note that rather than removing the engine hatch I just disconnected the openers and made sure it was supported (with a sturdy trash can on top of an old tire) - after lifting the engine I had to carefully back the boat up and close the hatch before I could pull the boat out from under the engine. I was able to carefully hoist it out without any help, it is light enough that with care you can maneuver it around a fair amount with one hand while working the hoist with the other. I was glad I had someone help me drop the replacement engine in though, come-alongs ratchet in better than out and for some reason dropping the engine in seemed harder. The engine in the boat had no shims but the waverunner did have some, I didn't end up using any shims - it did take some yanking on the engine to get the coupling lined up and spaced properly.


Hope this helps someone else. While I'm fairly handy with mechanical things I wouldn't even call myself a weekend mechanic and would say this mostly just required some time and effort, nothing terribly complicated about it. Just be careful the engine doesn't bump any fiberglass on its way in or out.

 

[dan144k]

For these type of pin hole water leak repairs. I would recommend a product I found call Red Epoxy Kit.
It is a 2 part epoxy that you can quickly cure with heat. I have repaired refrigeration aluminum condensers with it before. I think it would work much better that JBweld.
- Clean area very well, scuff up a little, put motor in negative pressure so this stuff can suck into the pours (vacuum pump, or shop vac), and spread it on. Watch the videos about the product.

 

[Novacraig]

Thanks for the read guys just about to remove my exhaust manifold to try to repair my cracked block trying to decide if I try to weld it or jbweld