OMG! 2 knackered V8s in Triana

zapcat

zapcat

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Just had Volvo engineer out to check over my (new to me) engines - both blocks split from frost damage on both sides. Any suggestions would be welcome. Damage is too great to have stitched, so its short block/ 2nd hand replacements. Volvo Penta AQ231A x2. Will be crying into my keyboard for a while methinks
 
Oh bugger.. Both of them, that's bloody awful news... I might know of a pair of engines becoming available, I'll ask about for you in the meantime it could be worth googling 'crate engines' at least the dollar rate is not too bad at the moment.
 
Thanks Paul, will give it a try - looking at Repower units from Falmouth, anyone used them before? It will blow my entire rebuild budget so this might end up being the scruffiest Tropica with no windscreen on the water!
 
Prob'ly last winter's frost damage, or even the one before - assuming the boat's been out of service for that time.

What about finding a coupla second hand engines. Nothing coming up on fleabay or similar? If you're refitting anyway you could afford to be patient p'raps?
 
The boat was someone elses project - got all the pics of the engines going in, chap was proud of the work done and it looks good. The engines went in in 2009, so I guess they didnt drain them down and we had couple of hard winters since then. "cheap as chips" is very much a relative statement!
 
I had a pair of these engines in my garage until recently but I sold 1 earlier in the year. Still have the other which might be of use to you. PM me if you want to know more.
 
It does beg the question; what kind of lummox puts water in the cooling system with no antifreeze? If you're time-rich used blocks do pop up on ebay etc., but getting them rebored/honed and swapping all the bits over will be a lot of work.
 
penfold said:
It does beg the question; what kind of lummox puts water in the cooling system with no antifreeze? If you're time-rich used blocks do pop up on ebay etc., but getting them rebored/honed and swapping all the bits over will be a lot of work.
Click to expand...

Raw water cooled maybe? :rolleyes:

I agreed they should have been 'winterised', but circumstances and priorities change and it could have been overlooked at the onset of winter perhaps? Could also have (wrongly) assumed that if say 6 months had elapsed since being in the water that none would be left in the system? :confused:

I'd start with repower marine I think - they are I believe new units and at least have a warranty. eBay could be fraught with risks for something like this?
 
Or maybe winterized without the engine getting up to normal temperature; the water in the block/ heads would have no antifreeze in them, even though water+ antifreeze had been sucked in to the water pump etc.

There's a complete 5.7 GXi including injection, exhaust manifolds, risers, ignition etc ( = 320 HP) on Ebay; starting bid £3,000.
 
Might be total bollox in the circumstances, but............... a mate of mine used to earn good money with "frost damaged" tractor engines. Used to drill a row of holes along the crack (ooh er missus :)) and screw self tappers in, then grind the heads off and run the engine. Drill and screw in self tappers into any pin holes and repeat process. By the 3rd time it'd stop leaking. With modern block weld additives, it may well work by the 2nd time. Might be a different story if it's raw water cooled.
 
Terrible news.
I had the same problem on a Range Rover V8 - no antifreeze and sudden cold snap at Xmas over one night. All my own fault of course.
I got an engine rebuild with recon block from a "specialist" and ended up with piston slap and low power. I suspect the heads had been slightly warped so it got through a bit of coolant. I got a second engine fitted but not much better. The whole affair was a wall to wall disaster so I traded it in for a diesel Disco and got peanuts for it and that was all it was worth.
If you went diesel the reduced fuel costs would ease the pain perhaps.
My advice is to only buy proper, working engines whose provenance you know be they diesel or petrol, new or secondhand or alternatively give the entire job to a company who must warrant the engines AND their installation. I would not buy from Ebay for obvious reasons.
Do not be tempted to convert to LPG, it is the devil's fuel - again I speak from experience.
Good luck
 
PaulGooch said:
Might be total bollox in the circumstances, but............... a mate of mine used to earn good money with "frost damaged" tractor engines. Used to drill a row of holes along the crack (ooh er missus :)) and screw self tappers in, then grind the heads off and run the engine. Drill and screw in self tappers into any pin holes and repeat process. By the 3rd time it'd stop leaking. With modern block weld additives, it may well work by the 2nd time. Might be a different story if it's raw water cooled.
Click to expand...

The OP isnt a forum regular so I thought I best point out that Paul knows a thing or two about engines and the op would be daft to ignore this post (even though it sounds crazy to me).


Paul I assume its raw water cooled , is it possible to keep his engines, screw stitch them and modify them into non direct ?

If they are raw water cooled does it really matter if he has a pinhole leak or does the crack go all the way to the cylinder ?
 
I was talking to Scarron earlier today, given that these are raw water cooled engines, I'd be inclined to run them as they are for a while and see how much they leak, could be that they just carry on for a while.
 
If it is raw water cooled in the sea how cold would it need to be for the water to freeze?
I was going to suggest real steel but was beaten to it. If you know which base engine it is you should be cheaper sourcing a car block given the marine tax that seems to be added to everything! There are specialists that can repair blocks, check the classic car industry companies.
 
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