Where to start with this engine rebuild?

Unfortuanely, the boat has a bad "shake" vibration under load.   I am pretty sure the two bad cylinders are the cause of this shake 4 and 8 being sequential in the firing order.   it's bad enough that the boat doesn't run well under load. I am down until I get this repaired.
I guess I need to do a little bit more reading about roller engines.   does this change my cam selection?

So here we are, 3 years after I purchased my boat, LOTS has happened in my life to keep this boat on the back burner this long, but I have dug in again with the goal to get this thing on the water this year.   With the results of the shake down cruise, I have come to the realization that an overhaul/reman is really the only way to correct the issues that we are having.   My wife has given her OK on spending the cash, so that is not going to be an obstacle in this case, but cost is going to play in here.   long term reliability is really what I want.

Since we have come to this spot, I feel like I have 3 options, and am curious as to the perks of each one from someone else's point of view?

- Reman longblock (summit racing ~ $1800)
      - I see this as the most sure fire way to the water, but probably sacrifices build quality and horsepower, especially since these motors come with standard heads, not the GT-40's. Cam grind is also going to be an unknown.

- Teardown and rebuild my current block (local machine shop ~1500 plus parts)
   - I see this as the largest demand on my time, (which is really limited right now) but will have a known condition, self selected components, (and for Pete keeping it original-ish) - also, machine shop has an 8 week backlog, so this option gets us set up for next season.

- Truck motor from a junk yard (~$500)
    - this is the lowest initial cost option, but is a complete unknown in my opinion.    it would, however, get my family on the water this year.   Also, aren't marine engines built with greater clearances? (might not be an issue on a motor with 100K)

I think they are cosmetic, but since my boat has the pro boss motor with gt-40 heads, it may be an ad on that came with this specific motor combination ? Not to sure

Yes,
the starter rolling around in the bow worked great good to hear on the water flow test... water did come out the exhaust when the engine fired, but not much while the hose was on, engine not cranking.

I'm thinking I'll post in the parts wanted section for a few items that I know I need now....

exhaust manifold
high pressure fuel pump, or carb/mechanical fuel pump...

now comes the hard part... Patience

ok so here's the update

- I spent some time on the TBI this morning.   The secondary's are loose.   some disassembly, a can of brake cleaner, and a scrub brush have it looking presentable, although a bunch of the rust came from the throttle plates, so they look pretty rough, but I think functional.

- installed the TBI, and had an ignition key made (boat came without one as it was a mechanic's lien sale) not sure how they planned on working on it without keys

- had to trouble shoot the electrical system a bit... the battery side of the key goes straight to ground... problem fixed temporarily by removing the grounded lead, and adding a jumper from the hot on the battery to the battery terminal of the key, and jumping the ignition breaker which is evidently bad.   

- I put a little gas down the TBI, and low and behold it fired.

- while I was firing the engine (gas down the throat) I did not get an indication of fuel pressure... Low pressure pump runs when 12v is applied, but I never got any fuel pressure at the TBI.   any help on finding and testing the High pressure pump?   

- I put picked up a brass freeze plug kit, and installed the plugs in the open holes, dragged the boat out, and put the hose on it.

After letting the hose run for a bit, it appears the hose backs up pressure, instead of just flowing out the exhaust. I clamped the garden hose to the outlet hose of the strainer... is this normal?   

- port side exhaust riser is leaking badly from the connection to the head in two places... I am assuming it's cracked but will need to pull it off to find out.

I looked in the 93 manual to find how to jumper the low pump, but found no indication of how to locate or test the high pressure side.

Last, since it appears that I need to fix the electrical system, does anyone have a good wiring diagram?   the 94 manual doesn't show up in the reference section, and the 95 doesn't have good details on the protec system.

thanks for everyone's comments and suggestions so far!

SNobsessed wrote: Just be careful that you don't leave the breaker bar on the C/S when you turn on the air pressure. Makes a loud bang, could have been painful . . .

    I thought about that.     I wondered if there was a way to tell if the chosen cyl was on the up stroke or the down stroke when it stopped.    Careful breaker bar management is in order if air pressure is used    

My 82 sold on Sunday , so I was able to get the 94 into the garage, but we promptly left for a couple of days at the coast.   I haven't had a
Chance to do anything else except to put the boat away.   I like the idea of having a leak down tester, so I may just pick one up... Gary, I am short a few components to build my own, but not many

I'll report back in a few days once i'vemade progress

Hey Kris maybe if your like me you might just have enough laying around to build a leakdown tester

Again,


If you ditch the Protec, I would be happy to take it off you hands

I would like to have a spare to tear apart and try to fix to keep...

Hey Kris - you need to update your avatar.

First off - woo hoo!!!!

Wow, that is some serious variation on the compression numbers. You put oil in the pan as you mentioned, right? Did you see the pressure come up on the oil gauge as you were spinning it?

I'm not an engine expert, but with the data you have right now a rebuild seems like a logical assumption. I could ask a few car guys around if they know of a good shop where you could get a solid 2nd opinion. Let me know.

she spins!!!!    Pretty excited that ATF and some additional pressure on the crank pulley bolt made it turn.   The starter was out so I tested it in the bench tonight and it seems to spin fine too.   I filled the TBI with marvel mystery oil tonight and will let that soak a day or two. Starter will get installed tomorrow and we'll see if there,s compression.     Just a side suggestion/ question ... Has anyone used an air fitting and 100. Psi to assist in freeing things up?   That was my backup plan this evening.   I was thinking that the thing to watch out for would be the back swing on the breaker bar once the engine began to free up.   

Seems I always have to preface this with the usual "I'm not sure about a Ford" but my Chevy has an inspection plate on the bell housing you can remove and easily use a prybar on the flywheel. Then you don't have to worry about snapping a bolt.

I would first let it sit for a few days before you try moving it either way. If you just put the ATF/acetone mix in the cylinders last night, give it chance to work for you.

I did turn both ways, just didn't want to break the bolt    HOw much can I wrench on that puppy? I don't mind putting some pressure on it, I was just heeding the advice to not overdo the wrenching from this end of the motor.    

TRBenj, it's stuck... 2.5' breaker bar, no spark plugs, and the starter is out... it aint budging.   

Pull the spark plugs out and put a breaker bar on the crank and try turning the engine over forwards (which will tighten the crank bolt) before you do anything else. It might be frozen, but I dont think you know that definitively yet.

Dreaming wrote: If I can use a breaker bar and socket on the harmonic balancer bolt a bit

Just noticed this... so now Im curious- how did you confirm that the engine was stuck if you have yet to put a breaker bar on the crank?