"Blown" Ford 351

man I love it when KENO comments. So simple that even I can almost understand...



john


oh yeah...forgot. We need pics. Sounds like you stole it to me.

Good advice all around. I'll get it started before doing all the testing. I'm trying not to get too excited about it being something simple.

sounds to me like she launched it in the spring and the freeze plug being popped out was what put large amounts of water in the bilge. The smoking was probably steamy hot water from the freeze plug hole.

You have water in the oil which combined with the freeze plug issue would make me think the engine wasn't winterized right and it froze.

You could have an internal crack letting water into the oil to go along with your obvious external leak.

Doesn't sound good but I'd put in a new freeze plug, put in a new starter or rebuild the old one. Don't forget if you're getting a new one you have a reverse rotation engine and you need a reverse rotation marine starter Make sure you can turn it over by hand with the plugs out before using the starter.

Then change the oil and start it and run it some and see if you have water in the oil Large amounts of water would say there's an internal crack. A very small amount could be residual water that didn't all come out with the oil change.

If you drain the oil cold, some of the water would settle to the bottom and come out first to give you an idea of how much water is in the oil It might take a few oil changes to get rid of everything. If you can't get rid of it, you probably have an internal crack

It sounds like she didn't run it very long at all so there's probably no milky residue because of the short run time. The plugs could all look good like you said because the water isn't in the cylinders but in the sump.

I'd get it running before doing a leakdown test, because all the cylinders could test just fine in spite of having a cracked block letting water into the oil.

Maybe you'll be lucky..........maybe not

Start simple, pull the plugs and see what you can learn.   
Side by side plugs that look different from all the other cylinders would indicate the head gasket is blown between those two cylinders.
Sounds like you stole this boat. Good luck with your repairs.

Thank you, I'm prepared to get dirty. I'll look and see what air compressor options are out there, those are handy to have around anyway. Aiming for a May relaunch of the beauty.

You could take it to the lake if it is close and back it in still attached to the trailer and start it and duplicate the problem. Water pouring out is not a good thing
If it were me, I would pull the valve covers and loosen all the rocker nuts all the way. Then I would perform a "leak down test" with the pistons at BDC. At BDC you are inspecting the entire bore and usually hear where the problem is. That will tell you far more than a compression test. Leak down gages are readily available. on line but require an air compressor.. Listen for the leakage and that should help pinpoint the problem. Good luck