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Blowing Head Gaskets


Scottman

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I blew a head gasket on my Sporty (310 hp) a couple of years ago and had to have the whole motor taken down to make the repair, since it wrecked the block. It also happened to one of my ski partners a couple of years prior to mine. He has a 350 Mag in his boat. Now, another guy that we know had his Sporty (310 hp) blow a head gasket. Is this a common occurance? We all are barefooters and running the boats 40-45 mph. Anyone else had a problem?

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I think a lot has to do with the type of water (salt?) that sits in the block, for how long and the type of winterizing you do. They are supposed to be marine gaskets and made from Stainless Steel, but who knows where the gaskets are being made from now a days Dontknow.gif I don't think it's from how you drive the boat and how fast, head gaskets blow much easier when the engines overheat or do not have the proper torque procedure done.

There is more too than that, but I don't really think it's relevant in what you are asking. I think it's just a coincidence!

Edit: Unless you guys are using the same repair shop Whistling.gif

Edited by 68Slalom
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We all ski in the same river. It's deep (6-10 ft), but the water isn't clear and there are a lot of sticks that we have to clear out. I know that after rebuilding my motor I will be putting in a new impeller every spring. I don't know if that has anything to do with it, but it can't hurt!

Yes, the head gasket was put back in my boat was stainless steel.

Even though that we all live within close proximity of a Malibu dealer, I don't think that anyone uses them except for parts.

One more thing, all of the boats were bought used. So, nobody has had one from day one and doesn't know what the other owners did prior. But, the other two guys had the boats for a few years before this problem occured. Mine happened a month after I bought it!

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We all ski in the same river. It's deep (6-10 ft), but the water isn't clear and there are a lot of sticks that we have to clear out. I know that after rebuilding my motor I will be putting in a new impeller every spring. I don't know if that has anything to do with it, but it can't hurt!

Yes, the head gasket was put back in my boat was stainless steel.

Even though that we all live within close proximity of a Malibu dealer, I don't think that anyone uses them except for parts.

One more thing, all of the boats were bought used. So, nobody has had one from day one and doesn't know what the other owners did prior. But, the other two guys had the boats for a few years before this problem occured. Mine happened a month after I bought it!

The real hidden answers to the question :)

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The other interesting thing is they all blew between cylinders 4&6. The local shop said they had 2 this summer with the same thing. I took the heads to a speed shop to have them machined and found out they BOTH are cracked. The shop owner said the majority of the vortex heads he sees are cracked when they are pulled off. I went with aftermarket vortex heads made by Dart industries.

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I replaced a head gasket on my 00 vlx wakesetter this past winter. Mine went on the very back chamber over the transmission on the passenger side (dont know which # cylinder). When I pulled the block off I noticed that they were not proper marine gaskets. I also bought my boat used and chalked it up to the prior owner's likely neglect. I did the install myself and am now happy in knowing that everything was done RIGHT, at least down to the head gaskets. Dont forget to have the heads checked for warping as this is a common issue with repeatedly blown head gaskets on motors.

knocking on wood excessively its been running great since.

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