2004 Hammerhead 380 Block Cracked Over Winter

[WICST01]

Hi, i have a 2004 Malibu Response Barefooter running a 380 Hammerhead engine in the UK. The boat has been faultless and is beautiful.  Every year i winterise it the same however this winter has been particularly cold.

Whilst I prepping for this season i noticed water seeping out from a crack just above the knock sensor on the right hand side front of engine. The engine itself is running fine.

Im guessing this is frost damage and my only option is a replacement engine  but i just wanted to check that was my only option before spending a considerable amount of money on a new engine and having it imported to the UK.

Any thoughts would be very much appreciated as im guessing is its cracked on the outside it will have also cracked on the inside so i cant even grind it and fill it.

[mcgreg]

Hopefully, the crack is only on exterior of block. If it were mine, i would run it, carefully checking oil level (and color)to see if it is rising with time. If it is not,  and oil is normal appearance, buff it clean and temporarily epoxy it shut. Or find a good welder. 

If water is going into the oil, bummer, start looking for a short or long block replacement. Cheers!

[Bozboat]

On 4/22/2018 at 5:09 PM, WICST01 said:

Hi, i have a 2004 Malibu Response Barefooter running a 380 Hammerhead engine in the UK. The boat has been faultless and is beautiful.  Every year i winterise it the same however this winter has been particularly cold.

Whilst I prepping for this season i noticed water seeping out from a crack just above the knock sensor on the right hand side front of engine. The engine itself is running fine.

Im guessing this is frost damage and my only option is a replacement engine  but i just wanted to check that was my only option before spending a considerable amount of money on a new engine and having it imported to the UK.

Any thoughts would be very much appreciated as im guessing is its cracked on the outside it will have also cracked on the inside so i cant even grind it and fill it.

IDK how boat insurance works on your side of the pond, over here my policy is written to cover catastrophic mechanical problems or freeze damage. 

[Engine Nut]

Fortunately a 380 Hammerhead just used a standard 5.7L block with different (GM Fastburn) cylinder heads and a different camshaft so the repair parts should be more readily available.

[kerpluxal]

31 minutes ago, mcgreg said:

Hopefully, the crack is only on exterior of block. If it were mine, i would run it, carefully checking oil level (and color)to see if it is rising with time. If it is not,  and oil is normal appearance, buff it clean and temporarily epoxy it shut. Or find a good welder. 

If water is going into the oil, bummer, start looking for a short or long block replacement. Cheers!

This, it is a band-aid but would work for a while or remaining life of engine. If it is leaking into block (water in oil which would be brown in color), then a crate motor would be an option. The swap is really not that difficult and in US that would be ~5,000 repair if you swapped yourself. 

[Woodski]

@WICST01:  As for the crack, not necessarily will the crack be on both external and internal surfaces.  You don't know until you evaluate further.  

[Falko]

Run it up warm and you'll know pretty quick if there is water getting in the oil. Check the oil as others have stated to see if it is getting in there, it will milkshake the oil. 

IF it isn't you can clean up the crack with a dremel and JB Weld it or some other strong epoxy. If it does need to be replaced, I believe the Chevy Performance ZZ4 350 is the same as the Hammerhead short block. Obviously getting it and getting it in are two different levels of commitment. Good luck, I hope it is a simple fix for you.

[WICST01]

Hi, just thought I would post an update which will hopefully help others who have suffered a similar problem to me 1 year ago. 

Having run the engine warm and tested for water contamination in the oil and vice versa of which both tests showed up clear I proceeded with a Dremel to clean paint from around the cracks and drilled a small hole at the ends of each crack to prevent them from running any further. I also ground the crack open I little further to allow the JB Weld to have a good key. Preparation was key here and I’m glad I spent some time making sure everything was perfectly clean. 

Finally I masked around the crack and used JB Weld and one year on its as good as new. 

Now I wanted to paint the welds but was reluctant to in case the paint weakened the weld in anyway. Any thoughts on this? It’s purely for appearance reasons great job though and great advise from this forum.  

[justgary]

Paint should not affect the epoxy at all.  Go for it. 

Glad to hear that the fix has worked for you. 

[Woodski]

@WICST01:  FYI - a friend did the JB Weld repair on his boat over a decade ago and still going strong.