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Malibu hammerhead 383HP Boat was underwater what to do rebuild or buy a new motor?


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Long story short My boat went under water for few days ( fresh water ) . I took the boat out and drained the water from the motor and put diesel into the motor for it to not rust ( mechanics advice )  , i let the boat sit for the summer while i figure out a game plan and now I want to take the motor out and open it up and see whats going on because it barely wants to turn over what is your opinion and what should i do ? buy a full motor or rebuild this one ? not sure how much this will run me please let me know as i want to get this boat ready for summer thanks in advance .

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It would be helpful to know a bit more: How long it was underwater, how long it was up before you put the diesel in, how did you put the diesel in (oil fill hole/spark plug holes) and what do you mean with "it barely wants to turn"?

I'd try the following first (before removing or rebuilding anything):

  • Change air filter. Or if it's washable type (K&N) wash, dry and oil the filter.
  • Load the battery. I'd suppose it's still fine, but replace it if it won't take&keep the charge.
  • Empty gas tank and put some new gas in.
  • Take out the diesel from the oil drain plug. Open also the oil fill plug and give it some time to drip as dry as possible. Put new oil in.
  • Remove spark plugs. Use some clothes/plastic for covering the carpets in the engine bay, it may push water/diesel out in the next step.
  • Try turning the engine with the starter. If it turns ok then it should be somewhat safe to try to start with the spark plugs in place. If it won't turn or there's any weird noise when turning then further investigations or rebuild will be needed.

Disclaimer: I have never drained Malibu after saved from under water. However I have drained a sunken outboard engine. :whistle:

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@Mika thanks for your respond , it was under water for less than a week and everything powers on and starter works but when I drained everything ( 4 months later ) and put oil in to see if the motor will turn over it was very rough and then i took the starter off and tried to turn it over  with a pry bar to see if it will turn over and it was going kinda rough not so easy 

Edited by adam911
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2 minutes ago, adam911 said:

@Mika thanks for your respond , it was under water for less than a week and everything powers on and starter works but when I drained everything ( 4 months later ) and put oil in to see if the motor will turn over it was very rough and then i took the starter off and tried to turn it over  with a pry bar to see if it will turn over and it was going kinda rough not so easy 

It might be good to add one more step on the list above. This would be the second last bullet, before trying to turn with the starter.

  • Spray some CRC or WD40 or some similar thin multi-purpose oil in from each spark plug hole. Give it some time (couple of hours) to take effect. Turn the engine with pry bar. Repeat if needed. These engines are not easy to turn with a pry bar, especially when they are in the engine bay. So turning the engine can be hard (take some power), but it shouldn't be rough. 
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5 hours ago, adam911 said:

@Mika thanks for your respond , it was under water for less than a week and everything powers on and starter works but when I drained everything ( 4 months later ) and put oil in to see if the motor will turn over it was very rough and then i took the starter off and tried to turn it over  with a pry bar to see if it will turn over and it was going kinda rough not so easy 

The boat under for less than a week is one thing, the engine/trans/vdrive being full of water for 4 months is another.  I'd be surprised if any of it's ok.

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When you were manually turning it over, were the spark plugs in it? 

What did you fill with diesel? If you did the cylinders, lower end, and heads, you might be alright. Miss any of those three, and you might not be. If you have experience with engine assembly, pull it and tear it down. The bearings and valves/guides do not like corrosion. If you have some issues there you can probably correct easily. If you try to run it with issues, it might not be salvageable shortly thereafter. Good luck.

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24 minutes ago, Falko said:

When you were manually turning it over, were the spark plugs in it? 

What did you fill with diesel? If you did the cylinders, lower end, and heads, you might be alright. Miss any of those three, and you might not be. If you have experience with engine assembly, pull it and tear it down. The bearings and valves/guides do not like corrosion. If you have some issues there you can probably correct easily. If you try to run it with issues, it might not be salvageable shortly thereafter. Good luck.

What he said.  Pickling the motor with diesel is just the stop gap until you get into it.  You still need to pull it out, remove the heads and the oil pan and have a look at what you find.  You are at the point now where you still may have a salvageable motor, the last thing I would try to do is start it.

Your main issue is going to be all your wiring and electronics, that is where all the gremlins are going to show up and keep showing up.  If you have insurance, make a claim now and prepare to be fighting with electrical issues for a long time.

Edited by oldjeep
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8 hours ago, boardjnky4 said:

Did you drain and refill the trans and vdrive?

I checked the tran and v drive and the fluid seemed perfect without any water in it , should i drain it and refill it ?

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7 hours ago, Falko said:

When you were manually turning it over, were the spark plugs in it? 

What did you fill with diesel? If you did the cylinders, lower end, and heads, you might be alright. Miss any of those three, and you might not be. If you have experience with engine assembly, pull it and tear it down. The bearings and valves/guides do not like corrosion. If you have some issues there you can probably correct easily. If you try to run it with issues, it might not be salvageable shortly thereafter. Good luck.

yes the plugs were in when i tried turning it  over and I will need to pull the motor out and tear it down to inspect the motor before trying to get it started 

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That sucks..   You can read my previous posts  topic about when  my  hammerhead 383 snapped the crankshaft last year and i decided to do a rebuild.      When that happened  I chose to do the rebuild..    In hindsight... now  i wish i had not done the rebuild.   just purchased a whole new motor...because it was nearly the same cost.   

 

I think if i were in your shoes.. i would take the best steps  to try to save your engine/ tranny but without spending a fortune  on it..   (just maybe you will get lucky  and it will keep on working)...  if it works   then Great!   

 

Unfortunately it is more likely you will have an issue(s)   I hope i am wrong... 

 But when and if that happens,     Then i would suggest not doing the rebuild on the hammerhead 383 like i did..  instead get a new engine (but not another  hammerhead 383)     on my boat  the hammerhead 383  only gets you 2-5 MPH faster. than stock.  and sucks double the fuel ...        for less money  you  can now get a  smaller ,  and ligher   new   modern engine with   the same power, , that does not require 91 octane, and is more fuel efficient and more reliable.  with a longer warantee too.  

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5 hours ago, adam911 said:

I checked the tran and v drive and the fluid seemed perfect without any water in it , should i drain it and refill it ?

Yes, water is heavier than oil, so it will be at the bottom, not registering on the dipstick.

 

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5 hours ago, tccombs said:

That sucks..   You can read my previous posts  topic about when  my  hammerhead 383 snapped the crankshaft last year and i decided to do a rebuild.      When that happened  I chose to do the rebuild..    In hindsight... now  i wish i had not done the rebuild.   just purchased a whole new motor...because it was nearly the same cost.   

 

I think if i were in your shoes.. i would take the best steps  to try to save your engine/ tranny but without spending a fortune  on it..   (just maybe you will get lucky  and it will keep on working)...  if it works   then Great!   

 

Unfortunately it is more likely you will have an issue(s)   I hope i am wrong... 

 But when and if that happens,     Then i would suggest not doing the rebuild on the hammerhead 383 like i did..  instead get a new engine (but not another  hammerhead 383)     on my boat  the hammerhead 383  only gets you 2-5 MPH faster. than stock.  and sucks double the fuel ...        for less money  you  can now get a  smaller ,  and ligher   new   modern engine with   the same power, , that does not require 91 octane, and is more fuel efficient and more reliable.  with a longer warantee too.  

It’s all the torque not speed. 

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@adam911:  When you pickled the engine did you flush diesel to the combustion chamber side (this would require plugs to be removed before turning over) or just fill the crankcase with it?  One reason for a slow turn over would be the corrosion from the water getting in the starter itself.  From your description of the process, I would expect there would be some water left and some corrosion thus a remove and rebuild would be the course of action.  It can be difficult to get all the water out of the places it should not be without a teardown or immediate and comprehensive clean up (drain, pickle, remove plugs and spin engine, lube upper end and combustion chambers, etc.). 

As noted, the more annoying problem may be electrical and long term electronics issues due to corrosion.  The engine can be rebuilt or short or long block replacement and then provide years of trouble free operation.  Electronics and electrical issues can / will be intermittent and continuous.

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On 2/20/2019 at 3:47 PM, adam911 said:

2006 , how much do these run?

I don't know the price of a 383 (but isn't that just a stroker 350?).  in any event, I bought a chevy 350 longblock (replacing a PCM excalibur) for $2700. Thats with valve covers and oil pan.

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So, you can buy a ZZ4-383 performance chevy long block, which will be almost identical to your HH383. You may have to plug the mechanical fuel pump port, but that's a $10 plate. 

As stated above, be sure to drain/fill/drain/fill the v-drive and trans too.  Good luck with the boat.

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21 hours ago, 85 Barefoot said:

I don't know the price of a 383 (but isn't that just a stroker 350?).  in any event, I bought a chevy 350 longblock (replacing a PCM excalibur) for $2700. Thats with valve covers and oil pan.

I got a 350 Longblock replacement for a 340 Monsoon (07 21LSV) two years ago delivered for about $3500.00. Really wasnt bad to do.

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