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travis_farmer · 14-07-2018, 09:44

after soaking for just one night, the Marvel Mystery Oil has done it! the engine rotates free now.

now i just have to pick up a used distributor, and see if it will run.

note, before i tried to turn the engine, i drained about a quart of oil from the pan, and it is good clean oil, with no water contamination. i will do a full oil change before i try to start the engine.

i have to do some wiring around the motor anyway. some of the insulation is dry and crumbles in hand. but electrical is my realm, so i should have luck there, i hope. providing the main harness works. the previous person to do the wiring, couldn't have been all that skilled. but i can handle it.

in any case, it rotates now!

~Travis

hellosailor · 14-07-2018, 12:05

MMO is good stuff. I'd still do a compression test on the cylinders, and a leakdown test, to see if the rings are still really functioning. With a little luck, it will still test good.

travis_farmer · 14-07-2018, 12:22

good idea, as soon as i have the electrical sorted enough that the starter works from the key (safer than the "screwdriver" approach).
if the cylinders are not pitted bad, the compression and leak-down should improve with cranking, as it wears off the rust. if however it gets worse...

also, i want to wait on cranking much as with the distributor out (rust seized, as the cap was missing), as no distributor = nothing to turn the oil pump. i have a replacement saved on eBay, so it is a matter of my next paycheck. i could buy a oil pump primer, but the distributor is needed anyway.

~Travis

hellosailor · 14-07-2018, 12:39

If the rings have rusted, as the pistons move pieces of the rings will tend to crumble as they normally should be flexing up and down. And then there's compression loss plus, the rusty bits of the rings will score the cylinder walls. Or perhaps not, perhaps the engine will just eat them without complaint. I've always found that if I give an engine a chance to complain, it will. But some folks have much better luck with these things.
Might also be worth sending an oil sample out to Blackstone once you get it running for a while. They'll be able to tell you if there is bearing metal in the oil, excess fuel getting past the rings, all sorts of good pm information. After it is running for a while.
A long time ago I had a bad ignition switch in a Ford. Before Priority Mail and Fedex existed, so it was probably a week to get one ordered in. Ran the car with a toggle switch and a pushbutton, and didn't need a screwdriver. (Aka, a Yanmar universal ignition key.(G)

travis_farmer · 14-07-2018, 13:04

regarding the "Yanmar universal ignition key", i was thinking the same, for a temporary solution, while i sort out the rest of the wiring.

as for the rings crumbling, that will likely show up in the oil-change, that i will perform before i try to fire it.

i think right now, my biggest concern is centered around the bodies of little four-legged critters, and nearby wires with missing insulation.
i like electrical work, as a hobby, but i don't look forward to the possibility of re-wiring the entire boat. i will make sure the un-fused power is in good shape (battery -> starter, and battery -> fuse block), and then i will run new wires for anything that looks sketchy. i just hope the engine harness can be saved.

~Travis

foggysail · 14-07-2018, 13:41

I am in the “get it running” group. And after it has ran up to temperature, then consider doing a compression test. I doubt anything is going to or has happened to the rings but you will soon be able to tell after getting it to run

**a64pilot** · 14-07-2018, 15:41

MMO’s history, it was and is still used by many radial piston engine aircraft owners, I swear I have seen at least one R-1340 that will stick valves if it’s not used, Back in post WWII days Delta Airlines used to order it in 55 gl drums.

It’s illegal to use in an aircraft though, although a great many do.

http://www.marvelmysteryoil.com/our-history/

jamhass · 14-07-2018, 19:53

A long large screwdrive-like shaft chucked into a power drill can nicely run the oil pump to prime the system and lube the bearings.

daw_two · 15-07-2018, 05:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by travis_farmer

.

note, before i tried to turn the engine, i drained about a quart of oil from the pan, and it is good clean oil, with no water contamination. i will do a full oil change before i try to start the engine.

in any case, it rotates now!

~Travis

Hey Travis.

It sounds like you have received your first "boat victory". Congrats!

Here's a little trick I use to save some money:
That first oil change you do before you start the engine does not need to be virgin motor oil. The oil from a 5K mile oil change from your vehicle will do just fine for the initial startup. Just remember, to change it to virgin motor oil before you bring the engine up to operating temperature.

Good luck on your boat project.

travis_farmer · 15-07-2018, 12:46

quick update: i was concerned about cranking the engine with no oil pressure, while i wait for the not-so new (but working) distributor. so i took what was left of the current distributor, cut the head off, and broke the shaft free with some oil. the head was a disaster, so no loss there. but now, having installed it, i can crank the engine, and watch the oil pressure come up (after running a new wire for the oil sender). and of course, the engine now cranks over much easier, as it has oil.

the real issue i am finding with the engine wiring, is that all of it crumbles to the touch. i am mentally prepared to re-wire the engine, and being non-computer, it isn't so bad. but it is still a pain, tracing the wire back far enough to find something suitable to splice into.

i look forward to the ruckus this beast will make when it first fires up. V8 engine, no muffler... my neighbors will love it.

~Travis

ontherocks83 · 15-07-2018, 13:39

Aero Kroil is by far some of the best penetrating oil I have ever seen. It is only available online as far as I know.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ctl411

Buy a cheap car/truck swap. Look for a good runner with a bad transmission/ rust bucket. 350 Chevy is the easiest to find cheap.

Unfortunately this is not a great idea. Truck engines and boat engines are not the same. Everything on a 350 will swap over, but the connecting rods and pistons are different. A truck or car 350 is not built with the internals to withstand what a boat has to go through. Remember a boat engine in essence is constantly going up hill at 3-5k rpm when running without ever being able to coast.

Like others said though you can get a remanufactured marinized 350 long or short block quite cheap. I actually need to do the same thing because my checkmate 350 just rotted out and is leaking cooling water out the side of the block, so I feel your pain.

Imprezza72 · 15-07-2018, 18:10

Keep us posted!

**JPA Cate** · 16-07-2018, 20:56

travis farmer,

Hi, there, I've been following your thread with interest. If you can afford it, just replace the whole length of wire, because each of those joins will soon become suspect. It is where connections happen that most failures occur, and introducing a whole bunch of them where they do not need to be makes troubleshooting in the future just that much harder. On boats, nothing is forever. Except dust.

Ann

travis_farmer · 17-07-2018, 01:42

Thank you, I will replace the whole wire, when i can afford it. i just want to have everything working first, so i know where all the wires go, and so i don't get any short-circuits, or worse, when i try to start the engine.

~Travis