Carver Owners Forum

Hello everyone,

First let me say, I appreciate the openness and the knowledge in this forum.

Ok, so I bought this 1987 Carver Mariner, used it a few times with no issue, then parked it.

The crusader engines now have water in them and the mechanics are calling for a complete repower.

Is there a better, less costly option other than buying two completely new engines?

Thanks in advance.

Jules

Welcome to the forum...... There really is no short simple answer to this....perhaps start a new thread in the engines section, it may get more notice.

Most Marina around here have used engines available. Good ones fully dressed go for around 3,000 for 350hp crusaders

absolutely...where is around here?

Southwest Michigan

Did they figure out how water got into the engines?? That doesn't happen just by sitting for a while.

That's a tough call, it really depends on a few things. Unless there was something catastrophic like a cracked block, I'm going on the assumption it was exhaust manifold failures/rusted through that was the source of the water. How much water, how long did it sit in the cylinders, was the engine run with water in it, etc. You can't tell until it's torn down but if it's minimal impact, one could get away with maybe honing the cylinders, checking bearings, etc., reassemble and it's likely you'll be fine. Again, really depends on the impact the water had on the hardware, being salt water doesn't give you much time.

The problem here is that few mechanics/shops out there will take the above route as they have to put their name on the end product and warranty it. For that reason it's common to suggest a complete rebuild or replacement.

You can also go with short or long blocks but you must confirm the condition of the exhaust manifolds, I recommend replacing them, and you need to find out where the water came from so you don't end up putting a failed component on the new block. The caveat with short/long blocks is that the labour to reassembly the engine may bring the cost up to a ready to go off the shelf unit.

Not that it matters much but how many hours on the engines?

Thanks for the input fellas. The mechanics didn't state how the water got into the Engines. Really? I feel more comfortable with replacing them with good old engines. Is there an online store for affordable engines that I can contact? I can go with the boat yards mechanic for the installation.