Carver Owners Forum

Had a hard freeze. 1989 454. I verified the middle freeze plug is gone and water shoots out of the hole. Oil looks like milk. Am I screwed?

Chances are yes. There's a couple of other less problematic ways you can get water in the oil but given that a block plug popped out during a freeze, chances are the block is cracked internally. You could try to reinstall the plug and change the oil, then run the engine and cross your fingers but if you get a milkshake again, she's done. If there's a good thing in all this, it's that 454s are very common blocks so you shouldn't have a problem getting a replacement. What you want to be careful with is that you don't swap any major components like an intake or exhaust manifold that might be damaged and bolt it on to the new block. If you're getting a long block, you need to find out if the one that's damaged is a standard or counter-rotator, they were still in use for that vintage. If it is a counter-rotator, that might be a little more difficult to source but doable even if it means utilizing some components of the current engine to make it happen.

Unfortunately you are most likely screwed. I guess that was part of the Texas deep freeze fiasco this year.
If you have full insurance coverage, you may be covered for loss due to freeze in Texas. I would definitely check it out.
Up north its usually excluded as subfreezing temps are the norm in winter.

Good Luck!!!

Great feedback! Thank y’all for the detail. I’ll update after the insurance call. I hope none of y’all have to deal with this. It sucks. I’ve spent months chasing this issue and I did my due diligence before that Texas freeze of death, which is also a named storm.

Unfortunately it happens more often than it should up here considering winter conditions are expected. The main reasons are people either don't winterize properly, use the wrong product, or don't do it soon enough. I've responded to two cases so far this Spring, one guy got lucky, the other, not so much!

CptBacardi wrote:Source of the post Had a hard freeze. 1989 454. I verified the middle freeze plug is gone and water shoots out of the hole. Oil looks like milk. Am I screwed?

Is this on the same engine you have been trying to get cooling water thru ? How is the other side ?

Actually the plug pushed out does not mean the block is scrap for sure ( it may be ), could be the heads contributing to the oil and water mix......have a real good look and get a good engine mechanic to investigate is my advice.

bud37 wrote:Source of the post

CptBacardi wrote:Source of the post Had a hard freeze. 1989 454. I verified the middle freeze plug is gone and water shoots out of the hole. Oil looks like milk. Am I screwed?

Is this on the same engine you have been trying to get cooling water thru ? How is the other side ?

Actually the plug pushed out does not mean the block is scrap for sure ( it may be ), could be the heads contributing to the oil and water mix......have a real good look and get a good engine mechanic to investigate is my advice.

Hey Bud. Yes this is the same port engine. I replaced the transmission cooler and that went well. Then when I started the engine I noticed the gushing water coming out of the missing freeze plug. Checked the dipstick to find chocolate milk. Buried my head into my greasy hands....

By the way guys, everyone knows what you mean when you say frost plug because that wording is used so much but the correct term is block plug or "Core" plug. It's intended use isn't to protect the block from freezing/cracking though sometimes it helps, those holes are there because of the casting process. The plugs pop out (sometimes) during a freeze because it's often the weakest link so it's an unintended benefit when it ends up relieving enough pressure to save the engine.

Marina shop has indicated to me that the engine is “done” and will need to be replaced. He also said:

1. You cannot find 454 marine engines anymore AND that they can’t be rebuilt. He’s indicated that a 383 would need to be used.

2. He further explained that you can’t run 2 types of engines, so both engines would need to be replaced.

Does this sound right to y’all? I was under the impression these 454’s were quite common.

Thanks

Hogwash, a big block 454 is easily rebuilt nowadays. There are literally dozens of places to get a long block and transfer all your goodies over to it. Just Google "long block marine 454" Here is just one I picked up. https://www.summitracing.com/search/bra ... e/7-4l-454

Google search. https://www.google.com/search?q=long+bl ... e&ie=UTF-8