I just bought a boat and the engine is slow turning or is it locked up?

Question

the 305 mercruiser has not been in the water they tell me for 3 years before i bought it when i got home there was a little white on the dipstick that meas water in block the block is not cracked but the freeze plugs are out also when i hooked up power to it the starter just clicked i removed the plugs and if i turn the flywheel while turning the key the engine will turn over but when i tryied to ckeck the compression it die out is the starter bad or the motor shot help please before i go out and spend money on a starter and everything else thanks to all

Answer 1

White on dip stick it's water so how much?? If the soft plugs are out you have to pull the engine as there should be 1 behind the flywheel> while out pull the pan and check the rods and mains> Battery is week starter bad or rings rusted on the cylinder walls> Any way you cut it pull out rebuild and enjoy>Those engine are not expensive> Long blocks> replace the soft plugs with brass and add your marine parts>

Answer 2

start looking for a new engine.

Answer 3

Try putting a new battery in it, but this won't fix the problem. It most likely needs a rebuild though. The reason the freeze plugs are out is that the owner forgot to drain the water from the engine before the winter. When it got cold it pushed the freeze plugs out. It may have cracked the block on the inside. This would allow the water to get into the oil.

The purpose of a freeze plug is to protect the engine from being cracked when the coolant freezes. It never works though. When it freezes it pushes the freeze plugs out when the ice expands.

Answer 4

I think will leave this to cap`t john..you need a lot of splain`en--and I think he is just guy to do it!   Hi,John----it   john you beat me to it while i was peck`en

Answer 5

Sorry man...

     I know this is not what you want to hear...

But, this is exactly why every top answerer on this site keeps telling everyone over and over and over and over again...

DON'T BUY ANY BOAT WITHOUT A CERTIFIED MARINE SURVEY

      or at least an

ON THE WATER DEMO

I just don't know what to tell you... other then to have a mechanic take a look it and see if it is repairable or not.  I sure wouldn't buy anything for it until I knew for sure I'd have a good, positive, dependable outcome as a result... Sounds to me, that your engine has probably been submerged.

Answer 6

Never once saw a marine305 or 350 motor with freeze plugs in the bilge that wasn't cracked right up the side of the block all the way to the cylinder heads.

Don't waste any money on this one. Salvage what you can and replace the engine. Don't "well maybe" this project to death. Pull the port side exhaust manifold and the damage should be evident. Sorry.