1999 Merc 240 EFI Powerhead for an 01 Islandia

[huskercheesewi]

Greetings... I am FINALLY getting my 2001 Islandia back on the water in a week or two after losing compression in cylinder 6

I found a re-manufactured long block with warranty for $2,950 that is being assembled as we speak. The shop I am using recommended I go back a couple years to the 1999 Merc 240 EFI since it uses a head gasket instead of the O-Rings used in the 00-01 models... he said they are far less likely to fail and that it was the only difference between the two engines, so I went with it. I hope all this is true???

My tech is charging me $500 to undress and redress the motor, so I should be all in for less than $4k (which I think is pretty reasonable)

Finally - are there any specific parts I should go ahead and replace while things are pulled apart?

Thankful for this forum!! Have a great summer!!

 

[Dr Honda]

Does the person/shop where the engine is coming from know that the sportjet engines have a different crank spline than the outboard engine?? It sounds like he's selling you an outboard engine. Physically... it's the same engine... but for some stupid reason, the splines on the jet drive were different from every outboard made. SO... while an outobard's mounting pattern is the same... the drive shaft isn't.

As far as the comment on the head gasket... well... to be blunt... it's a load. I've never heard of the O-rings failing without some other issues, like a cracked or warped head. (A gasket would fail also with those issues) AND... there are a lot of 2-strokes that use O-rings. (Merc, Yamaha, Rotax... so on) The down side of the head gasket is... if you want to do a quick inspection... you have to buy new gaskets if you remove the heads. The O-rings, if not too old, can simply be reused. That's why they went to them. Regardless... either is fine.

Assuming they put the right crankshaft in it... the only thing that you will need is the base gasket. (where the flange meets the drive) I would also recommend a good cleaning while the engine is out. Oh.... and make sure your bilge pump, and fresh water pump are in good condition. It's WAY easier to work on them when you can sit down in the engine bay. I've changed both, dangling from the deck. (no fun)

 

[huskercheesewi]

Thanks Doc!!! I just called my guy and he knows about the sport jet setup and is double checking the crank spline to be sure it's correct.

Great call on the bilge and fresh water pumps! You're a rockstar - thank you!!!

 

[huskercheesewi]

Update: motor is redressed and back in... we took it out today and are running the break in procedure. So far so good

 

[Dr Honda]

Great !! Glad to hear it worked out.

What shop supplied the engine? There are guys here who may want to know.

 

[huskercheesewi]

I used Blackbird Industries in PA... very smooth transaction

 

[Dr Honda]

Oh.....................


That was "One Outboard" before. They had such a bad rap... they changed names. Glad it worked out, and let us know how your engine is at the end of summer.

 

[Sandman251]

Wondering if you determined precisely what caused you to cook a cylinder. Was it a lean condition? Did you convert to premix? Did your shop upgrade the plastic oil gear that has caused so many thousands of these sportjets to melt down? I only ask because I have a lead on a 2000 20' challenger with a seized motor.

 

[Dr Honda]

it's a big 2-stroke. Most of the time... it's very hard to tell exactly what happened. If the oil gear is OK... 9 times out of 10... the diagnosis is a "lean run." But that lean run could have been caused by things other than improper fuling. You can get a case, or seal leak. You could have had piston rings that were warn, and it displaces the fuel and oil from the combustion blow-by. OR... an over heat condition can also look like a lean run because the piston skirts will look melted.

Also... this gear that you are blaming so many sportjet melt downs on isn't really a valid observation. Yes... it's plastic and can fail. But that gear normally fails for reasons other than a bad design. If you are lightly overheating the engine... the metal drive gear binds in the bushings, and it takes out the plastic gear. In this case... even a set of metal gears would have given up. And been a lot more expensive to replace.

Basically... it's the "Fuse" in the system. BUT, since it has physical damage, it gets blamed.


Anyway... if you can get the boat cheap enough that you can part it out and get your money back... AND... the engine doesn't have any physical holes in it... AND... it's in good condition other than the engine... AND... you can do the work yourself... then buy it, and enjoy it.