I need some help on this. This year when I cranked my 94 5.7
Mercruiser, I noticed a small water leak on the front of the motor.
I'm not a mechanic but it looks like it is near the water pump. After
letting it run for a while on a water hose adapter, the temp stayed
under 150 and everything looked o.k. to take the boat out for a run on
the 4th with the family. On the lake everything seemed o.k. with power
other than when we were pulling a tube, the power seemed a little off
gunning it out of the hole. Two days later I took it out again and
this time the power was way off. The boat , a 23 foot larson 220,
won't even get on plane. It seems to miss but all of the plugs are
firing when I did a spark test. At idle it seems fine but the engine
still seems to run like its missing a bit. I'm about to check the
timing next. The Oil pressure and temperature and normal. I did have
about 5 to 10 gallons of 10 month old gas in the tank before I filled
it up with 89 octane at the pump. I checked the oil and it looked o.k.
too.

Thanks for all you help,

Tim


Tim, I can't comment on the power loss, but the water leak is quite likely the
water circulating pump. It's a weak spot on the marinized GM 5.7 of recent
vintage. I had to replace the pumps on a pair of 1999 5.7 Crusaders after only
three years. It's not an expensive problem. The pump is easily removed, and
the part itself is around $150-$200.


-- Rich Stern
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