Can you say a bit more about the symptoms, how did you find out about it,
how have you conclusively determined that it was a manifold, how much water
was leaking into the oil (raised oil lelvel? etc.), how many cylinders
affected etc.. More detailed description would allow me to compare with my
situation and draw conclusions. Thanks


"KMP" wrote in message
...
I had exactly the same problem with a Bayliner 2455 with an OMC 5.0L
petrol
engine. It turned out to be that the exhaust manifold had a crack and
water
was leaking into the cylinder. I also had a symptom of the engine not
running down to idle when closing the throttle (the engine just died). I
eventually had to find a new exhaust manifold and a few other bits and the
boat was out of comission for a few weeks.

Hope this Helps

KMP

"Proxy" wrote in message
able.rogers.com...
Hi All,
I own a Bayliner with a V8 OMC 5L engine. I noticed, when running the
engine
with hose attached, that the exhaust fumes contain quite a lot of steam.
That was only when the outdrive was not fully at 90 degree extension
(about
70 degrees). What was coming out of the propeller was steam and very
warm
water. The engine seemed to get to this point after about 2 min. That
seemed
unusually fast for me to start producing steam. After shutting the
engine
down there was quite a bit of steam coming out (like a big steam
puff).Tried
with fully extended outdrive and it seemed to be better. Water coming
out
was a notch cooler and not much steam could be seen. I wasn't sure and
started suspecting blown head gasket or a block crack (God forbid...!).
I
just tested compression on all cylinders and it looks like that: cyl.
2,4,6,8 - 150/140/170/160 cyl. 1,3,5,7 - 150/155/155/160. Before
winterizing
I noticed a bit of water spray when cranking without spark plugs coming
out
of cyl.4. I thought that it was rain water that somehow made its way
into
the cyl.4 through uncovered carb. Presence of water in cyl. 4 plus
slightly
lower compression would indicate something is wrong here. But in this
case
wouldn't my reading be lower then 140? Seems pretty close to normal
reading.

What else could or should I expect in terms of "surprises"?
Is compression test a good way to diagnose blown head gasket or are
there
better ways to find out?
Are my assumptions right? What is the most likely scenario (best and
worst
case) in tearms of possible upcoming repairs?
How else can I find out about my engine condition before taking it
apart?

PS. the engine starts and runs OK, just like nothing happened.