You can try turning it the other way. Taking the plugs out will make it
easier to turn it over. If you get it turning over again I would try doing
a compression check on each cylinder before trying to start it again. The
auto parts places have pretty cheap compression gauges.

Unfortunately the water in the bilge has nothing to do with getting water in
the engine. Water gets in the engine from the cooling system. How old is
the boat and how long has it been used in salt water? What size and type
is it? What engine do you have? Are the exhaust manifolds and exhaust
risers original equipment? If not do you know when they were last replaced?

"Ed" wrote in message
news
Thanks!

I tried to turn the engine over but I only had a normal 3/8" drive ratchet
and I was only able to turn it an eight of a turn before the bolt
loosened-
I'll go back this weekend to check it out (The boat is stored at the
Marina).

I don't think there is water in the engine (or hope!), as there was very
little water in the bilge, and the boat was run all weekend in calm seas-
I
really just don't want it to be an engine problem......


"JamesgangNC" wrote in message
nk.net...
That sounds a lot more like an engine problem than an outdrive. The
possibility that your outdrive or a ujoint would break while cranking are
pretty low. And if a ujoint borke I would not expect it to stop the
engine
from turning. Start by putting a long breaker bar on the front of the
crack
and see if you can turn the engine by hand. You need a 5/8 socket. You
may
be able to turn it backward with the breaker bar. If the center bolt
starts
backing out then thread a couple 2 to 3 inch 3/8 bolts into the balancer
to
rest the breaker bar against. There are three bolt holes in the
balancer,
there may be short bolts in them but you can take one or two of these out
temporarily. If it turns over freely then I'd check the starter before
anything else. If it won't turn over either way then pull the plugs and
try
again. Check the ends of the plugs for damage.

One of the problems with your symptoms is water getting into one or more
cylinders. Either because of a bad manifold/riser or simply because of a
shot flapper and a few good sized waves into the transom. If water gets
into a cylinder and the engine cranks, the water can not compress.
Sometimes the result is a broken rod. Particularly if the engine gets a
chance to start as then it really has some power behind that piston when
it
comes up on the compression stroke. If the engine doesn't start the
water
will usually just stop the starter in its tracks, the starter is not
strong
enough to break a rod. Broken rods ends often jam into the block and
prevent the engine form turning any further. This is the worst case
scenario so eliminate everything else first.

"Ed" wrote in message
ink.net...
Hi All-

Before I decide to tear open the outdrive, I thought I would check to
see
if
there are any ideas as to the cause of my problem.

I was down on the coast this past weekend (in NC) for some great
boating
and
as usual when I return from the coast, I take the boat to a fresh water
lake
to run all the sal****er out of the system. When I attempted to start
the
engine it turned over maybe one or two revolutions and then a terrible
sounding 'clank' occurred and then it seems that the engine/outdrive
was
seized. The boat ran flawlessly the entire weekend prior to the
failure,
so
I don't believe the engine itself is seized.

Does this sound like a broken U-joint or lower unit gear problem? The
gear
shift lever seems to function normally.

Any advice would be appreciated!

Ed