Problem with my 454 Please Help
 

Well To put it honestly. I think the guy who did my winterization did a s%it job and I am screwed. Reason for saying this is it was late in the season and I think I was last on his list to get done.

I got my boat ready last weekend and took it out of storage. I changed the oil, Got everything cleaned up and checked. Ran the boat in my driveway with ears on for about 1/2 an hour and everything was good.

Took it out on the lake and drove it for an hour. Stopped for a while and went to do a double check on everything and when I checked the oil It was Hershey's Choc Milk.

Went directly back to the dock and I am praying that I don't have a cracked block but not sure what to do first. Any help on troubleshooting this will be GREATLY Appreciated.

Not sure where to start. What to look for.

Do you have stock exhaust?
How much higher was your oil level?

I would pull some spark plugs and see if there is water in the cylinders

Stock Exhaust. Oil Level? What can that tell me. Thanks

If the level is up, it may be because you have water added to the oil. That's why you check it. Many times though, there's so little water getting in that it doesn't show as a change in oil level. As somebody else mentioned, pull some plugs and see what they look like. I'd also do a visual check of the outside of the block and exhaust manifolds. Most times, you'll see a rusty stain indicating the problem. Remember, a blown head gasket can also cause the milkshake effect.

so far this year he have done 6 engine replacements from freezing, I would suggest you drain your oil and see how much over full it is. check the area around the block drains and just under the cyl. head on the block for any external cracks, BBC don't always crack externally, the most common place on BBC is in the intake valley behind the pushrods and just above the oil pan surface on the inside.
on the sever freezes it will get the heads, but that is not to offen.
check the exaust manifolds for external cracks, I have never seen one break inside with out breaking outside, If there are no cracks that you can see then the manifolds are probably OK.

What would the plugs look like if there was a problem? I have a rusty stain on the side of my stock manifold. I assume this is just a bad gasket that lets a bit of water seep down the side of the manifold. Is this a problem?

Thanks

If it is just running down from the elbow, No, but it should be replaced because it can leak inside as easy as it leaks outside.
is there any rusty stains at the bottom running horizontal with the manifold? How much over full was the oil?

Oil is not over full and it is in one spot running down from the elbow. It is on a 454 Mag set up like a 525SC Clone. I should probably change to an aftermarket exhaust anyway. Lance and John from Price keep telling me to build it up but it is a 1988 242 Formula with 450 hours on it so it will never run with their Heats anyway.

what all did you do with the mag to make the 525sc clone? I have a pair of mags and am buying weiand 177's that were taken off a pair of hawk engines w/carbs and intercoolers. Any info would be appreciated.

It's not over full and you ran for an hour. I would say you have nothing serious wrong. Maybe just starting. If you had a crack or blown head gasket, You would be milkshake in the bilge and more than 2 quarts high on the dipstick. I would bet it's your exhaust riser gaskets.
You said you ran it on the hose for 30 minutes. that's 35-40psi, double what your engine makes. Could that be where you got a little water in the oil?

OK, got side tracked here, what happened to bigblock666 ?
Bodi, how do you know lance and john? are you a local here?

No I live in Ogden
My boat is a 1988 Formula 242 and the 454 Mag 365 HP was set up by the original owner when purchased (I was told). It only has the 177 weiand, no intercooler. It has an 850 Holley marine double pumper carb. It has a Merc V6 module needed for initial timing, the plugs are a heat range 8 but I would go cooler at sea level the heads had SS intake and Inconnel Valves added along with Roller Rockers. A larger mechanical fuel pump was added and the original 140' thermostate had 3-1/8" holes drilled in it. It has a fuel pressure guage and a boost guage. The motor has 458 original hours on it (50 of them by me). I had the 177 rebuilt and teflon tips added. The blower is set up to boost 5.5lbs at sea level. I pull just over 4lbs at 5K feet and a little less as I go higher in elevation. As long as you have the 365HP motor you should be OK at lower elevations (remember it has 8.8 pistons and not the 7.5 that come stock in the 525SC) so watch your boost.
If I had the Hawks with intercoolers I would change my stock cast iron exhaust to a low cost aftermarket like Eddie Marine or Revolution Exhaust and take the money I saved and get a set of Aluminum Heads (these will give you a safe pt of compression) and probably a cross over cooliing system.

Seems like the original guys thread just got highjacked?

I think so, where did he go...

Didn't mean to hijack the thread, just looking for some info.