Had an interesting experience this evening. While running 5k RPM, I experienced a grinding/shrieking noise, which sounded as if something had gotten caught in the engine belts. The engine promptly lost power and shut itself down. Furthermore, it will not restart, the starter engages, the crank does not turn. My immediate thought was hydrolock, though I have pulled the plugs and there is absolutely zero water on them. The boat has a closed cooling system, and its reservoir is still full. The oil level is within range. The transmission fluid is full. The gear oil is full in the drive reservoir. What's going on and what can I do? I suspect that it is a transmission failure and it locked up causing the engine to lock as well. Any ideas? The boat is 26' Corsa with a 454/500+HP engine with Brodix aluminum heads, has approximately 80 hours on it. Stainless Marine dry exhaust, MSD ignition, Kieth Eickert remote oil filter, all top shelf parts. I'm at a loss.

Try turning the propshaft with the prop on it. If you cant, pull the drive and then try it again. If you can, the problem lies in the transmission. If not, its in the drive.

The prop spins freely in both directions. Is it possible that the tranny locked up on the input side and not the output side? It is the old MCM TRS transmission, not a Borg Warner.

how much oil pressure did it have when the noise started??

My money's on the tranny.

Ed:

If the tranny is locked up, even If I pull the plugs, and try and spin it over by hand with a breaker bar on the crank, it still wouldn't spin, right?

Harry

Right. If the tranny's locked-up it can keep the engine from turning. I'm hoping the tranny's the culprit because it's much cheaper to repair than a broken hard part in the engine.

Unfortunately, I found the culprit. A melted/mangled spark plug electrode on the second cylinder from the front of the engine on the port side solved the mystery. It seems as though I floated a valve, broke or melted a piston or something along those lines. Oh well, its a good excuse to install the 496 cubic inch stroker I've been staring at on the stand for a year or so now . . .

Harry

Thats a bummer !

Boats are great...... When they work.

Aren't they - ohhh soo much fun!

Like I said, my glass half full, positive thinking approach is happy that I can use one of the stroker longblocks in the Corsa . . .

Harry