1989 Liberator 201
#1
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Hey all!
I’m new to the boat club and I have a 89 liberator 201 that I got as a project.
It has the OMC 350 King cobra setup.
It was sitting outside for 5 years and needs some TLC.
Skeleton is solid, floor needs some replacing
I got it running and all but it ended up with water in the oil after about 10ish minutes of runtime.
upon first finding this I did a full oil replace/Filter swap and tried again. Alas, milky white oil started spewing out of the heads again.
my next idea is to do a compression check and see what the numbers behold.
I’m hoping it’s not a cracked block.
Any tips to help diagnose the issue would be greatly appreciated
if it is a block issue, how much would it be to either fix it/ or just get a new motor for it?
I’m new to the boat club and I have a 89 liberator 201 that I got as a project.
It has the OMC 350 King cobra setup.
It was sitting outside for 5 years and needs some TLC.
Skeleton is solid, floor needs some replacing
I got it running and all but it ended up with water in the oil after about 10ish minutes of runtime.
upon first finding this I did a full oil replace/Filter swap and tried again. Alas, milky white oil started spewing out of the heads again.
my next idea is to do a compression check and see what the numbers behold.
I’m hoping it’s not a cracked block.
Any tips to help diagnose the issue would be greatly appreciated
if it is a block issue, how much would it be to either fix it/ or just get a new motor for it?
#2
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Joined: Dec 2019
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From: Manistee
Could very well be a cracked block if the boat is from a colder state and not winterized properly. Take a good look for any wet spots on the side of the block after running, maybe a good inspection of the manifolds/risers. Depending on what you want to spend a good running take out motor would be cheap and have you back in business in a weekend.
#4
Been there done that. Cracked block or heads. I wouldn't even bother messing with it. A 350 is cheap to replace.
These guys know OMC drives and have parts...
https://www.allamericandriveservice.com/omc-cobra
These guys know OMC drives and have parts...
https://www.allamericandriveservice.com/omc-cobra
#5
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From: On A Dirt Floor
I’d further investigation to see if the boat is OK. A rotted floor is a big sign there are other problems. Hope not for your sake but it’s a big percentage that do have further probs ( stringers/transom, etc)
#6
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Could very well be a cracked block if the boat is from a colder state and not winterized properly. Take a good look for any wet spots on the side of the block after running, maybe a good inspection of the manifolds/risers. Depending on what you want to spend a good running take out motor would be cheap and have you back in business in a weekend.
I am located in Northern MI, so not winterizing properly or at all is not good.
Upon closer inspection, it does have a steady stream of water coming from somewhere under the left side header. Looks like right from the block, or a hose is just spewing close to that area.
it’s a little difficult to look around due to how tight it is on that side.
#7
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As for being a King Cobra setup, it does have the name on both sides of the hydraulics for the trimming of the Prop.
Not sure if there’s a specific name for that area.
I’m new to the boat world so I don’t know the lingo yet.
#8
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Yeah. Any special places I should take it to get it looked at? Or just any marine workshop will do?





