V4 Crossflow Water in cylinders

[Paul Vaillancourt]

My Motor was down on RPM and i pulled the heads to find the two bottom pistons very clean and some mocha frappa lattae in the cylinder.
Should i be looking farther than the head gasket for the source of the water?

[LakeFever]

My Motor was down on RPM and i pulled the heads to find the two bottom pistons very clean and some mocha frappa lattae in the cylinder.
Should i be looking farther than the head gasket for the source of the water?

This happened to my buddies 140 eons ago and all I can recall is a gasket failed it was either in the exh crossover or the base or something like that. Lots of drinking in those days so its a foggy memory but it was some sort of gasket failure on the block or plate definitely not a head gasket

[Paul Vaillancourt]

Thanks, i will continue with disassembly and order a gasket kit.

[WaterZebra]

My Motor was down on RPM and i pulled the heads to find the two bottom pistons very clean and some mocha frappa lattae in the cylinder.
Should i be looking farther than the head gasket for the source of the water?

Check heads and block for flatness before head gasket installation.

[V pads]

Just a side note, I don’t see the rubber water flow diverter installed in the block between the top and bottom cylinders.

[WaterZebra]

Just a side note, I don’t see the rubber water flow diverter installed in the block between the top and bottom cylinders.

Great catch! I think we called them block stuffers. A chunk of rubber tube should work. Check the coolant chambers in the heads for cracks too.

[Paul Vaillancourt]

Thanks everyone!
I should be able to find some of the water diverters in my scrap pile of old motors.
I will also check everything mentioned as i disassemble and reassemble.

[rhardwick]

The block "stuffers" went on the intake manifold. Check the exhaust divider plate, common place to fail and allow water in the cylinders.

[V pads]

Yes the reed cage used “stuffers” on the 135/140 hp motors. Different from the cooling water diverters I mentioned.
Reference item #10…..

[WaterZebra]

The block "stuffers" went on the intake manifold. Check the exhaust divider plate, common place to fail and allow water in the cylinders.

Yeah, I didn't make the connection with the first thread post. 2 wet, and 2 dry = exhaust divider plate seal failure.

[Paul Vaillancourt]

I pulled the power head, took the bubble back off, didn't see any smoking gun but cleaned all the surfaces real good and waiting on new gaskets. The water diverters are installed just were not visable in the photo.

Hopefully can let you know next week if replacing the gaskets worked.

Thanks everyone who help out with suggestions

Yeah, I didn't make the connection with the first thread post. 2 wet, and 2 dry = exhaust divider plate seal failure.

[V pads]

I see the water diverter (called “deflector” in the parts diagram) at the bottom of the block , but still don’t see them in between the top and bottom cylinders. There are four total. The ones in between the top and bottom cylinders fit in between the two little semicircle bumps that are easiest seen in your first photo. If you have all four then great. If not then you might confirm. I believe this is a nine page modded motor, and maybe it is intentional. My crossflow 140 is only slightly modded and I know they are in there.

[WaterZebra]

I see the water diverter (called “deflector” in the parts diagram) at the bottom of the block , but still don’t see them in between the top and bottom cylinders. There are four total. The ones in between the top and bottom cylinders fit in between the two little semicircle bumps that are easiest seen in your first photo. If you have all four then great. If not then you might confirm. I believe this is a nine page modded motor, and maybe it is intentional. My crossflow 140 is only slightly modded and I know they are in there.

What's the story behind the diverters getting into the block cavities to begin with? Those bumps in the block castings look like a quick machined add-on to the foundry tooling. OMC made a mountain of these blocks over the years. Hot spot or air lock discovery by the OMC engineers?

[Paul Vaillancourt]

You are correct, they are missing from the top cylinders (so i only have 2 out of the 4 shown), thanks for pointing that out. I will add them while it is apart.

I bought this motor set up like this, i am not sure if removing them is part of the modifications that were done to this motor or if they were just forgotten.
The second pic has 2, one horizontal and one vertical maybe the horizontal diverter somehow moved?

I see the water diverter (called “deflector” in the parts diagram) at the bottom of the block , but still don’t see them in between the top and bottom cylinders. There are four total. The ones in between the top and bottom cylinders fit in between the two little semicircle bumps that are easiest seen in your first photo. If you have all four then great. If not then you might confirm. I believe this is a nine page modded motor, and maybe it is intentional. My crossflow 140 is only slightly modded and I know they are in there.

[Paul Vaillancourt]

You are correct, they are missing from the top cylinders (so i only have 2 out of the 4 shown), thanks for pointing that out. I will add them while it is apart.

I bought this motor set up like this, i am not sure if removing them is part of the modifications that were done to this motor or if they were just forgotten.
The second pic has 2, one horizontal and one vertical maybe the horizontal diverter somehow moved?

I see the water diverter (called “deflector” in the parts diagram) at the bottom of the block , but still don’t see them in between the top and bottom cylinders. There are four total. The ones in between the top and bottom cylinders fit in between the two little semicircle bumps that are easiest seen in your first photo. If you have all four then great. If not then you might confirm. I believe this is a nine page modded motor, and maybe it is intentional. My crossflow 140 is only slightly modded and I know they are in there.