Volvo Penta MD11C water leak

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wsgodlewski

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Feb 2, 2012
5
Hunter e33 Port Sanilac MI
I have a 1980 Pearson 323 with a MD11C engine. I have a water leak between the cylinder jacket & engine block along the horizontal where the 2 section meet. There is NO water in the oil. The water starts leaking as the engine starts. The engine starts up quickly and it runs well, the hour meter reads approx. 1,000 hours of use. The boat has had very little use over the past several years.
Any suggestions.
 
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Mark Maulden

Mark Maulden

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Jan 25, 2011
2,405
S2 11.0A Anacortes, WA
not sure what u mean by a vertical line where the jacket and block meets. There only a few places where water could escape. There are o-rings a the top of the liner and the bottom of the liner. Is it possible it is dripping down from above? That would mean a manifold gasket. Could it be dripping or spraying from one of the external water line connectors? There's not a lot places to leak as it's pretty simple..
 
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wsgodlewski

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Feb 2, 2012
5
Hunter e33 Port Sanilac MI
Sorry I meant horizontal line. The water leak is between the cylinder jacket and the engine block. All the drawings that I have seen do not show a gasket between these 2 parts. How do I stop the leak?

Mark Maulden said:
not sure what u mean by a vertical line where the jacket and block meets. There only a few places where water could escape. There are o-rings a the top of the liner and the bottom of the liner. Is it possible it is dripping down from above? That would mean a manifold gasket. Could it be dripping or spraying from one of the external water line connectors? There's not a lot places to leak as it's pretty simple..
Click to expand
 
Mark Maulden

Mark Maulden

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Jan 25, 2011
2,405
S2 11.0A Anacortes, WA
If the boat has not seen much use, you might just use it for awhile and see if it stops. Otherwise, there's not much choice. If you're absolutely 110% sure that the leak is there, then you're into pulling the head and the cylinder. There are o-rings in the cylinder jacket that keep the water inside the jacket. There also o-rings in the block where the cylinder enters. There are certain o-rings for coolant and there are certain o-rings for oil. There is no gasket between the jacket and the block as it's all handled with the o-rings. Also, these mating surfaces have to be pretty flat as there's about 85 ft lbs of torque on the head bolts. Wonder if the jacket is cracked?? If you go this route, I'd do the other cylinder also. Not much more work. If you're raw water cooled with seawater, you might not like what you find when you disassemble it and you need to be prepared for contingincies. You can google "md11 workshop manual" and download the manual for free. Numerous sites have it. I just rebuilt my md17 and the only reason I did was because I did 95% of the labor and it has always been fresh water cooled. Be glad to help you where I can....
 
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wsgodlewski

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Feb 2, 2012
5
Hunter e33 Port Sanilac MI
Thanks for the replay. My boat is a Great Lakes boat. I have already replaced the exhaust manifold gaskets. The cavities are clean. one question, how long did it take you to rebuild your engine?

Mark Maulden said:
If the boat has not seen much use, you might just use it for awhile and see if it stops. Otherwise, there's not much choice. If you're absolutely 110% sure that the leak is there, then you're into pulling the head and the cylinder. There are o-rings in the cylinder jacket that keep the water inside the jacket. There also o-rings in the block where the cylinder enters. There are certain o-rings for coolant and there are certain o-rings for oil. There is no gasket between the jacket and the block as it's all handled with the o-rings. Also, these mating surfaces have to be pretty flat as there's about 85 ft lbs of torque on the head bolts. Wonder if the jacket is cracked?? If you go this route, I'd do the other cylinder also. Not much more work. If you're raw water cooled with seawater, you might not like what you find when you disassemble it and you need to be prepared for contingincies. You can google "md11 workshop manual" and download the manual for free. Numerous sites have it. I just rebuilt my md17 and the only reason I did was because I did 95% of the labor and it has always been fresh water cooled. Be glad to help you where I can....
Click to expand
 
Mark Maulden

Mark Maulden

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Jan 25, 2011
2,405
S2 11.0A Anacortes, WA
I had my engine tore down inside of one day. I did this same thing about 25 yrs ago with the same kind of engine so I knew how to do it. It has taken me several months to do this as I also have a day job and other things going. I bought my parts in Maine and NY so there were shipping times. I did consult with some technicians and there are also lead times with machine shops. I've actually had it back together for awhile but troubleshooting a fuel issue which I hopefully solved today. So, talking actual touch time and not accounting for other things, and surprises, it only took 2-3 days....It's a simple engine to work on...
 
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skinspain

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Mar 7, 2012
2
Benford B30 Torrevieja
Hi wsgodlewski,

I saw your message about the leak between the cylinder jacket and the top of the block.
It looks like I have the same problem. I have recently had both heads off my MD11c.
It's back together and running now. Yesterday I noticed weeping along the base of the front cylinder on the oil dipstick side of the engine, only when the engine is running. Looking at the schematics the 3 o-rings are for :the oil feed tube to the rockers and the 2 push rods. The only water near by is in the cylinder jacket.
Do you have any further information?
regards,

Shane Kelly
 
Mark Maulden

Mark Maulden

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Jan 25, 2011
2,405
S2 11.0A Anacortes, WA
I think I lied previously about a "gasket" between the cylinder and the block. There is no gasket, however, there is a spacer which is a metal spacer and "very" thin. It's used to determine where TDC is in the cylinder. Are you FWC? IF so, remove the tank cap and see if it still happens. Torque the heads? There's not to many reasons why it would leak. That cylinder could be pulled in a few hrs at most especially if raw water cooled. I would be very sure that it isn't dripping down from the T-stat housing area or other water connection.
 
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skinspain

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Mar 7, 2012
2
Benford B30 Torrevieja
Mark Maulden said:
I think I lied previously about a "gasket" between the cylinder and the block. There is no gasket, however, there is a spacer which is a metal spacer and "very" thin. It's used to determine where TDC is in the cylinder. Are you FWC? IF so, remove the tank cap and see if it still happens. Torque the heads? There's not to many reasons why it would leak. That cylinder could be pulled in a few hrs at most especially if raw water cooled. I would be very sure that it isn't dripping down from the T-stat housing area or other water connection.
Click to expand
Hi Mark,
Thanks for the reply. Engine is raw water cooled. Most of its life in Canada with sweet water. The last 4 years in very salty mediterranean water. The heads have been re-torqued. I have read that sometimes the cylinder jacket rusts through near the drain cocks on the wall that the cylinder sleeve touches. I hope not. Do you have any input about this? Water does not pour out or even drip out. The line at the base of the jacket as described before gets only moist while the engine is running.
Before tearing down (next winter) I will do as you say and look for other sources for the water.

regards,
Shane
 
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