I think I made a huge mistake!

[Rawright]

I own a 1979 Sea Ray SRV 240 with a Mercruiser 260. The boat was stored in Oxnard CA. when I received it and I had it stored there for a couple of years while I worked on it. It was running great when I moved it to my new house in the high desert. I ran the boat right after I towed it home with no issues. When I went to run it yesterday because it has been 4 months since it was run last, the boat wouldn't idle and the exhaust note has changed a little. When I ran the boat with the water off for 20 seconds just to check if that made a difference, it idled fine but the exhaust still sounded different.

I was thinking about this all night trying to figure out what went wrong. Something I didn't take into consideration when I moved it to my new house was the temperature differences between here and the beach. It can get down into the mid 20ies here where I am now living and it never got below 40 at the beach where it was stored. In the past I never had to do anything other then leave the drive down after running it so it would drain. This I was told was common practice at the boat yard where it was kept. I am a first time boat owner so I didn't question it.

I am kinda lost now as to what to do at this point. I am hoping the exhaust is the problem and not the block.

any suggestions would be appreciated,
Robert

 

[Bondo]

I own a 1979 Sea Ray SRV 240 with a Mercruiser 260. The boat was stored in Oxnard CA. when I received it and I had it stored there for a couple of years while I worked on it. It was running great when I moved it to my new house in the high desert. I ran the boat right after I towed it home with no issues. When I went to run it yesterday because it has been 4 months since it was run last, the boat wouldn't idle and the exhaust note has changed a little. When I ran the boat with the water off for 20 seconds just to check if that made a difference, it idled fine but the exhaust still sounded different.

I was thinking about this all night trying to figure out what went wrong. Something I didn't take into consideration when I moved it to my new house was the temperature differences between here and the beach. It can get down into the mid 20ies here where I am now living and it never got below 40 at the beach where it was stored. In the past I never had to do anything other then leave the drive down after running it so it would drain. This I was told was common practice at the boat yard where it was kept. I am a first time boat owner so I didn't question it.

I am kinda lost now as to what to do at this point. I am hoping the exhaust is the problem and not the block.

any suggestions would be appreciated,
Robert

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,... Was there any water leakin' into the bilge while you were runnin' it,..??

Check the oil,.... Is the level High,..?? Is the oil discolored,..??

Pull the spark plugs, 'n Look for signs of water,.....

 

[cr2k]

Sounds like you may have melted the exhaust flappers. I am sure you did not do the water pump impeller any good either. You should always have water to your engine when you start it. Water is what cools the exhaust inside the rubber tubes and the plastic exhaust flappers. I believe this is why you noticed a change in the exhaust tone. Water pump impellers need to be changed every other year if you use the boat or not. If you use the boaty thay wear, if you don't use the boat the rubber takes a set and hardens giving much less flow to the engine and exhaust system.

 

[fishrdan]

Temps into the 20's can crack manifolds, block, etc. How long was it into the 20's in your area? I'm in Vegas and we had it drop into the high 20's before Christmas. It's possible that you're OK and nothing was cracked as we get warm days that can warm up the boat, but I would check things as Bondo mentioned.

Either way, you need to drain the block, manifolds (and coolers if equipped) during the winter to protect them. Look up the winterization procedure for your engine for the drain points. I use my boat through out the winter, and drain the engine/manifold at the launch ramp before heading home.