Wife blew up my 3.0L OMC sterndrive

[tic]

New to boating.. We have an 88' Four Winns 160 Freedom ( 3.0L OMC outdrive).. Since the wife can't back the trailer down the boat ramp, she stays in the boat, starts it and moves away from the ramp until I return from parking the truck/trailer... I have told her to always make sure the outdrive is down before starting the engine... Well, I should have checked.. I did ask and she said it was down... .(from the captains seat, how can you see?)... Not wanting her to think I was questioning her, I drove off w/ the trailer and returned to a boat that barely had the prop in the water and a pegged water temp guage.. I asked "how long has the temp guage been pegged hon?" as I shut off the engine.... Let it cool for 30min. restarted and temp guage slowly climbed back up so we docked it and took it out of the water.... Impeller is toast.. New impellor and housing kit but now it won't hold a prime.... No bad sounds or smells from the engine itself, oil looks and smells o.k... thermostat housing cleaned out of debris and all hoses too.. Still won't hold a prime.... Now what?...

[Coors]

Did you look at the toast impeller, and find all the missing blades in the engine?
You have to, and it is a pain.

[tic]

I checked all the water lines and the T-stat housing.. Found some debris but I think? I got all the broken rubber fins out from everywhere....Engine sounds good but as stated, water pump won't hold it's prime.. Shoots solid water from input line to T-stat for awhile (with that hose removed) then stops moving water? BTW, toated imeller was down to nubs.. Oooff

[tic]

One thing is for sure.. I have a LOT to learn about boats and their systems.. (and the new wife too!)

[Coors]

Keep looking, and as it is an '88, like mine; everytime I have a problem, I replace the cheap stuff.
(like hoses) and buy 2 of each.
Need spares in the boat.
But the spares in the bow; it will help hold it down.

[Reel Poor]

It sounds like you have missed some pieces if the pump will flow water and then quit. Check everything between the drive and the t-stat housing paying close attention the oil cooler and the water inlet hose fitting in the transom housing.

[Boomyal]

Go easy on the wife tic, if you want her to continue boating with you. Regardless of what all the Libs say, women weren't born into intuitive mechanics. With a little patient training, she will learn the basics, including checking before she assumes.

Now when it comes to nurturing chirdren, regardless again of what the Libs say, she'll whip you hands down.

[Haut Medoc]

Flog her & post back with the results.....

[TNT]

OUCH!

I say you have her help fix it. Whether she goes and gets parts...or hands you tools. At least have her spend 15 minutes helping you. That way she will never do that again!

Otherwise..you might have a wife who tries to prove her abilities more often than you like.

Hope your on the water soon.

Tammy

[sea wolf]

Make sure the o-ring on the plastic housing is sealed, if it's not the pump will suck air, & you lose prime. Is the pump shooting water from the vent hole in that plastic housing? If not, the hole may be clogged.

[tic]

Actually I didn't get mad or yell at her.. I know better.. She certainly didn't intentionally damage the boat, but it did ruin a good boating day and we don't often get the same days off together so it was a real bummer.. She won't do it again, that I'm sure of...The boat is now at a local mechanics house. He says I may have damaged internal seals? and he'll have to split the gearcase .. Oooof.... I'm fairly good with mechanical stuff but marine mechanics is quite new to me and I don't feel I have the time or the knowledge to go splitting a gearcase w/o knowing what I'm getting into... I'll report back what he finds.. Here's a pic of the boat.. it's in amazingly great shape for an 88'... Less than 200 hours on the hobbs and it will run 4550 rpm and 37mph with the two of us on board.. Well, it USED to do that, we'll see what it does after it's fixed, I'm keeping my fingers crossed. This mechanic comes highly reccomended and works from his house.. His full time job is mechanic at a boat dealership so the boat is in good hands ( more knowledgeable than mine )... The guy has boats all over his yard, 2 barking dogs, a cat that won't get out of your way when you try and drive up, and a horse... I trust this guy WAY more than I'd trust a dealer.

[Gary H NC]

I don't think the gear case needs split.Is this a Marine mechanic?
I would think a complete flush of the cooling system to get out any pieces of the old impeller is the first route.Flush out the steering cooler ect..Pull the thermostat and back flush..Open all drains and keep flushing.

[tic]

he's a marine mechanic.. I did flush the cooling system completely.. He said that hot steam could have damaged seals that aren't able to be seen or replaced w/o getting inside the drive... Makes sense to me.

[QC]

I am confused abut something. It doesn't look like you could get the intake grates out of the water with your boat even tilted all of the way up. Were the intake grates actually exposed? I am not saying it is OK to run fully tilted up, but the impeller shouldn't have failed if the grates were under water . . . Are you sure something isn't blocking the intake below the impeller?

[tic]

VERY good point!... The grates are clear/clean and show no signs of fouling or clogging but you can only see so far.. I think this is what the mechanic is going to investigate... I do not know if the grates were exposed or not, but I do know the outdrive was not lowered before starting the engine. The boat was in the water though... I doubt the grates would be out of the water even w/ the outdrive fully tilted up as you point out. could cavitation provide enough air to destroy the impeller running in this condition? This would assume she put the boat in gear with the drive still fully tilted up, realized the prop wasn't biting, and then lowered it slightly.... I wish I had seen what actually happened, but I was parking the trailer. I came on board to see a pegged water temp guage and an outdrive in the full up position with engine running... I used to paddle a whitewater kayak.. Times were simpler then. Nothing to break except your skull....

[thunderroad]

I overheard the local lawnmower mechanic tell a customer once...."If it has more moving parts than a skillet, keep women away".

[Haut Medoc]

I overheard the local lawnmower mechanic tell a customer once...."If it has more moving parts than a skillet, keep women away".

Very Good!....

[QC]

I doubt the grates would be out of the water even w/ the outdrive fully tilted up as you point out.

Then the impeller should not have failed unless something else was going on.

could cavitation provide enough air to destroy the impeller running in this condition?

No. In the Marina, if the grates were under water, and nothing else was outta whack, the impeller should not have failed. U-joints? Maybe. Impeller? No . . .