Water in Cylinders

I was out boating then suddenly my engine shuts off and couldnt restart .I pull the boat out the water only to find the engine turns now and then, when it do it turns over as if it is tight so i pull the plugs out 1,3,5,7 only to find water in the cylinders the riser is not leaking what i need to do to free this up ?

Re: Water in Cylinders

Water in Boat Engine Bulletin. (This is a GREAT read to understand issues involved when dealing with water intrussion)

http://www.4shared.com/file/90160824/31e14878/Water_in_boat_engine_bulletin.html

Re: Water in Cylinders

http://www.boatfix.com/merc/Bullet/01/01_13.pdf this might be easier.

Re: Water in Cylinders

If the boat was moving when the engine died it probably took water up the exhaust, especially if the engine died suddenly.

In my opinion the timing of events was 1.) engine died then 2.) water came up the exhaust for the 1-3-5-7 bank and went into whatever cylinder's exhaust valves were open (not all 4 cylinders) causing hydrolock potential in those cylinders. Water was probably pooled up waiting for the other cylinder's exhaust valves to open and went on into those cylinders when the engine turned over briefly and then hit the hydrolock point.

Taking out all plugs, both banks, squirting in some WD40 (Water Displacing oil formula#40) then cranking it as fast as it can turn for 10-15 seconds should clear the water and not scrape the oil off the walls. Put the plugs back in and fire it up (if you are certain the risers/manifolds and gasketed joints are solid then have the water going to it to keep the impeller happy), let it get warm and vwolla no lasting damage to the engine. Probably. All of that is failry simple and nearly free so I would do all that first.

Caveats/Considerations: My advice is based on my take on the chronology of the events, and does depend on you finding the reason for the engine dying first and fixing that.

Re: Water in Cylinders

Maclin said:

If the boat was moving when the engine died it probably took water up the exhaust, especially if the engine died suddenly.

In my opinion the timing of events was 1.) engine died then 2.) water came up the exhaust for the 1-3-5-7 bank and went into whatever cylinder's exhaust valves were open (not all 4 cylinders) causing hydrolock potential in those cylinders. Water was probably pooled up waiting for the other cylinder's exhaust valves to open and went on into those cylinders when the engine turned over briefly and then hit the hydrolock point.

Taking out all plugs, both banks, squirting in some WD40 (Water Displacing oil formula#40) then cranking it as fast as it can turn for 10-15 seconds should clear the water and not scrape the oil off the walls. Put the plugs back in and fire it up (if you are certain the risers/manifolds and gasketed joints are solid then have the water going to it to keep the impeller happy), let it get warm and vwolla no lasting damage to the engine. Probably. All of that is failry simple and nearly free so I would do all that first.

Caveats/Considerations: My advice is based on my take on the chronology of the events, and does depend on you finding the reason for the engine dying first and fixing that.

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well the engine was still jammed so i pull the head off there i find a bend push rod and a seized valve it seems i take too long to pull the plugs out..i also find water in the other cylinders also on the otherside so i am going to lift that head off also and take it to the machine shop no head gaskit was blown ..could you elaborate some more and what else could cause this the manifolds or in good condition ?

Re: Water in Cylinders

The bent pushrod came from having quite a bit of water in one cylinder and the starter had enough power to bend the rod as the piston tried to compress the water.

If the engine dies suddenly while the boat is moving at wake building speeds the back wash pressure as the boat settles back into displacement speed tries to push water back up the exhaust. Flappers in the exhaust tubes are there to ease this for the most part. If it was a severe backwash situation then even with flappers enough water can get past the flaps and go up the riser then down into the exhaust manifold exhaust runner. Riser height is also a factor, the higher they rise above the boat's waterline the less likely it is for water to go up and over into the engine.

If your engine sits low and the risers are not quite high enough then they may barely peak above the waterline.

My take on the chronology of events may not be correct if the bent pushrod is what killed the engine, but the backwash scenario with a non-running engine will put water in cylinders thru open exhaust valves in extreme cases just not all 4 cylinders on each bank. That would probably only happen if when the engine was not running water came up and was pooled up big time in the exhaust manifolds and an attempt made to start the engine.

Re: Water in Cylinders

if this happened in saltwater kiss the motor goodbye.

Go out and buy a crate motor from gm.

A nice new 5.7, new manifolds and risers, another 500 dollars from many sites, with the gaskets all in one box, your good to go after you transfer over the starter if still good, alternator and fuel pump.

Might not be what you what to read but it's the truth.