Well, she NEARLY sank...now what?

I have a 1993 22 foot Ebbtide bowrider with a Merc 350 Mag I/O and an Alpha One outdrive. If you've followed the news the last couple of days, you know that we in eastern NC got just over 20 inches of rain in the past 4 days. I had the boat covered and the battery charged....however, water ponded on the cover and punched a hole through. This served as a funnel for water to pour in over the next few days of nonstop rain. The bilge worked but obviously the battery couldn't withstand that kind of nonstop draw and died. Long story short, I got down there yesterday and the boat was very nearly sunk. The engine compartment was flooded to just below the carb. It's a freshwater lake so salt corrosion isn't an issue. We got it pumped out (in the pouring rain) and on the trailer yesterday and the sun is out today so I have all the compartments open to dry it out.

The electrics seem to be ok as I put in a fresh battery yesterday to trim the outdrive up before trailering it...no problems there...so far. So here is my question...what exact steps would you guys take to ensure that I don't have permanent (or as little as possible) engine damage from this. I fully intend to change the oil and take the plugs out before I turn it over just to make sure there is no water in there. Should I do anything with the starter other than hope the SOB turns over? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Re: Well, she NEARLY sank...now what?

If the starter was under water, it will die before spring. Just go ahead and have it rebuilt.

Re: Well, she NEARLY sank...now what?

The starter might turn over now, but you can bet it won't in the spring. If it were mine I would disassemble it, pull the armature out, and both ends off. Dry it off as best I could, then put it in the oven at about 120-150 F for several hours, till it is thoroughly dry. The solenoid is also probably full of water, so that needs to be dried along with the starter. you may be able to take the end off (or loose) to speed the process. When dry, reassemble, lube the shaft ends, and take it to an auto parts store and have them test it. Then you should be OK. Best to do it ASAP. Good luck.

Re: Well, she NEARLY sank...now what?

tarheelebbtide said:

I fully intend to change the oil and take the plugs out before I turn it over just to make sure there is no water in there. Should I do anything with the starter other than hope the SOB turns over? Any help would be greatly appreciated!

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Well that needs to be done and the sooner the better. The starter is something that can be taken care of later. The engine internals needs to be determined ASAP. Your plan is a good one. Pull the plugs, check for water. Check / drain the oil. Put new oil in and get it started quickly. Then you have time to figure what externals are good or bad.

Re: Well, she NEARLY sank...now what?

Pull the drive, water probably entered the bellows from the inside.

Drain the engine oil and refill.

Replace the starter.

Re: Well, she NEARLY sank...now what?

Add the alternator to the list.

Get the motor cleaned out ASAP.

Re: Well, she NEARLY sank...now what?

Dave1251 said:

If the starter was under water, it will die before spring. Just go ahead and have it rebuilt.

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Not necessarily true. If it dries out completely theres a good chance it will be ok.

Re: Well, she NEARLY sank...now what?

Oh yeah - one more thing. Get a new cover.

Re: Well, she NEARLY sank...now what?

Fishermark said:

Oh yeah - one more thing. Get a new cover.

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Oh yeah...that one I fully intend on doing!

I can't get to it until Sunday but I will do as suggested on all counts then.

If I had gotten there an hour later, I'd be worried about an insurance claim, not a chat with you fellas!

Re: Well, she NEARLY sank...now what?

Next question...can the starter be removed with the engine still in the boat? I don't have any way to lift it out myself. I can see it down there but is it realistic to get out without removing the engine?

Re: Well, she NEARLY sank...now what?

tarheelebbtide said:

Next question...can the starter be removed with the engine still in the boat? I don't have any way to lift it out myself. I can see it down there but is it realistic to get out without removing the engine?

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That depends on the boat. Some can, some can't. My 350/260 has to be lifted up.

Re: Well, she NEARLY sank...now what?

tarheelebbtide said:

I can't get to it until Sunday

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If you can't do it till Sunday, then okay.... but that might be an expensive delay if there is water in the cylinders. No way to pull the plugs and check at least?

Re: Well, she NEARLY sank...now what?

Fishermark said:

If you can't do it till Sunday, then okay.... but that might be an expensive delay if there is water in the cylinders. No way to pull the plugs and check at least?

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Agree with that! It needs the plugs pulled ASAP!
Also was the power steering pump submerged? All of that will need flushed and new fluid too as well as the trim pump.

Re: Well, she NEARLY sank...now what?

sethjon said:

Not necessarily true. If it dries out completely theres a good chance it will be ok.

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Not a chance unless he completely disassembles it. Seen many starters including my own that have been dunked in fresh water and that have failed down the road. Open them up and its rust rust rust.

Re: Well, she NEARLY sank...now what?

Been there, done that. Cleaned it up, regreased everything, and it has worked great all summer.
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Re: Well, she NEARLY sank...now what?

Wanted to update you fellas and say THANK YOU for all of the pointers and help.

The engine was absolutely FULL of water. All 8 cylinders poured water when the plugs were pulled (varying between a trickle and a cup or more). I pulled the drain plug on the oil pan and was absolutely amazed and terrified to see a steady stream of pure water rush out for over a full minute before any oil came out. It was seriously at least 5 gallons of water that came out of that engine.

Once I got it empty, I pulled off the top of the carb and opened up and checked the distributor. There was no water inside the dist thankfully so I closed it back up. I pulled the hoses from the exhaust manifolds and let that drain as well. I cleaned all of the electrical terminals because all had started to corrode. I cleaned and dried the carb with carb/choke cleaner.

Most importantly, I started absolutely drowning the cylinders with WD40 from the spark plug holes. I sprayed it in there every 15 minutes or so while I was working on the rest. I knew I still probably had some water in the engine so i wanted to get it turning over with the plugs still out. I put a 5/8 socket on the main flywheel with a pretty long rachet and started applying pressure praying for movement and the lack of jerking. I am certainly no mechanic, but I know enough to understand those rings had most likely already got a decent coat of rust against the cylinder walls. I didn't want to jerk on the thing too hard and tear up the rings. After about 10-15 seconds of increasing even pressure, it turned over. I turned it probably 30 revolutions with the rachet and was amazed to see water literally jetting from the spark plug holes on the compression strokes. I repeated putting WD40 in the cylinders and turning the engine over a couple more times.

Next, the starter. I know in the long run it's going to be toast based on what I've heard here. I didn't have the money right this second to replace but I wanted to try to get the engine going so here is what I did. After I had the engine turning over nicely by hand, I tried the ignition for the first time. I could hear the solenoid click but nothing else. After 5-6 tries and banging on the starter (in addition to heavy WD40 anywhere I could find to spray it), the bendix could be heard engaging but the starter wasn't actually turning. At this point I got bright (at least I think so). I had my dad stand by the ignition while I put my wrench back on the flywheel. I had him engage the ignition while I turned the engine by hand. After I made about 2 revolutions....voila, the starter came to life! Now, with the starter doing the heavy work, I sprayed yet more WD40 in the cylinders as it turned over. I also took the valve covers off and sprayed them heavily as dad did short bursts with the starter.

Once I was comfortable that the engine was as dry as I was gonna get it and moving freely, I put in new plugs, new fuel filter, new oil and filter and ran water to the outdrive. After a while of winding over and pumping the throttle, she wouldn't hit. Against my better judgement, I let my dad spray a little Ether into the carb and it hit immediately. Through pumping the throttle furiously, I was able to keep it running about 2 seconds. One more squirt of ether was the magic touch though cause once she hit that time, and I pumped and feathered the throttle, I kept it staggering but running. It ran roughly for about 10 seconds then all of a sudden it was like she cleared her throat....the white smoke cleared, and it roared to life. I had to jump to back off the throttle and pulled it back to about 2500 RPM's. I got out and checked to make sure I was pumping water and was. Amazingly, it ran absolutely perfectly. There was no sign of anything out of the ordinary that I could see or hear. I let it run like this for about 15 minutes until it came up to temp then immediately changed the oil and filter again. There was a very little bit of residual water evidence in the oil but I hope that's just the remainder of what was in the engine after being full of it.

That's where I stand at this point. My further plans are to change the trim fluid and power steering fluid. Also, I know I have to pull the outdrive and change out the bellows while regreasing everything. I don't know how to do that but I'll search on here as I've seen the info before. Hopefully it will not be too bad.

I'll update you guys again once I've changed bellows and actually water tested, but at least it seems the engine made it through OK.

Thanks!