Ran I/O without water - How bad

[crisopher]

On trip to lake yesterday my father helped out and drove boat onto trailer to make things easier. Only problem was when I got to top of launch ramp I noticed he had not turned off motor. I have a Penta 5.0 I/O. What damage is probably done and what should I do? Motor ran without water for 2-3 minutes after being taken out of water at idle. When I shut off the temp was about approx 175.

 

[legoman67]

Re: Ran I/O without water - How bad

closed cooling? or raw?

either way 175 isnt hot enough to damage anything besides water pumps

replace impeller in the leg(or auxiliary pump mounted on engine for some Volvo's), and if its raw cooled then i would check the circulation pump as well..

 

[84Monaco]

Re: Ran I/O without water - How bad

I'm not sure on a boat, but I've overheated a jeep engine way more than this without damage. I've read people on the forums say that you should run your engine for even a few seconds without water. You could take it back to the lake and see how it runs. My guess is that if it runs ok you're in the clear...

 

[Barnacle_Bill]

Re: Ran I/O without water - How bad

Replace the impeller before using it again.

 

[84Monaco]

Re: Ran I/O without water - How bad

Sorry, I meant "should NOT" run your engine...

 

[KermieB]

Re: Ran I/O without water - How bad

175 .... you're fine, you don't have to do a thing. Take your boat out next week and have fun... come back and tell us how well it ran.

 

[crisopher]

Re: Ran I/O without water - How bad

Thank you all. Legoman not sure if closed cooling or raw, fairly new to boating. I think I will take a look at the impeller. Better to be safe than sorry, and it did have the smell of something burnt down by the prop. Thank you again.

 

[MTribe08]

Re: Ran I/O without water - How bad

175 .... you're fine, you don't have to do a thing. Take your boat out next week and have fun... come back and tell us how well it ran.

Are you giving him this advice not knowing whether or not he has a closed cooling system or if its lake water cooled? or do you know something i don't?

If its raw water cooled, this is terrible advice. Its not the temp of the motor thats the problem, its the impeller he likely burned up.

 

[1961_lonestar_holiday]

Re: Ran I/O without water - How bad

motors fine, replace impellor, leave dad on the dock.

 

[Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1]

Re: Ran I/O without water - How bad

Thank you all. Legoman not sure if closed cooling or raw, fairly new to boating. I think I will take a look at the impeller. Better to be safe than sorry, and it did have the smell of something burnt down by the prop. Thank you again.

If your going to the trouble of looking at the impeller, It would be replaced. Which it should be replaced. The heat that was generated from friction while the engine was running for a couple of minutes without water there to keep it cool will without a doubt cause damage to it.

Might find a video on youtube on changing an impeller on your drive.

Its not a big deal, pop a new one in her enjoy it. Just a learning experience.

 

[crisopher]

Re: Ran I/O without water - How bad

It is lake cooled. So will definitely change impeller, as it is about 3 years old. After some research I see that some recommend changing impeller at 3 years as routine maintanance anyway. Thank you all again..nice to know I can go somewhere for help.

 

[Maclin]

Re: Ran I/O without water - How bad

Another thing to think about is the rubber exhaust hosing from the risers to the Y-pipe. If it ran dry for much longer than that those would cook from the exhaust gas heat and need to be replaced. If you did not smell rubber burning then you may have dodged that problem.

 

[cr2k]

Re: Ran I/O without water - How bad

To those who focused on the engine temperature, it means nothing in this situation. When the engine ran dry there was no water to transfer any heat to the temp sender. So it was not working anyway at that point.

If the engine ran dry for more then 15 seconds, you fried the impeller. You may have fried the coupling hoses too. Feel them to see if they feel crisp on the inside. Also tighten up the clamps on them as they are now loose and may leak.

You may also experience a loss of power if you have plastic flapper as they melt and drop down into the exhaust, so raise the drive and look in the passage.

 

[BeaufortTJustice]

Re: Ran I/O without water - How bad

I concur with inspecting and replacing impeller...hopefully it did not disintegrate on you. You're lucky you got 3 years out of it. You may want to replace it annually or at most every other year in the future...it's a relatively cheap insurance policy. Also pull it out when you winterize and store it seperate from your boat (ideally in climate controlled area). That will help reduce the "memory" of the rubber fins.

 

[sethjon]

Re: Ran I/O without water - How bad

Probably no damage to the motor but the impeller could be fried and if you run it again and the impeller is fried you could then create a lot of damage. Replace it.

 

[Utahboatnut]

Re: Ran I/O without water - How bad

Also, as a side note I am assuming the drive was all the way up to clear the ramp. Not the best idea to run the engine with the drive all the way up, probably no damage at idle for 2-3 minutes but I wouldn't make a habit of running it while in the full up trailer position.

 

[dsiekman]

Re: Ran I/O without water - How bad

You may also want to check the rubber bushing that keeps the pump from walking back and forth. I had a blockage and cooked an impellor when I picked up my boat a few months ago. The bushing became goo. Yes, that is the technical term...you'll know it when you see it. Anyway, if it is missing or melted pick up a new one (A couple bucks). If the pump is allowed to walk it will tear itself up.

 

[crisopher]

Re: Ran I/O without water - How bad

Thank you all for the input. I decided to err on the side of caution. Took it to an authorized Volvo Penta shop. They pulled impeller and and not damaged, all still in one piece. Now back on water with no worries. Thank you all for your help.

 

[iop]

Re: Ran I/O without water - How bad

To those who focused on the engine temperature, it means nothing in this situation. When the engine ran dry there was no water to transfer any heat to the temp sender. So it was not working anyway at that point.

If this is correct I'm never picking up a wrench again!!!

 

[slag]

Re: Ran I/O without water - How bad

I figured the impeller would be fine. I mean, it was just pulled out of the water, outdrive still having a lot of water left in it, its already cool, and those rubber impellers are a lot tougher than people take them for. Now, if it would have been in a dry situation with no residual water around, that might be a different story.