Alpha 1 Raw water feed line came off

[rock doc]

Hi everyone,

I am new to boating. Recently picked up a 1990 larson with a 4.3l caburated engine (175hp with 2 barrel carb). I had the engine rebuilt and a new seal kit put in the drive. MANY other new bits too.There are 6 hrs since I had the work done and it ran perfectly. We were coming home late yesterday and smelled burnt rubber. Looked down and gauge was showing 220F. Shut it off immediately. I towed the boat to the nearest ramp. Pulled the engine cover and there is a spray of black soot around the power steering reservior and on the right hand engine compartment wall - looks like it was flying off the alternator and power steering belt.

After I got the boat home I had a closer look at the outdrive and there is rubber fragments in the exhaust outlet at the prop. The raw water feed line also came off the nipple on the drive nest to the bellows. Looking for advice on how I should handle this with the boat shop that installed the motor and drive. I am very worried about having over heating the motor. I also wonder if the pump could have built enough pressure to blow the cooling water line off the nipple on the drive. Do you think they just didn't get the line on tight enough when they put the drive on or could something else have caused this misery?

 

[rock doc]

Re: Alpha 1 Raw water feed line came off

here are a few pics
This one shows the detached line.

 

[rock doc]

Re: Alpha 1 Raw water feed line came off

Burnt rubber and oil on engine compartment next to power steering reservior.

 

[rock doc]

Re: Alpha 1 Raw water feed line came off

Rubber in prop.

 

[rock doc]

Re: Alpha 1 Raw water feed line came off

Soot in carb. This carb was cleaned 3 days ago.

 

[rock doc]

Re: Alpha 1 Raw water feed line came off

The engine oil level is fine and looks very clean. Hopefully someone can shed some light on this...I'll be hauling this back to the merc certified shop tomorrow and I'm hoping they will come good for the repairs. They dressed the motor and installed it, but I had to take the motor to another shop. The installer doesn't do rebuilds.

 

[Fishermark]

Re: Alpha 1 Raw water feed line came off

The raw water feed line also came off the nipple on the drive nest to the bellows. Looking for advice on how I should handle this with the boat shop that installed the motor and drive.

To me it depends upon what you asked them to do. Amazingly enough that hose has nothing to do with replacing the engine or drive either one. It would not have to be touched or removed at all. Regarding all the powder and residue inside the engine compartment / doghouse area. That I don't know what it could be. Burnt rubber exhaust hose from over heating?

I would suggest talking to the shop and see what they can do for you.

 

[rock doc]

Re: Alpha 1 Raw water feed line came off

They also installed a new bellows and gimble - I assume they would have had the line off for that work?

 

[rock doc]

Re: Alpha 1 Raw water feed line came off

And they also had to take the drive off a second time to replace the boot for the shifter cable...it leaked the first time I put it in the water so I took it right back to them.

 

[rock doc]

Re: Alpha 1 Raw water feed line came off

I'd also be interested in what should be checked. I'm assuming compression test, flapper, water pump (which had a new impeller), drive oil. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[81 Checkmate]

Re: Alpha 1 Raw water feed line came off

Looks like in the first pic on the hose......The clamp has not been tightend... can you see any of the clamp coming thru the worm gear?

No water.....No cooling and it started to melt things.

Take it back aqnd hope they cover it. If not maybe insurence will...

Good Luck!

 

[rock doc]

Re: Alpha 1 Raw water feed line came off

This sounds expensive...guess I shouldn't be surprised based on my experience to date. This has been absolutely brutal so far. Amazing considering everything is pretty much new or recently rebuilt. Don't know how you guys do it...

 

[Don S]

Re: Alpha 1 Raw water feed line came off

They also installed a new bellows and gimble - I assume they would have had the line off for that work?

It's possible, but not necessary. If they didn't replace the shift cable or the shift cable bellows, or the hose, then they probably didn't have to mess with that hose. All they would have had to do is pull it out enough to get to the bellows and leave everything hooked up. But that may have been enough to work it loose after 20 years. It apparently took 6 more hours to finally come off.
The hose clamp does appear to be tightened down on the hose, and it is an old exhaust bellows.

Without water to the rest of the engine, all the exhaust hoses would be burned inside and need replaced.
Might want to consider getting the warning horn fixed too. That would have prevented most of the things that burned up.

Give them a call, and see what happens. Nothing we can say here will affect what they tell you.

 

[rock doc]

Re: Alpha 1 Raw water feed line came off

Agreed...the damage is done.

 

[04fxdwgi]

Re: Alpha 1 Raw water feed line came off

Don't know how you guys do it...[/QUOTE]

I think most of us do our own work on our personal boats.

As the others have said, if run without water to get an overheat, all the rubber parts need to be inspected / replaced, including the flapper in the exhaust down pipe. I would get that water hose replaced too, as it looks fairly old and I bet it's pretty hard and stiff. Surprised that wasn't done, along with the exhaust bellows, when the gimbal bellows and shifter cable were done. Why do 1/2 of the job, (gimball, bellows and shift cable) when you're already in there, seeing how the "kit" (if they used one) comes with the water hose and exhaust bellows, too ??????? ( I think I would find a new shop to do the work next time)

The black powder in the engine compartment could be rust pulleys or misaligned / loose belts causing that (belt looks in fairly new / good condition). Need to remember that sometimes new belts need to be checked / re-adjusting after a couple of hours of use, as some tend to stretch a bit when new. The carb looks in very good condition compared to most I've seen.

 

[rock doc]

Re: Alpha 1 Raw water feed line came off

I normally would do my own work too, but I wanted a good baseline to work from given my limited boating experience. That was the whole point behind going to a Merc certified dealer. The water we run on can also be pretty unforgiving so I just did not want to take risks with my young family. I will likely do these repairs myself if they don't give me some sort of break. Seems I'm almost always let down when I hire someone to do repairs.

There is a wealth of knowledge on this site so I'm sure I can figure it out over the winter. Just hope the motor didn't get too hot.

Really appreciate the feedback...I'm sure I'll be bothered a few of you with more questions once I begin the repairs.

 

[series60]

Re: Alpha 1 Raw water feed line came off

I normally would do my own work too, but I wanted a good baseline to work from given my limited boating experience. That was the whole point behind going to a Merc certified dealer. The water we run on can also be pretty unforgiving so I just did not want to take risks with my young family. I will likely do these repairs myself if they don't give me some sort of break. Seems I'm almost always let down when I hire someone to do repairs.

There is a wealth of knowledge on this site so I'm sure I can figure it out over the winter. Just hope the motor didn't get too hot.

Really appreciate the feedback...I'm sure I'll be bothered a few of you with more questions once I begin the repairs.

SBC's can take a lot of heat for a short time. I have run them up to 300? on test stands with no noticeable effects. But while they were still running there is now way to tell how much their life was shortened. I had my current 305 get hot enough to burn the rubber off the flappers but didn't appear to harm the rubber hose connections to the Y-pipe. I am anal about keeping a very close eye on all the bits and pieces of this very old and tired engine. I never start with the doghouse closed and keep my nose scanning the air for those ominous smells associated with boat engines. 26 miles across the sea as the song goes, to Catalina Island can be nerve racking so I always have one eye on gauges and the other on the engine/outdrive. I also subscribe to BoatUS towing service.

NASCAR engines continue to run at 220? but concern in the pits starts to grow at the point!

 

[rock doc]

Re: Alpha 1 Raw water feed line came off

SBC's can take a lot of heat for a short time. I have run them up to 300? on test stands with no noticeable effects. But while they were still running there is now way to tell how much their life was shortened. I had my current 305 get hot enough to burn the rubber off the flappers but didn't appear to harm the rubber hose connections to the Y-pipe. I am anal about keeping a very close eye on all the bits and pieces of this very old and tired engine. I never start with the doghouse closed and keep my nose scanning the air for those ominous smells associated with boat engines. 26 miles across the sea as the song goes, to Catalina Island can be nerve racking so I always have one eye on gauges and the other on the engine/outdrive. I also subscribe to BoatUS towing service.

NASCAR engines continue to run at 220? but concern in the pits starts to grow at the point!

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I don't think it was hot for very long. If it was a car engine I wouldn't worry - I've seen them get a lot hotter. Seems to me that the water supply line is pretty vulnerable on a Alpha 1 - surprised this doesn't happen more given the drive movement. I'll be changing that set up if I survive this experience...my wife is prepared to divorce me over this darn thing.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Alpha 1 Raw water feed line came off

Thanks for the words of encouragement. I don't think it was hot for very long. If it was a car engine I wouldn't worry - I've seen them get a lot hotter. Seems to me that the water supply line is pretty vulnerable on a Alpha 1 - surprised this doesn't happen more given the drive movement. I'll be changing that set up if I survive this experience...my wife is prepared to divorce me over this darn thing.

Not to rain on the parade - but the temp guage reading 220 is not really relevant if the motor had no water in it. You are not going to get a true temp when the cooling passages are full of air.

 

[rock doc]

Re: Alpha 1 Raw water feed line came off

Preliminary inspection by the installer indicates that the motor did not get that hot. They did not have that line off when they installed the motor and bellows. Mechanic indicated that the clamp was installed up too high on the hose, which caused the failure. They said I must have caught it quickly because the rubber hoses did not melt on the engine fittings and the hose clamps don't appear to have melted into the hoses at all. Apparently they have seen a lot worse with no ill effects.

Hoping for more good news...risers are coming off next.