Any saving the engine? I’m devastated

[Scott14o]

It’s running!!!!!!!!’

 

[jimmbo]

Great to hear
Did any water drain from the Carb Bowls, or spray out the Spark Plug Holes?

You have to run it for quite a while, to make sure all the Water has either been thrown out of the Bearings, or has evaporated. The Lower Crank Shaft Bearing is the most Vulnerable as the Water can't drop any lower.

 

[Scott14o]

I let it run for a little over 30 minutes.
Thanks so much for all the help everyone!

 

[racerone]

Any cooling water to the impeller ?

 

[Scott14o]

Great to hear
Did any water drain from the Carb Bowls, or spray out the Spark Plug Holes?

You have to run it for quite a while, to make sure all the Water has either been thrown out of the Bearings, or has evaporated. The Lower Crank Shaft Bearing is the most Vulnerable as the Water can't drop any lower.

I’m not sure if it was water or fuel that came out of the bowls.. possibly a mixture.
I let it run for 30 mins with the hood on then took the hood off to let out any moisture. I would have let it run longer but I need yo get going home, work in the morning

 

[Scott14o]

yes

Any cooling water to the impeller ?

Yes, I have the muffs that hook up to a garden hose

 

[Scott14o]

Great to hear
Did any water drain from the Carb Bowls, or spray out the Spark Plug Holes?

You have to run it for quite a while, to make sure all the Water has either been thrown out of the Bearings, or has evaporated. The Lower Crank Shaft Bearing is the most Vulnerable as the Water can't drop any lower.

Massive amount of water came out of the spark plug holes at first. Like a squirt gun each time I hand turned the flywheel.

 

[ejnichol]

How long was the motor submerged?

 

[racerone]

It can be submerged for weeks.-----It is when the motor is recovered that oxygen attacks the bearings.----Immediate action is required when it is recovered.

 

[Scott14o]

It was submerged for probably about 8 hours.
Was running for 30 minutes enough do yall think? I rev’d it up a few times. I can go out there again today if need be. It’s about a 30 minute drive.
Again, thank you all so much. I would not have tried to start it right away had it not been for you guys. My intuition was to let it completely drive for a couple days before trying to start.

 

[tphoyt]

Should run for a couple hours in my eyes with a bit of extra oil. Jmo

 

[Chris1956]

Gee, I dropped a Fat Fifty in warm saltwater, while running on plane. She was under water for 60 hrs, until I found her.

I hosed her down and pulled the carb, distributor and starter, baking the latter two in the oven for 45 minutes on 250*F.

I squirted some heavy gas/oil mix into the transfer ports and onto the crank, to wash out the sand, shells etc. I was afraid the head bolts would break, so I never removed the heads, pistons or crank.

I had no faith it would run again, but to my surprise, it pull-started pretty easy and ran just as good as before.

Those Fattys were real low tech and robust. Try that with a modern engine.

 

[racerone]

Did a motor that was submerged ( hidden ) for 3 weeks in fresh sandy water.-----Told owners to leave it in the water till they contacted me.----Took it apart on the spot.----Every thing was packed full of sand.-----Not a sign of corrosion anywhere !!----Put it together and had it running.----But I will never do another one for someone else.----Too much space age work for stone age pay !

 

[racerone]

Time to take starter apart for cleaning / new brushes.-----Motors need a new impeller every 5 years too.----Replace solenoid.-----Dry out control box innards if it was submerged.------Dry out steering cable as it might jam up months from now due to internal rust.

 

[saltchuckmatt]

I agree with race, the real fun starts now. There's a big difference if it was running when it went under or if it was not.

But the battery does lots of damage, wires will start to go starter will implode these are the things that you now have to do depending on the question above that you never answered.

Best of luck to you.

 

[racerone]

It appears to me it was tied to the dock.

 

[flashback]

glad you got it going, you had a loooong night. I gotta ask, how did it get swamped?

 

[Scott14o]

glad you got it going, you had a loooong night. I gotta ask, how did it get swamped?

We had heavy rain here in Washington. It’s a summer house and I don’t go there but a couple times a week. It’s been rained on before and never got close to going under so I wasn’t worried about it.. wish I had been .

I have it running again this morning. It sounds pretty good (video attached). Appears to be firing on all cylinders. I know I’ll need to take the control box apart to dry.
Is there a way to tell if I saved the crankshaft bearings that you guys were talking about?
Or will time just tell on that one?

 

[Scott14o]

I agree with race, the real fun starts now. There's a big difference if it was running when it went under or if it was not.

But the battery does lots of damage, wires will start to go starter will implode these are the things that you now have to do depending on the question above that you never answered.

Best of luck to you.

It wasn’t running when it sank.
Does that mean that the starter is likely fine?
The battery was dead when I got it out of the water so I don’t know if something shorted and the points were “on or active” while it was under water.
I got the control box apart and much as I could and have a fan on it now.

 

[jimmbo]

The questioning about it running when it got wet, is because engines that are running can suffer very serious damage, as Water is not Compressible, and if enough were to get into the Cylinder, the Engine would literally stop Instantly, even at 5000 Rpm. Bent/Broken Con Rods, Crankshafts, Pistons are the result.
The Starter should(Must, if it was Salt Water) be taken apart and cleaned and lubed.
You might want to consider an Automatic Bilge Pump, but then you have to keep the Battery topped up
Since most Water can conduct Electricity, submerging a Battery is like putting a Cable between the two Posts.
WD40 is a good Water Dispersant so spraying the Electrical, like the Switche inside the Control Box can help drying