Boat Flood - How High does the water need to be to hurt the engine

[bassmantweed]

:facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm::facepalm:

I have a stingray with a stern drive....... Last night we had some wicked rains and my automatic bilge pump for some reason did not work. The boat was actually on a trailer and angled with the motor on the downside. This morning when I came out the water was half way up the starter and 1/4 up the alternator.....



It looked like the water was below most of the gaskets and the dipstick........

Any recommendations am i screwed? what would be a good checklist to ensure no water intrusion...... I checked the fluids (not gas) and they all look ok.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Boat Flood - How High does the water need to be to hurt the engine

The boat was actually on a trailer and angled with the motor on the downside. This morning when I came out the water was half way up the starter and 1/4 up the alternator.....

Ayuh,.... Which is 1 of the reasons Why the garboard plug should Always be left Out, when on the hard...

you'll atleast need a starter, 'n alternator...
Check the oil level,... If it ain't risen, it ain't got water in it...
If the water got to the crankshaft center line on the transom,...
The drive needs to be pulled, to drain the drive bellows....

 

[bassmantweed]

Re: Boat Flood - How High does the water need to be to hurt the engine

Why would I need a starter, 'n alternator...????

because they got wet? Dont starters and alternators get wet all the time in cars?

 

[Philster]

Re: Boat Flood - How High does the water need to be to hurt the engine

Splashed versus submerged: big difference.

You can clear and clean everything and crank it. Try it out after drying it out.

When your boat is on land/trailer, you don't leave the plug in.... for this very reason.

 

[boat1010]

Re: Boat Flood - How High does the water need to be to hurt the engine

I would start it and see if the starter and alt. work. How long were they in the water? When you say it's rain water it shouldn't be too bad. You can use a meter and check them first to see if they are grounded out before starting. I would just give it a try if it were mine.. Just saying...We have had boats that got swamped at the lake in a bad Storm and got into the engine, we just drained the motor put in fresh oil pulled the plugs and cranked it over to get the water out of the cylinders and fired it up.. Ran it to warm it up, changed the oil again and never had a problem with it. That was 3 years ago. Good luck..

 

[jmarty10]

Re: Boat Flood - How High does the water need to be to hurt the engine

hmmmmmm, you sure they were submerged. Happened to me a couple times this year with big rains and it didnt get up to starter and certainly not alternator. Dont replace anything until you determined there is damage.

 

[Dave1251]

Re: Boat Flood - How High does the water need to be to hurt the engine

The starter and alternator will work now. Its some time in the near future that they will die from the rust now being formed on the inside of them. Its just a matter of time so why wait to be stranded out on the water when they fail.

 

[scoutabout]

Re: Boat Flood - How High does the water need to be to hurt the engine

Depending on your particular boat you may have dunked your power trim motor and gotten water into the fluid reservoir too.

 

[Maclin]

Re: Boat Flood - How High does the water need to be to hurt the engine

Relative to Dave1251'2 post, here is a recent thread about the root cause of an issue being a previously flooded engine compartment...:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=513452&p=3462012&viewfull=1#post3462012

 

[Texasmark]

Re: Boat Flood - How High does the water need to be to hurt the engine

Don't know where to tell you, but after you pull it out, put it somewhere that you always look before launching your boat....steering wheel, trailer winch....so that you don't forget to install it prior to launching. Not funny to launch your boat, park your trailer, and come back to a boat half submerged. Had a friend have it happen and totally ruined his fishing trip.

Mark

 

[DuckHunterJon]

Re: Boat Flood - How High does the water need to be to hurt the engine

When the starter or alternator get submerged, it's considered preventative maintenance to replace them. Do you have to - no. But look at it this way. You just stepped up the timeline on a failure. What percentage of the time are you asking the starter and alternator to work near/on shore vs away/off shore. "Ya roll yer dice and ya take yer chances".

 

[wgl333]

Re: Boat Flood - How High does the water need to be to hurt the engine

Mine goes in a cupholder next to the helm with the wrench I use to remove/install. That way, when I am pulling the cover off before launching and stowing the cover in the cuddy and putting the key in the ignition, I am grabbing the wrench and the plug before stepping off the swim platform which just happens to be right about where the plug goes!!!

 

[slag]

Re: Boat Flood - How High does the water need to be to hurt the engine

I bought a boat that the starter had been submerged sometime in the past. It was rusted up badly.

I took it apart, wire brushed the rust out, wd40 on everything, put new brushes in it, regreased the shaft, cleaned off the commutator(sp), and that was two years ago. The starter is still working great to this day. Replacing the starter will ensure that it is good and clean, but if you are even the slightest bit mechanical, just take it apart, clean it, and coat it with WD40 before the rust sets in. Chances are it will be fine.

 

[bassmantweed]

Re: Boat Flood - How High does the water need to be to hurt the engine

Splashed versus submerged: big difference.

i guess i disagree with statement.......... I think time has more to do with it and electrical grounding/shorting. In my opinion there is not much difference in submerging an alternator vs. leaving it out during a very misty foggy day until you short something out...... wet is wet. i have been out in the morning in my boat where everything is wet including the engine condensation will make things rust just as fast as something that is submerged

I appreciate the input but i am more worried about water in the engine or fluids.

 

[sjohnson44]

Re: Boat Flood - How High does the water need to be to hurt the engine

DC voltage is a lot less forgiving when it comes to water intrusion. I cant tell you why, but I have worked with both AC and DC circuits and VFDs in a processing plant where theres 20 guys with hot high pressure water hoses washing everything. The AC stuff always held up and the DC would always fail after a short time. It wasnt long before I had all the DC stuff took out.

Do NOT do anything with the starter or alternator until they are completely dry. Go get some contact cleaner high flash and spray it all over all the alternator and starter and then stick you a fan in the boat and let them dry. Or, take them out and stick them in front of a fan and turn them periodically. <-Better

The contact cleaner will dry up all the water and moisture and then they are good to go. Having water in the connections and winding and then applying voltage is what kills them, not because there WAS water in there.

If you had no oil leaks before this all happened, then chances are water didnt get into anything except maybe the bellows. As I said above, give all electrical connections a bath in contact cleaner and everything will be fine.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Boat Flood - How High does the water need to be to hurt the engine

Do yourself a favor and replace the starter or remove it and disassemble it. Even fresh water will cause the insides to corrode extensively. Fortunately for me my starter which was dunked failed in the driveway. It was a mess inside!

As far as the engine, if the water reached the crankshaft level, some water may have seeped through the main seals. Run it and if the oil turns emulsified change it.

Totally disagree with using contact cleaner from the outside. Unless you can dunk the whole starter in contact cleaner, that exercise will be futile. Also, contact cleaner depending on how its made is extremely flammable...possibly more than gasoline. Not what you want to spray in your bilge area and then putting an electric fan down there.

If the water was high enough to reach the shaft going to the sterndrive, i would pull the drive immediately as water could have entered the bellows. I would give the gimble bearing grease while spinning the bearing to force any moisture that may have entered the bearing out. Water that entered the bellows could be a major problem with the drive itself as well as water in the bellows can enter the drive through that oil seal as well.