New Engine Replacement - Engine Died and Hydro locked after 5 hrs!?

[DS_G]

Do you have functioning exhaust flappers in place? Sounds classic for water entering backwards through the exhaust system. You are lucky if you have not blown head gaskets or bent a connecting rod due to hydraulic lock.

 

[Lou C]

No in this set up Volvo in their “wisdom” removed the flappers.
After watching the vids I would for sure:
Get an exhaust flapper and replace the exhaust tube with it, if that fully solves the issue then great but if not you pretty much HAVE TO FIT TALLER ELBOWS no matter what Chapparal or Volvo advised!

 

[alldodge]

Your water logged and that's what's causing the issue. Need to find where the water is, transom and/or hull

 

[Lou C]

Well what I might be tempted to do, if it were my boat is remove that extended swim platform if possible. I have never been a fan of those they add weight in the worst possible place for inboard engines and the weight of the water washing up over it adds weight and leverage on top of that. In fact you might be able to tell if there’s water in the transom when/if the platform is removed. I would never have one of these on my boat. Adds weight where you don’t want it and is in the middle of the way of R&Ring the outdrive. Anything on my boat that gets in the way of function or servicing gets modified or removed!

 

[CaptnO]

No in this set up Volvo in their “wisdom” removed the flappers.
After watching the vids I would for sure:
Get an exhaust flapper and replace the exhaust tube with it, if that fully solves the issue then great but if not you pretty much HAVE TO FIT TALLER ELBOWS no matter what Chapparal or Volvo advised!

What parts do I need for the flapper, I am assuming this would be a custom job? Same questions for adding the higher risers? Do i just replace to higher risers or can I add an extension? The swim platform I believe is from the factory, I can't believe that this issue would be been happening since the 1st and 2nd is owner of the boat??

 

[CaptnO]

Your water logged and that's what's causing the issue. Need to find where the water is, transom and/or hull

How can you tell? And how do you fix that?

 

[CaptnO]

Looking at the pics from Chapparal it seems like the swim platform is all OEM as well

 

[bruceb58]

Do not remove the swim platform. Don't add flappers.

There are plenty of boats that don't have your issue that have the transom and no flappers. Find your issue and fix it vs bandaids.

 

[bruceb58]

What parts do I need for the flapper, I am assuming this would be a custom job?

It would be....unless you found some old junk somewhere and pull out your and swap it. That should not be an option.

 

[Lou C]

Well if you measured right your elbows are definitely too low and if the boat is holding water somewhere weighing it is the only way to know for sure, or removing fittings on the transom to see if you have water weeping out of them. You have some options but you may need a good ‘glass shop to get to the bottom of it. Even if the boat came standard with the platform it doesn’t mean that the installation is 100% correct in terms of exhaust water ingestion. There are many many reports of this problem on boats made by various manufacturers, and it got worse with the introduction of the Vortec engines. Boat companies give people what sells boats not what is always best from a design & engineering point of view.
Your vids of the water flowing over the top of that platform tell you a lot.

 

[CaptnO]

Do not remove the swim platform. Don't add flappers.

There are plenty of boats that don't have your issue that have the transom and no flappers. Find your issue and fix it vs bandaids.

Agree it's just frustrating and need to figure out what to do next. I appreciate everyone's input tho. I guess getting the hull inspected would be next. The only other thing different here is the engine. So if the ECM is causing something weird issue under a certain load because this a generic engine with different rockers and cams. ( I think one guy mentioned cam overlay) Other then those two ideas I really don't know what else it could be.

 

[bruceb58]

I thought you said you had a stock cam? If you don't, that could easily be an issue.

 

[alldodge]

Weight the boat and trailer just to see how heavy you are.

 

[Lou C]

You should be able to get the cam specs from the engine builder. What I do not like about those platforms is this, when they are that low it traps water underneath it and that can increase the hydrostatic pressure from the stern wave forcing water up the exhaust. That and it’s in the middle of the way when you R&R the outdrive.
So see if you can get the cam specs and get the boat weighed.
To add to my point about the platform, for power packages you could have either Merc (has flappers) or Volvo (no flappers) perhaps the combination of the platform & Volvo with no flappers won’t work on this hull, esp after a few years when boats naturally gain weight…

 

[CaptnO]

The engine was purchased threw a distributor in MA, Marine Engine Inc and came from Eagle Engine Sales. Here are their specs on their website. When I spoke to Eagle Engine they said that it all done to spec from GM. However my understanding with my Original OEM Volvo Penta 320hp motor is that my Rockers have a 1.6 Ratio and have a comp cam. This would mean that it would be different then just a standard 5.7 that made 280hp.

 

[bruceb58]

What I do not like about those platforms is this, when they are that low it traps water underneath it and that can increase the hydrostatic pressure from the stern wave forcing water up the exhaust. That and it’s in the middle of the way when you R&R the outdrive.

LOL...If I had his boat, I would be thinking about putting on an even larger platform. I had a built in platform on my old boat(with a heavy 7.4L engine) and an even bigger built in platform on my current boat. Isn't even close to being an issue for removing the stern drive and is definitely not an issue for water getting shoved up the exhaust. You need to give that a rest. That isn't his issue.

 

[Scott06]

The engine was purchased threw a distributor in MA, Marine Engine Inc and came from Eagle Engine Sales. Here are their specs on their website. When I spoke to Eagle Engine they said that it all done to spec from GM. However my understanding with my Original OEM Volvo Penta 320hp motor is that my Rockers have a 1.6 Ratio and have a comp cam. This would mean that it would be different then just a standard 5.7 that made 280hp.

Sounds like the cam you have is less aggressive than the stock VP so should be ok.

Unless you have exhaust leakage or a crack in head which doesn’t really fit what you are seeing , i also suspect you have more weight in back of boat for what ever reason, necessitating higher risers. That you’ve measured and know is too close for comfort. I found on my sea ray they had even more clearance than merc reccomends i guess assuming everyone sits on swim platform.
i think you’d be far better off installing taller elbows or risers than relying on flappers. I know merc uses them but when i have changed them they had failed for god knows how long , never had water intrusion.

 

[Lou C]

Usually the rubber coated flappers fail from an overheat…not from age per se. With the Volvo I think they sold a tall elbow kit including additional parts (taller exhaust elbows and a Y pipe with taller ends that extend above the water line. Of course this would require pulling the engine to install. I’ve seen this kit on Great Lakes Skipper and it’s like $800! Not sure if it would work with the standard Y pipe but for sure you’d need longer rubber hoses between the 90* down pipes and the Y pipe. A good marine exhaust shop can do custom fab work like this. But the reality is that your elbows are 2-3” too low and your engine sucked in water several times. So something has to be done to make the boat usable.
For those who feel that the boat is waterlogged, and it may be but just what do you think will happen if the OP brings it to a ‘glass shop? What are they going to do? Pull every fastener out of the transom hook up a shop vac to each one and see how much water you can pull out? That’s about all I can see being done without a major tear down and re build. So let’s say they get maybe 5 gallons out of it that’s like 40 lbs right? Enough to make a difference? I doubt it!

 

[CaptnO]

Yea I think taller Riser is the next move. I saw that same kit with the Y Pipe it's a great price however it doesn't work with my GXI-E based on their description. I'll call a few Volvo shops on Monday and see if I can get the part numbers that I need for the kit. Or just buy the taller risers and add some extra exhaust hose which should be the simplest solution. Thanks everyone again for all the input I'll report the updates next week. I'm still going to try and weigh the boat this weekend I feel like that should be easy enough to do to get some additional info.

 

[alldodge]

Dont get why folks want to spend money except trying to find out the issue