Stupid mistake: Can it be fixed?

[zaayer]

I was storing my older boat outside in the trailer for about 2 months. I went to get into it today and i realized i had not removed the plug and i had turned the batteries off. The water in the engine compartment was just above the bottom of the alternator. i looked at the oil and it is milky. This is a Mercuriser 350 2bbl. I have not tried to start the engine. What steps should I take to try and save the engine? Will the starter be ruined since it was submerged?
Thank you for your help! What a stupid and costly mistake!

 

[flashback]

Get the water out of the boat, drain oil and replace then try to start but not before changing oil. You might get lucky cause it's rain water and not salt.
What's a mystery to me is how water got into the engine. Don't you have a cover on it?

 

[FORREST3]

Curious what type of boat?.. and where are you? Lots of rain! No boat cover?..Engine was exposed to the skies?.. Sorry about this!..May not be that bad...Had a similar situation with water intrusion in engine from bad riser.. milk-shake oil and all!..All is good with that engine..Like flashback said no salt water!.drain oil..change filter..wash out oil pan with diesel..other will chime in I'm sure...You should be o/k with a little prep. before starting up..drain the water and if sunny, let all dry out for as long as you can..

 

[zaayer]

Curious what type of boat?.. and where are you? Lots of rain! No boat cover?..Engine was exposed to the skies?.. Sorry about this!..May not be that bad...Had a similar situation with water intrusion in engine from bad riser.. milk-shake oil and all!..Like flashback said no salt water!.drain oil..change filter..wash out oil pan with diesel..other will chime in I'm sure...You should be o/k with a little prep. before starting up..drain the water and if sunny, let all dry out for as long as you can..

This is a Rinker captiva 212. I am in Ohio and we had some rain. It was covered with the factory canvas cover. We had a lot of rain in the past 2 months. I did try to pump the oil out and the pumt only pumped about half a quart. I think the waterer consistancy of the oil makes pumping it difficult.

 

[ROY WILLIAMS]

yes take the boat drain plug out on the trailer ...use a tarp over the boat . inspect the electrical components ... dry the fan with a motor ....
when I take my boat out of the water I take out the boat drain plug...take the battery terminal off ....

 

[flashback]

Well you're in the same hemisphere as I, so when was the last time this engine was run?

 

[flashback]

I guess what I'm saying is if the engine ran 2 months ago with no problem then you left it in the rain and it has water in it the last thing you want to do is turn it over without getting the contaminated oil out of it, the starter is the least of your worries..

 

[Scott06]

I would drain it out, take starter and alternator off open clean and dry them. They may work may not. If you have a local starter alternator repair place may be worth taking to them

drain oil - you can likely suck the water off the bottom of the pan and change the oil /filter Once you get it running be prepared to change the oil multiple times until it stays clear. You can use cheap oil like rotella conventional or Super tech for this, just put 3 qts in until its clean

 

[H20Rat]

The starter will absolutely die, might take a week, might be next year. Once they are submerged the clock starts ticking.

 

[airshot]

You can also run kerosene thru the fill cap to help flush out the oil pan. Dont start the engine with the kerosene in there, but in many old car engines, I have cranked them over numerous times to mix the kerosene with the contaminated oil so it drains easier. Got to get all that milky oil out before trying to start that engine. Keep in mind that kerosene is highly refined and very thin oil, wont hurt anything when used to flush...