water in cylinder head.

[scrit9mm]

1999 Volvo Penta 5.0

was almost on plane and the engine shut down because of a dead battery and a defective altenator. I could not get it started with a jump so I trailered it home and got the battery and altenator tested. they both are bad. after replacing them the engine felt labored. I took out the first three spark plugs and they each had water in them. I then turned the motor over and water shot out of the spark plug holes. In speaking with some people I think when the motor died water followed through the exhause valves and entered in the cylinder heads. How do I get all the water out of the cylinder heads?

 

[scrit9mm]

Re: water in cylinder head.

it has the Volvo SX outdrive

 

[PiratePast40]

Re: water in cylinder head.

Remove all the plugs and crank it over until all the water is pumped out. Then install the plugs and run it.

 

[Don S]

Re: water in cylinder head.

You may have to pull the spark plugs and dry them off a couple of times to finally get it started.

 

[scrit9mm]

Re: water in cylinder head.

and that's it? There will be no damage to the cylinders/pistons/or valves if ran with minimum amounts of moisture there?

 

[Bondo]

Re: water in cylinder head.

and that's it? There will be no damage to the cylinders/pistons/or valves if ran with minimum amounts of moisture there?

Ayuh,... Nobody said, "That's It"....

Ya gotta get it Runnin' to See if there's more damage...
It's possible ya need a New Motor at this point...

 

[scrit9mm]

Re: water in cylinder head.

So, what could be signs to look for if there is more damage. I am going to replace the sparkplugs within the next day or so, and try to get it running. There is still no signs of water in the oil. In my mind if I get it running and hook up the rabbit ears to the outdrive and run it to tempature then it works, right? Also what else should I be looking for?

 

[mcurcio1989]

Re: water in cylinder head.

Water is a very incompressible liquid and as steam it turns to 1000 times its size. With that said the force it imparts on the engine can cause bent connecting rods or valve damage. Basically if the engine runs rough, turns over really slow, or has any type of a knock or other abnormal noise you need to do some troubleshooting. I jut went through an issue of having water in some of my cylinders and it turned out to be the manifolds and risers. Volvo recommends that you replace those every 5 years. That very well may be the problem you are having. The exhaust system on your boat is equipped with a valve designed to prevent the backflow of water and I would highly doubt that is your problem. Definitely replace the oil either way. Considering the likely hood of there being water in your oil it is not worth the risk over the cost of an oil change. Especially if you haven't run it much since it died you won't notice it.

 

[scrit9mm]

Re: water in cylinder head.

so, if I run the engine with water attached to the outdrive and I do not get any water in the pistons then the problem has to be water flowing back through the exhaust. I have read various post's about volvo not putting a flapper on the exhaust for my model (99 5.0 gi with sx outdrive). Is there an aftermarket flapper that I can install?

 

[mcurcio1989]

Re: water in cylinder head.

I would run the boat up to temperature on the hose. You may want to rev it up a couple times when it is warm. Shut it off and Let it sit for 10 minutes or so and then check for water. The reason is that when the engine is running it will force most all of the water that gets into the exhaust out but when it stops if there is a leak than it can flow in. If you have no water than yeah it is an issue with backflow. I would look into buying the flappers off of a 1999 5.0 gl. That is what we have and it came stock with them. I would think they would fit but you never know. From what I hear a lot of people consider them unnecessary and take them off.

If you end up having water look into replacing the risers and manifolds. That is a fairly common problem with these engines.

 

[scrit9mm]

Re: water in cylinder head.

Thanks a million! I just bought it a week and a half ago and was really pissed that something was wrong with it. I am starting this process tomorrow. I will let everyone know what I find. Thank you for the guidance.

 

[scrit9mm]

Re: water in cylinder head.

Problem-fixed

I turned the engine over a little more Saturday morning, only a little water came out. I then installed the new spark plugs and hooked it up to water. It fired right up, no hesitation. I then ran it to temp and then for 5 or so minutes more. I removed all spark plugs and none had water in them. We took the boat out yesterday and it ran like a champ, no worries at all.

Thanks for all your help!