overheating and water in the bilge
 

All this talk of ethanol and phase seperation, made me go out today to try and burn some old fuelo and my tech wants the tank low for winterization. Running the twin 496HO's hard, all is well but all of a sudden, an alarm. Port engine sputters and I shut them both down. The port side was running 220?+/-. Let them cool down to about 180 and fired up fine but in a few seconds the alarm was on again. Decided to limp back to the lift on the starboard only. Put her on the lift and gave it a few hrs. to cool down. Once cool, dropped back in the water. Fired up fine but no water exiting the exhaust and bilge came on. Opened hatch and water being dumped right into the bilge. I'm assuming a hose came loose or ripped but engine too hot to try and trace. I'm not going to be able to get back to it until next weekend. It's tight w/ twin 496HO's in a 33 Baja Outlaw. Any advice? Should I be able to repair/replace w/o pulling too much stuff off? TIA.

There are a bunch of hoses under the motor. You can only hope it's an easy reach. Good Luck
Jim

They already had to pull the engines to do water pumps in the spring. Are you telling me I have to pull an engine b/c of a hose?

No, You'll have to see what happened. I hope not.
Jim

Please, please, please, I have a bunch of relatives coming this weekend from Europe who want a ride. Moreover, it'll be a real pain to get it off the lift, down to the ramp and on the trailer on only one motor.

fatdaddy, when you lowered the boat was it rushing in before you started it? Does it only rush in while it's running? Do you have a flush attachment on the boat? Turn on hose does it leak? where?
Jim

fatdaddy, they had to pull the engine for water pumps? You need to find a thinner mechanic!

Yeah only when it's running. Thank God. And no flush attachment. ???

I was thinking the same thing. I think he was thin before he met me. :cool: :rolleyes:

There are a bout a dozen clamps on the pressure side of raw water. You better go and check before weekend. Water pump is low on starboard side of engine, hose connect to bottom of exhaust manifold and up to cooler across back of motor. From the cooler hose leads down again to oil cooler and exhaust manifold than lower still to fuel cooler. Hose from fuel cooler leads to front of engine and up to heat exchanger.
Hope for an easy one. I will pray for you.
Jim

:eek: Yes, please pray for me. I sincerely thank you for all of your input.

Tech was supposed to go out today but the weather sucked so I'm still waiting and praying.

It's a bit(h but you should be able to replace every water hose on the motor with it in the boat..... The last 2 years I've worked with some buddies doing ALL our own work (rebuilt 7 engines last winter) I've learned it may take awhile, but you can get it done.

Fatdaddy:

Before you start replacing things, check the pressure relief valves on the water system. If you trace the small white and orange plastic lines down to the bottom of the motor you will end up at a brass valve assemblies(may be partially painted black by Merc). These are dump for winterization and pressure relief valves and we have seen them stick open and fill the bilge with the raw water from the pump very quickly and overheat the engine. Find these valves, start the engine quickly and see if they are dumping. Might be your problem.
Hope this helps.

Regards,
Ray @ Raylar

sounds like a main water line under the engine is off or as ray said the dump is stuck.

by thw way do you have sea strainers?

No sea strainers.

Thanks.

fat daddy...
not trying to be a cynic here but , while all the advice above is all good and correct in all respects, im a little mystified why you feel people hundreds of miles ( or maybe even 1000's of miles ) away can possibly know more than you just getting down in there and actually using your own two eyeballs to see where the water is actually coming from. granted... it might not be easy or pleasant but, in the end, its whats going to have to happen anyway.... everything else is just postponing the inevitable and wasting time.

Are you kidding me? Not trying to be a cynic? What is it then that you are trying to be? Did you read my 1st post? Man, I can't even believe I have to respond to your ill fated advice. The boat is not at my residence but rather at my summer place, which I could not get to until the following weekend, which coincidently, is when I needed it up & running. Unfortunately, my arms aren't that long but if yours are I'm sure I can find some use for them. Again, I'm dumbfounded. This is a technical forum, which was created for members seeking information, which I rec'd and sincerely appreciated. :angry-smiley-038:

The culprit, a torn hose, was fixed on Sat. a.m.. It ran perfectly again. Thanks to all, except one :D, who replied.

fatdaddy, sounds like good fortune prevailed.
Jim

Yes sir, Jim, thank you again.

ah....... gee... sorry i missed the highly technical aspect of that first post... what was it now something like

" the alarms went off and the bilge filled up with water... anybody know whats wrong ? "

seems to me that my advice is the only one you actually followed....

sent someone down there who ( AMAZING , I KNOW ) actually FOUND a hole in the hose by LOOKING for it.

geeze. what an amazing and inovative diagnostic technique.

you should consider publishing that one.

I tend to agree with stevesxm. While his answer may seem a little harsh, it is good advice. If you want to own a high perf boat, you have to learn to diagnose some of these problems yourself. Otherwise, some of these marine mechanics will take you to the cleaners with trumped up repair bills. And you might save time getting back on the water. Just my 2 cents.