Steve, Any updates on your milkshake? I'm going to Erics tonite to check my gears. Call if you need anything. Ken

It's supposed to handle 800 but the most I've tried is 600. I'm affraid it would be pretty hard on the drive since you have to open the throttle all the way and load it down to whatever RPM you want to start the test. That's a lot more load than it would ever see in the boat.

Ken,
Didn't hurt anything. Fortunately caught it in time. We're going to beef up a few things and back off on the boost.
Thanks for letting me borrow your prop. I may need to try it again when I'm back together.
Regards,
Steve

If that was me or Butch we probably would have just gave it more gas!! I'm going round with ATI trying to get my ProCharger back before Easter. Those guys suck customer service wise! Whoever is running we'll ride together, Peace out.

What's the scoop on this Steve?

Hi Bob,
I always try to keep an eye on things, particularly a new motor. I checked the motor Saturday afternoon, and there was some oil blowing out of the dipstick. Pulled the dipstick, and there was some water in it. I just idled it back in. The motor is fine. Gaskets are OK. I think I lifted the heads from too much cylinder pressure (higher compression and boost). Eric's doing some upgrades and we're backing down on the boost.
And Eric's been on my ass about the nitro methane in the fuel too:D :rolleyes: .............I was having a drag racing deja vu!
Regards,
Steve

Eric's trying to keep you out of the 100mph club! Or he's probably trying to keep The Mayor from blowing out of the boat!

Steve,
I talked with EB a few days ago and he told me what was going on. I told him that it sounded like to much water pressure to me. Now, I didn't see it, so its just an educated guess based on what he told me about it. If it only pushed out the gasket around the water passage and not the fire ring, then it's not to much cylinder or boost pressure. If you don't have a water pressure gauge, get one temporarily to test. If you have one, watch it closely. I've seen it more times than I care to remember, especially with Fel-Pro head gaskets. Give me a shout if I can help you guys in any way. See ya, Eddie.

Hi Eddie,
Thanks for consulting with Eric on this. He told me you called and I appreciate that. I do have water pressure and more gauges than I can easily monitor. When I had it out last, the pressure seemed normal (25/30ish) PSI WOT. The only way it could have gone up is a fresh housing and impeller and 500 more RPM. We haven't change anything else. We are feeding the intercooler off the Merc single stage pump, which lowers the water pressure about 10 PSI, to the above #s. I do not have a WP gauge on it (the intercooler), but the outlet is on the drivers side, and it's spraying like a garden hose, which is normal.
There is one water pressure possiblilty I hadn't considered. Since the boat is easily 7/8 MPH faster than before, it is ramming more water into the Imco LWP drive. I will keep an eye on it. What kind of pressure do you recommend on applications like mine?
Best Regards,
Steve

FYI. I always run water and fuel pressure gauges and watch them closely while running. I consider these the most important to monitor in a SC application. You can recognize a lot of problems before any damage is done. I can't count the number of times I've had issues that showed up as low water or fuel pressure that could have been catastrophic. The pressure definitely continues to rise as speed increases. Mine runs fairly low until I get up to around 70. Then it gets up to around 20. Water pressure very well may be your culprit.

Bob

Bob,
Thanks for your input. Eric is upgrading my fuel system. We'll
be replacing the Merc mechanical pump with a high volume K/E billet mechanical. I may need to dump some water pressure too. I think 25 PSI is plenty. What do you guys think?
Regards,
Steve

Steve,
If you are running over 25 psi of water pressure, then that is absolutely your problem. Fel-Pro gaskets really can't handle any more than that. If everything is perfect (block and heads perfectly straight, Ra finish on the money, etc) you may be able to get away with a little more than 25 psi. The Cometics have taken over 50 psi in the Nortech cats. At the speeds we were running in Cyclone(174 mph), I couldn't get rid of enough water to drop the pressure below 50 at WOT. I started with the Fel-Pro's and every time the water pressure got over 30 psi, water would get in the oil. The Cometics solved the problem. You need to get rid of some of your water. You really should have a water dump out of the back of the intake, if you don't already. I run one on all of my SC motors. It not only gets rid of water, but also prevents any steam pockets in the back of the block and heads by moving water back there. You can also put a check valve on a dump from the front of the intake. CP sells an adjustable one. Just putting on Cometics and not dropping the water pressure is just a band aid. Hope this helped you. Give me a shout if I can help you any further. See ya, Eddie.

Eddie,
I will be monitoring the gauges closely when we get it all back together (actually the motor is together, but my blower is in for repair).
Thanks again,
Steve

Steve,
I went by EB's yesterday to have him do some welding for me since my hand is tore up. I had a chance to see your head gasket and there is no doubt that the problem is too much water pressure. The water made a nice little trail from the water port to the extra bolt hole in the gasket that goes into the lifter valley. Definately keep an eye on it when you run it again. Did you go to Cometics or stay with the Fel-Pro's?? Let me know if I can help. See ya, Eddie.

Hey Eddie,
Sorry to hear about your hand.......and thanks for helping us diagnose the problem.
I think with a studded block, Cometics and some water relief, we'll be back in business. Not much happening until I get my supercharger back, hopefully late this week.
Regards,
Steve

Steve,
There really is no need for the extra head bolts. It certainly can't hurt, but it's not a nessessity. The cometics should stop it from happening again, but you do need to get rid of some water. It would be a really good idea to put a water dump out the back of the intake, if it doesn't already have one. It doesn't have to be big. If the intake doesn't have holes there, you should be able to add them. All you need is an 1/8 npt hole on each side. Tee the two of them together and dump it overboard. Not only will it lower your water pressure, but it will prevent any steam pockets at the back of the intake and heads. Give me a shout if you need a hand. Good luck with it. Eddie

Eddie,
Thanks for the heads up on the water relief. That will work well and Eric agrees. We will run that water out of my current intercooler dump. We are going to reroute the intercooler water to my drive shower cap. I have a decent drive shower now, but whenever I see those things on a fast boat shot from a following helicopter, they're never working. The intercooler water should drown it at high speed.
Best Regards,
Steve

Steve,
Sounds like ya'll got it figured out. You are right about the shower. You might want to consider the top cap that I put on Hamrick's drives. They are not only real tough and prevent any flexing, but they have internal water passages to cool the drive. The water circulates through the cap and runs down the side of the upper instead of just blasting it. It allows the water to stay in contact longer to transfer more heat from the drive to the water. I have had some real good luck with them. They're not cheap, but what boat part is these days:D Give me a shout if I can help. Eddie

Eddie,
What top caps are you using? I've seen the billet aluminum ones with the heat sink fins. They look great, and I am sure they work better than a stainless cap.
Steve

The one that I have been using is by Billet Marine. It is just flat on the top with no cooling fins and is black hard coat anodized. I don't think the one made by Max with the cooling fins has an internal water passage. The Billet Marine cap is also about half the price of the Max cap. It is about 1 1/2" thick billet aluminum and is a really nice piece. Hope that helps, Eddie.

Final numbers are in.....I think I have finally got it propped right.

The other GPS....

It's a good thing you quit drinking, You would've killed yourself going that fast!

That was me and the seat and a few gallons of gas.........I would have taken the toilet out but I was afraid of what I would find under it....:D

John,
Awesome #s man! What props did you settle on?
BTW, I didn't even remember to bring my GPS plotter when I ran the boat a few weeks back, but it always reads 1/2 to 1 MPH faster than my analog GPS speedometer too. I don't don't know if they are just more precise, or they update faster than the Livorsi, maybe both. With all the electronics in those big boxes, they are bound to have bigger, faster processors.
You're kickin' ass man:D ! Congratulations...........
Regards,
Steve

Not bad for a overweight slug.:D (the boat, not the driver, he's not a slug, just a homo)
Personally, I think its all in the motors and rigging. I heard that the guy that did it was unbelievable.:D That's the Young Performance advantage.:D

All it takes is one phone call and you to could go that fast!!!!!!!:D

Seriously, I'm glad it all came together. You've waited long enough. Now go enjoy it for a little while before we WHIPPLE IT. Eddie

Dude.....If somebody had some whipples sitting on a table and I walked up, I would lay the cash down.......I have a hard time sending a check to Cali after the last time! It's not the whipple's I am worried about......its the 3 inch ring and pinion that it is going to have to go through......whether they are soaked in the words of Eric Smith "pumpkin seed oil" or not.:D :D And quit calling me a homo......I am not riding around in your fanny pack so quit talking like jc poof.:eek:

:evilb:

The "all it takes is a phone call and you can go that fast" was not for you, you already went that fast, jacka$$. That was for anyone else that wants to go that fast.:D
It still doesn't change the fact that you're gay.:evilb:

Don't make me call the Corkster into this.....:evilb:

Personally, I think its all in the motors and rigging. I heard that the guy that did it was unbelievable.:D


I think getting all the oxidation off of the boat was good for at least 5 MPH of that number too....it is much more aerodynamic now!! :D :D

Have the bar stools come in yet?

Back in business. Lots of re-rigging to accomodate the motor and drive upgrades. Sounds awesome on the hose. The water will have to wait for the Saturday...........
Steve

I see the Master at work with his favorite tool!

And if you look closely at the first picture, you'll see how to give a supercharger a rectal exam:D :rolleyes: .............
Steve

Are you going out tomorrow? Come to priest and we can tow each other in if we need too.

Back in business as of Saturday.
Many Thanks to Eric and Troy at EB Marine:D
Regards,
Steve

Well.............

Well........we have the excess water pressure problem under control (down to 32 PSI). It was pegging the needle to the backside of the zero post.......
Fortunately, it's running well again (93 with a light load), and with several upgrades
(supercharger, cooling system, drive, drive shower, studs, gaskets, fuel pump) it should be back to RELIABLE:D , like the good old days!
Pickwick here we come:drink: ................
Are you coming with us? We're going to make a scene:evilb: .
Steve

Wow.... That's pretty impressive Steve!!