Effect of partial submersion of 5.0 GXI. Effect on Power Steering, Starter, crank sensor.

[ejnichol]

My starter, power steering (below fill neck) and crank sensor were submerged in fresh water.
Immersion time was about 12 hours.

Is the starter toast? I assume it is. The starter was totally under water.

The Power steering pump. Not sure why fluid came out. Bilge had film of atf red fluid after pump out. I assume water went in around shaft seal or theres a vent port somewhere else other than cap. Planning to drain by disconnect pump output line since its at low point. Resivior drains out. Refill and crank if boat will run. Drain/refill again and call it good.

Going to to pump qt of motor oil out to see if water is on bottom of pan. Could have gone in on crank seals but doubt.

We had a bad rain event 7.5 inches in 5 hours. Boat was captured under boat house roof and had to partially flood boat to save windshield. Thinking was to sacrifice starter motor to save windshield as they are as rare as hens teeth. and therefore expensive if you can find.. Kind of suprised about PS.

Thanks for opinions from those expericienced with this.

 

[Scott Danforth]

pull the starter, completely disassemble it and clean it, then re-assemble it. you should be OK if you do that ASAP. if you sit more than a day or two, its going to be iffy.

do the same with your alternator.

the power steering pump wont care. just flush it and the entire oil system. you lost oil because your water level was higher than the reservoir and you now have water in the reservoir. the oil just floated out.

crank sensor is fine and wont care.

the wiring will be toast in a few months as water has now wicked up the strands. hope your boat was wired with tinned marine wire.

the steering cable will most likely fail in a few years as water is now between the cable and sheath.

PULL THE DRIVE. water is most likely in the u-joint cavity now. clean that out and check alignment while you are in there.

change the engine oil

 

[alldodge]

^^ Agree with most except with wiring harness, being fresh water

 

[kenny nunez]

2X with SD & AD. If the battery was live however some problems may appear later.
I once had a Bayliner brought to me where the rain water went up to the valve covers.
The customer first thought that his tires needed air and he towed it to a gas station to air them up where he then saw the water.
I was able to clean out the starter,tilt motor and trim motors.

 

[Scott Danforth]

My boat has had fresh water in it when it sat on a dealer lot before a co-worker bought it because it sat without a cover on the lot with the drain plug in (learned this after I bought it)

the wire harnesses did not have tinned copper, and any bit of harness that was near the water had black corrosion to about half-way to the helm. When i redid the boat a few years ago, a new engine harness was made, new wiring to the bilge, blowers, trim, etc. because there was no saving half the boat harness.

I was able to clean out the starter,tilt motor and trim motors.

forgot about the trim motor. pull that apart and clean it too.

 

[ejnichol]

Just finished going through the basics. The motor oil is clear. I'm waiting for oil to drain back down dip tube so I can recheck oil level before starting. I have to remove oil using the dip stick tube fitting and found the tube fills up with cold oil and has to drain out over a 30 mins. to get a clear reading.

The starter bumps over so it works for now.
The power steering resivior was almost empty. Looking down in there with bright light it looked like all ps oil. Believe there was a preexisting leak was source of red tint in bilge. Can't remember last time I checked PS fluid but its been over 100 hours I bet.

I diconnected the cap on the blocked off 2nd return port which is near bottom and poured almost a qrt of new flud. and nothing but ps fluid came out. I noticed ps was getting weak this past weekend so i have that leak to trouble shoot

 

[ejnichol]

The water got up to middle lower front crank pulley. Alternator is on top so its ok. Only thing electrical is the crank position sensor. On the starter I'm just going to have to replace it in the future.

On the outdrive I don't have a outdrive jig to hold it. Will take it to my shop guy later and have him pull it and inspect. Him for the shift cable too.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Believe there was a preexisting leak was source of red tint in bilge.

most likely the return line. go to napa for power steering return hose. its sold by the foot.

 

[ejnichol]

Took it out ran fine except I have a PS leak somewher. 30-40 mins at 10 mph looking for property that floated away. Got on plane 23-25 on way back but ps making sounds. Out of fluid upon docking. Will have to figure that out.

 

[ejnichol]

most likely the return line. go to napa for power steering return hose. its sold by the foot.

OK. Quite the coincidence after this flood to discover big leak.

 

[Lou C]

shine a bright flashlight on the P/S actuator, they often leak.

 

[Scott Danforth]

if the PS oil cooler is leaking, it wont leak in the bilge, it goes out the exhaust thru the prop

 

[ejnichol]

The rack is leaking, Blown seal not sure. Edit to add fluid can be seeping out of rack where actuator rod goes in/out. Looks like that seal is blown maybe See video. Thanks

Thats pricey. Leaders shows it $ 800 plus. I see seal kits so replacing them is option. I rebuilt a PS pump and more than a few seals elsewhere.

Any thoughts on rebuilding vs replacing as complete unit.

 

[Scott Danforth]

rebuild kits are cheap and you can do it yourself on the truck tailgate or your workbench

 

[Lou C]

I’d search to see if you can find a parts source and instructional videos. There is also a place I heard of in Fla that can rebuild them depending on which seal is leaking. 5 Starr Marine or something like that. I rebuilt the trim cylinders on my Cobra last year and other than getting the end caps off the cylinders it wasn’t a bad job. The steering actuator I posted above was a good used unit I got from NLA Marine. On those the control valve can be rebuilt not sure about the cylinder though. It’s a common problem.

 

[Lou C]

Oh and if Volvo uses cotter pins on those mounting bolts like OMC be prepared for a struggle. They were VERY hard to get out needed a cotter pin extractor, had to remove rear seats & exhaust on both sides to get to it. The cotter pins retaining the pins in the steering arm are also fun to get at! I greased em all well just in case…..

 

[Scott Danforth]

Here is where I go for marine rebuild kits. (they are an hour north of me)

they list just the seal kit for Volvo Penta and a seal/rod kit with an improved piston.

 

[ejnichol]

Oh and if Volvo uses cotter pins on those mounting bolts like OMC be prepared for a struggle. They were VERY hard to get out needed a cotter pin extractor, had to remove rear seats & exhaust on both sides to get to it. The cotter pins retaining the pins in the steering arm are also fun to get at! I greased em all well just in case…..

Your talking about the cotter pin that secures the 15/16" bolt at bottom? I saw that on a youtube video on removal and it was a bear for him.

I went down after seeing that and was able to remove easily. A benefit of fresh water use 95% of the time I expect.

 

[ejnichol]

Scott, What type of fluid is suggested. FiveStar has note at bottom recommending AW32 or AW35(warm climate). This is a hydraulic fluid. 5* says that atf is too thin and too much detergent and solvent level which effects seals.

VP recommends their brand or Dextron II or III.

What would you use in Piedmont NC. Not sure if it warm climate. I've run Dextron II/III in past.

 

[Scott Danforth]

I run SAE 30