Bilge failure water in engine

[Starcraft5834]

Did not notice bilge was not tossing any water while we were out on lake for bout 3 hrs..took off and clunk quit..opened dog house water covering oil pan up to bottom of my 87 3.0 in line 4 cyl. Got towed in. Got home pulled dip stick did not notice any water..im sure bunch got in tho..tried to start it nope starter worked.. its seized up tho.. what steps should i take next? Other than open my wallet. thanks all

 

[Bondo]

tried to start it nope starter worked..

Ayuh,.... Where'd the water come from,..??

Was the water level Above the starter,..??
How far up the front of the motor,..?? up to the crankshaft center,..?? above,..?? below,..??
How far over full is the oil level on the dipstick,..?? If an inch or more, drain the water off the bottom of the oil, Before ya tryin' start it,...

Pull the spark plugs out, 'n see if it'll turn over,....
If Not, pull the drive, 'n try it,...

 

[Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1]

Where are you boating?

The bilge shouldn't be taking any water in unless from over the side , and your boating in small craft advisories.

 

[Starcraft5834]

Where it come in..dunno..the bilge under the engine would always kick on once in a while and toss gallon or two out..water was up covering bout half oul pam under engine..maybe half way up the starter.. never got near bottom crank wheel. I just tried to start it like starter tries to turn briefly clunk stop. Pulled dip stick showed normal oil level nothing high on stick.. what would cause this lock up?

 

[Bt Doctur]

pull the sparkplugs first, then try turning it over

 

[Starcraft5834]

Was in nys finger lake..boat prob leaks someplsce obviously, enough to cause pump to kick on chuck out few inches of water under engine.. naturally i was wot when this happened..only time all day was just outtin around fishing.

 

[Starcraft5834]

Sounds like something binding up starter turn for split second then slams to stop with a jolt, could hear slight grinding noise.m

 

[Bt Doctur]

that is typical of water in the cylinders, keep doing that with the spark plugs in and you will:
bend a connecting rod
break a connecting rod
destroy the starter and/or the ring gear on the flywheel

 

[biggjimm]

Water will not compress like air & fuel does in a combustion chamber, but it sure will break stuff if you try. Expensive stuff at that. When you pull the plugs & crank it over, watch & see if you get any water squirting out of the spark plug holes. Sure sounds like a hydro lock. Hopefully not though. Good luck. Jim.

 

[Starcraft5834]

If it is hydrolock. Whats that and how it fixed? Friend of mine is a gm mechanic..he knows carb engines. No kid. Thnks

 

[biggjimm]

Hydro lock is when you've got water in the cylinders & it locks the motor up. When you pull the plugs & crank it over it will pump the water out but the real concern is how did it get in there in the first place? If that's in fact what the problem is. Sometimes guys get lucky & it doesn't do any damage & it gets in like my buddies jeep, they were crossing a creek, hit a deep hole & had a loose clamp on his intake tube & sucked the water in the intake but it can also get in from a cracked or severely warped block or heads or intake manifold if it has coolant passages in it or blown head gaskets or intake gasket if intake has coolant passages in it. I'm not familiar enough with the exhaust manifold risers & the symptoms of water in the exhaust manifold, you'd think the exhaust pressures would keep the water out of the cylinders but maybe not. Pull your plugs & see if all this is even applicable to your situation. Good luck. Jim.

 

[Bt Doctur]

hydro-lock is water in the cylinders that will not compress. considering the oil is still clean ,suspect a cracked/leaking manifold, manifold to riser joint, failed riser

 

[Starcraft5834]

Removed plugs, fogging oil in all tourned it over..water def in #2 that was only valve i noted water on plug, turned it over expelled water, fogged again turning over smoother can hear slight squeel, prob bent rod/valve on #2. Friend is GM mechanic hes very familiar w engine..what would u guys recommed i buy to replace parts, ballpark cost for parts? I got zero labor cost involved here..recommend place to buy parts from? Nothin more im gonna do with it until he tears into it.. thanks guys!! As always appreciate your expertise

 

[Starcraft5834]

Water level in bilge above oil pan nut for sure..not much else..seeped in compromised oil integrity..there certainly was water in pan..not a lot but enough to cause this it seems