Engines underwater for 2 days.

[Twin Spirit]

The boat sank in fresh water, engines were not running. 2 days later it was craned out and sat on land untouched for a month. They are 2002 mercruiser 6.1 mpi's with 535 hrs on them. I'm guessing they are salvageable. What should I do to get them running again? I would think remove the oil pan, valve covers, intake and exhaust manifolds and spark plugs to dry the engine out. Anything else before trying to start them up?

 

[ondarvr]

After a month they may need a total rebuild, with all electronics included. Had the re-hab started as soon as they came out of the water they may not have needed much work at all, other than a good flushing and drying. At this point it's a pull them apart and see how much rust there is project.

 

[Scott Danforth]

if the motors would have been started the day they were pulled from the water, you could have gotten away with simply replacing all the electronics and wiring. if the drives would have been pulled and the u-joints cleaned, you could have saved the drives.

however sitting for a month, you can salvage the flywheel if you bead blast and paint it and the front brackets and the raw water pump.

basically the motors are scrap (not even worth cores)

the input shafts of the drive will need to be replaced and the drives could be rebuilt.

 

[Twin Spirit]

I was assuming the bravo 3 drives which are always sitting in water and therefore properly sealed up against water penetration should be fine.

 

[Scott Danforth]

they are, however the input shaft sits in a bellows that sealed to the drive, however is open to the bilge side. since your boat sunk, the bellows area filled up with water. that water has now been in there for a month. the input shaft and u-joints are just high-carbon steel and have been rusting since the moment the boat was pulled out of the water.

 

[tpenfield]

Maybe they are 6.2 MPI's . . . Since they were underwater for a couple of days AND sat for a month, you might need a dash of starting fluid to get them to start :facepalm:

Like Scott says . . . best to have started it up once it came out of the water. . . at least that is what we did as kids every time the motor (outboard) would fall of the transom into the drink . . . "hey I thought you tightened the motor down" . . .

 

[harleyman1975]

Sorry for your luck. Do you know why she sank in the first place?

 

[Twin Spirit]

Yes correct they are 6.2's. It was a cabin fire and the fire dept filled the boat with water while putting it out which caused it to sink. It's been sitting all this time waiting for insurance investigation. When all is done I would have removed the engines if they could have been easily dried out and able to re start. What a shame, they were good engines and the bravo 3 drives were only 3 yrs old.

 

[Lou C]

Sounds like it should be an insurance total.
​I have re-habbed an engine that had salt water in the cyls but you must do it right away. Even in fresh water the cast iron will rust esp when it was sitting out exposed to the air.

 

[bspeth]

That's funny penfield

 

[fhhuber]

Sometimes, if you dry out the engine + electronics/electrical stuff the same day as the engine is recovered (within a week of sinking) you can have it running again with no new parts needed at all.

The key is getting it up to normal operating temp, cover off and let the engine dry all remaining water. Then many people will recommend spraying the DRY electrical/electronics parts with an electronics anti-corrosion product.

If a 4-stroke, maybe a little top end oil or even 100:1 2-stroke oil in the first quart of gas.

Let it sit a month and you have let the corrosion start.


*************************

the out-drives might be salvageable.
The rest is pretty much gone.

 

[airdvr1227]

I guess if the insurance company will be writing a check I don't understand wanting to re-use the motor(s). Won't the boat become the property of the insurance company?