Flooding...

[tonyjh63]

Ok, I did an incredibly stupid thing today - forgot to put the drain plug in!
Drove the boat about 6 or 7 miles to a restaurant on the lake...stayed in said restaurant about an hour or so...came out to see my boat had ankle-deep water in the floor. That's when I realized that I had forgotten to put the plug in. (I'm assuming that we didn't flood on the way to the restaurant because the boat's forward motion created a vacuum at the plug hole?).
Anyway, I decided to try to "re-create" that vacuum, in order to suck the water from the bilge, so I cranked the boat and started off...couldn't get on plane, topped out at about 7 mph. Engine eventually died out...
Got BoatUs to come tow me. They brought a pump and pumped out the water as we were being towed to our dock. When we got about 200 yards from the dock, tow boat captain decided to hook me up to his side for the rest of the way. That's when I decided to try to crank the boat back up...it took a little bit of coaxing, but the engine fired up and I drove the boat back to the dock. Now I only went low throttle, so I don't know if I have full power back.
My question is: how much damage have I done to my engine? I assume my starter was submerged for a while, but the engine did start up...
And what should I do now?

 

[achris]

Anything that was underwater needs to be removed and cleaned out or replaced. Electrical gear (starter motors/alternators) are especially susceptible due to the water on copper..

 

[Rick Stephens]

You can disassemble starter and alternator. Use electrical parts cleaning spray - a common CRC product - to clean everything up and then lube what needs. Impossible to get water out of wires. Somewhere down the line that can cause corrosion issues. Did you also sink the trim pump? It also can be cleaned up.

 

[tonyjh63]

I went this morning and sprayed the starter with WD-40...didn't even think about the trim pump. I'll get some of that CRC stuff and spray them both down. Thanks!

 

[flashback]

Don't know what model of boat you have but if it's similar to mine and you had ankle deep water on the deck you had a full bilge and a lot of things got submerged. An automatic bilge pump would have been helpful.
Good luck.

 

[Nashtheslash]

And what should I do now?

The starter was likely submerged. Take it out NOW and bake it in the oven very low heat like 120 degrees (dont want to melt wires). Dry it out to avoid corrosion and eventual failure. I have done this twice and it works.

 

[Scott Danforth]

6" of water above the floor means the starter and alternator were submerged. the crank centerline was under water.

pull the starter and alternator and go thru them.
pull the drive and get the water out of the bellows

 

[zellerj]

fresh water or salt water?

 

[zellerj]

looked up Rome, GA and I bet your were on a fresh water lake. Don't sweat it. Engines get wet all the time on a rainy road, and the starter and alternator do fine. Your boat will be fine if you did not get water into the crankcase.

 

[tonyjh63]

looked up Rome, GA and I bet your were on a fresh water lake. Don't sweat it. Engines get wet all the time on a rainy road, and the starter and alternator do fine. Your boat will be fine if you did not get water into the crankcase.

Yes, I boat on Lake Allatoona. My starter and trim pump were definitely under water, but my alternator was not (I assume I'm identifying the alternator correctly).
I don't have the skills to remove my starter, so I got some of that CRC stuff and sprayed down my alt and trim pump with it. I'll call my mechanic tomorrow and see whether he wants to check it over for me...
Thanks for all the replies, folks!

 

[Nashtheslash]

Starter comes out with 2 bolts. Just take pics of the wires so you can hook.it back up.proper.

 

[achris]

looked up Rome, GA and I bet your were on a fresh water lake. Don't sweat it. Engines get wet all the time on a rainy road, and the starter and alternator do fine. Your boat will be fine if you did not get water into the crankcase.

This ^^^ is not good advice.

"Getting wet on a rainy day" and "Being submerged" are 2 completely different animals. Getting wet won't force water into bearings (as just one example), being submerged most definitely will!

Chris.....

 

[racerone]

Starter needs to come apart for cleaning.-----

 

[tonyjh63]

Hmm...checked the oil and it looks kinda light-colored and seems thin. I assume I got water in the crankcase? Can I just change the oil/filter and be ok, or is my engine n big trouble?

 

[flashback]

Your discription of the oil is vague, if your motor has sat all week with water in it you have a problem.

 

[tank1949]

Yes, I boat on Lake Allatoona. My starter and trim pump were definitely under water, but my alternator was not (I assume I'm identifying the alternator correctly).
I don't have the skills to remove my starter, so I got some of that CRC stuff and sprayed down my alt and trim pump with it. I'll call my mechanic tomorrow and see whether he wants to check it over for me...
Thanks for all the replies, folks!

Don't feel too bad. Many of us old timers have made similar mistakes. If fresh water, your are lucky. Back in the day and having friends and professionals working in a saltwater environment, if flooding occurred, they'd pull everything as best that they could and submerge in fresh water and then diesel. But, you had to be quick. Leaving parts soaked in salt water for any length of time just forced a rebuild or replacement. In my opinion, just dry out parts. Drain oil and examine if water got into pan. If so, new oil/filter!

 

[Lou C]

If there’s water in the oil the water will be mostly at the bottom of the pan. I would pull the drive because you likely got water in the bellows from inside the boat; you want to also dry out and grease your gimble bearing & ujoints. Run the engine till hot & Change oil right away, might have to do 2-3 changes.
If it’s sunny & warm where you are leave the boat uncovered and the engine hatch open so it can dry out.
What about the bilge pump? No auto switch? If not these must be attended to before using it again.

 

[tonyjh63]

Thanks for all the suggestions, folks!
Anyone know where I can find a replacement plug, one that connects the the chain which is connected to my oil drain tube? I've looked on this site and various others, but can'5 find one. Thanks!

 

[Scott Danforth]

Thanks for all the suggestions, folks!
Anyone know where I can find a replacement plug, one that connects the the chain which is connected to my oil drain tube? I've looked on this site and various others, but can'5 find one. Thanks!

you are talking about the brass pipe plug with the hole drilled in it and the swivel added?

Google Search

www.google.com

 

[tonyjh63]

you are talking about the brass pipe plug with the hole drilled in it and the swivel added?

Google Search

www.google.com

Ugh! Never mind...doesn't matter - the boatplug led light I had installed keeps the drain tube from being able to come through the garbard fitting, so using the drain tube to drain my oil is no longer an option anyway... :-(