Water in all cylinders

[jonesy1186]

You guys did so good with my first question I thought i'd give you another. 1977 carver 25' Santa Cruz, 351, rebuilt Alpha(SE 106). Having water in cylinder issues. Was thinking exhaust manifold problems but we are getting water in both sides of block. Could both manifolds be to blame or are we talking flapper issues. Hate to start the flapper issue again, some say you need em, some say you don't. Any thoughts?

 

[zbnutcase]

Re: Water in all cylinders

I personally am a fan of flappers, especially on larger boats,along with elbow extensions. Only 2 ways water can really get in cylinders, through the intake manifold, or exhaust. As exhaust issues are far more likely, I would start there.

 

[Don S]

Re: Water in all cylinders

Water in all 8 cylinders or just a cylinder or 2 on each side?

Assuming the boat was in the water. was there a lot of extra weight on the back of the boat that may have allowed water into both manifolds? If that is the case, even flappers can't stop that.

 

[Philster]

Re: Water in all cylinders

Also wanted to add: The last time I saw water in ALL 8 cylinders was in a boat equipped with waterlift mufflers. The owner flushed the engine before starting the motor and the water filled the mufflers quickly and then it backed up into the engine, filling every cylinder.

Even a rotted head can't fill all of 'em.

 

[jonesy1186]

Re: Water in all cylinders

Thanks for the quick responses guys. There was evidence of water on all plugs,heavier on 3-4 and 7-8. This made me think flappers. I might add the oil had a grayish tint to it. Not bad but definitly off color. Is that a definite motor pull to replace those older flappers? We replaced the gimbal bearing and shift cable this year, when we pulled outdrive two dead flappers in the exhaust ports. Ever heard of an aftermarket or retrofit flapper installed right below the elbow?

 

[Don S]

Re: Water in all cylinders

Without knowing how the water got in there, it's impossible to blame it on the flappers. For the oil to get into the oil, it has to leak past the rings ....... a lot.
Was your engine doing fine, then suddenly it had water in all the cylinders and oil? How has the engine been running, does it still run after you get the water out of the cylinders?

 

[jonesy1186]

Re: Water in all cylinders

Ya Don, engine was doing fine. Has always started with just a turn of the key. Have reciepts showing less than 50 hours on total rebuild. Fishing and crabbing on an Oregon coast bay. Had come down off plane several times running from crab pot to crab pot, with several idling stretches trolling for salmon. During a troll we noticed a miss, which seemed to clear itself up after a few minutes. This happened a couple of times. Motor died a couple times throughout the morning but fired right back up. Then the last time it died it hydrolocked. We had been having battery probs before so that was our initial thought. rode the tide in for about 15 min while hitting the key every few, then it finally fired. motored back to marina, shut it down, then restarted it 4-5 times, fired like before, no problems. 15 min later, hit the key, nothing. Turned over slow, assumed batteries. Took batteries home and charged them. Back the next week, no fire. Pulled plugs and found signs of rust. New plugs and it fired up. Now we are back to water on plugs issue. Sorry, lots of info, but wanted to explain situation.

 

[Don S]

Re: Water in all cylinders

When the engine was rebuilt, did you put in a "hotter" cam by any chance? It sounds a lot like reversion that causes the miss when idling, but water filling the cylinders sounds more like a combination of flappers and weight in the back of the boat. If the top of the risers are too close to the water line, and you get into some decent ocean as swells and waves, you get water in the exhaust manifolds and cylinders.

 

[jonesy1186]

Re: Water in all cylinders

No idea on the cam, previous owner had it rebuilt. They installed a new longblock but used the old manifolds and risers. We have had them off to paint them and clean them up, had a lot of rust on the inside. No obvious cracks or leaks but they worry me. Where does a guy find riser extentions I heard about. The waterline while the boat is in the water is about mid-engine, seems a taller riser could help.

 

[NetDoc]

Re: Water in all cylinders

This is incredibly interesting. I imagine if they installed a long block, that the cam is probably stock. I never thought about a few of these issues. Thanks for bringing them up.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Water in all cylinders

The waterline while the boat is in the water is about mid-engine, seems a taller riser could help.

Ayuh,.... I believe ya need a Minimum of 13", from outside the hull waterline to the exhaust tip-over point...