Ran engine without water

[wyocobra]

I just replaced the u-joints, raw water pump and thermostat in my '87 Baja. Well, apparently when I removed or re-installed the vertical drive, the water hose that goes between the pivot housing and gimbal housing fell off. I started the engine and let it run for a few minutes in my driveway before I realized it wasn't getting water. There was a little bit of white smoke coming from the exhaust before I got it shut down. I was able to get the hose reconnected (what a pain!), fire the engine back up and everything seemed fine. Do you think I did any damage? The engine is running fine, temp is good and no more smoke. But is there anything I should check to make sure I didn't roast it?

I also have another stupid question. There is a stream of water coming from the middle of the prop (exhaust). That's normal, right? I'm still a rookie when it comes to boats, but I'm assuming it's the cooling water from the manifolds. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[ENSIGN]

Re: Ran engine without water

You more than likley toasted the water shutters and can cause problems like water intrusion,excessive back pressure and can even get stuck in the shift linkage.

 

[wyocobra]

Re: Ran engine without water

I can understand excessive back pressure and water intrusion if I toasted the shutters, but I don't get what you're talking about with the shift linkage. I took the boat out for a quick run yesterday and it seemed to be running fine.

 

[Fordiesel69]

Re: Ran engine without water

We will never know without being there. I think you are OK. If you smelled burning rubber at all, then I would imagine the shutters are ruined. Do inspect the rubber stuff.

 

[wyocobra]

Re: Ran engine without water

Is there any way to determine that the shutters are bad without just tearing the exhaust apart? All of the rubber couplers and everything appear to be fine and I didn't see any leaks on my test run. I'll pull the exhaust apart if I need to, but I don't want to tear up the gaskets if chances are good that everything is fine. Thanks!

 

[sethjon]

Re: Ran engine without water

The only way to know for sure is tear it down. In my opinion it sounds like you shut it off just in time. I'm assuming that it was only idling.

 

[cheetah90]

Re: Ran engine without water

If its running fine and the temp & oil pressure are good your fine, keep an eye on that temp gauge! if you dont want to tear into it then LET IT RIDE!!

 

[wyocobra]

Re: Ran engine without water

Yeah, it was just idling. I revved it up a couple of times quick before I realized what was going on, but only momentarily. The temp stayed under 160 and the oil pressure was good on my test run and I was out on the lake for almost an hour, so I think I lucked out. If I get a chance I will pull the exhaust apart, but I'm pretty sure it's okay. Thanks!

 

[Matt89GT]

Re: Ran engine without water

In the opinion I got when I questioned wether or not to reinstall the shutters in my vessel, I went to three local shops here 2 of which sell new boats and are mercruiser dealers they asked if my engine was above the waterline or not, as where it is they litterly laughed said most older boats they are most generly toast, and if my engine was sit down level with the waterline they are critical to protect against water intrusian. Another guy I boat with has a super nice baja and he dont have them either. Although I will say this mercruiser installs them from the factory and they are needed but you can get by without them in certain cases. I boat on the Ohio river and its pretty calm wakes here. So I reinstalled my engine lined it up and been boating almost 2 months with no problems. Just sayin