Sand in the cooling system

[62_Kiwi]

Yesterday when I brought my boat in from a day's fishing at Whangamata, I struck dead low tide and the water was a lot more shallow than I expected. As I came in fairly close to the ramp, the prop started churning up sand from the bottom in a big way. It was already tilted up as far as it could go with keeping it running, so I cut the motor as quickly as I could.<br /><br />Ten minutes later, when I was running the motor on muffs to rinse it out, I was shocked at the sandy brown colour of the water coming out of it. This went on for almost a minute before the water went totally clear. Today, after the ground around the boat has dried, I'm shocked by how much sand came out of the motor - probably about 2 handfulls...<br /><br />Do you think any damage was done? Should I do anything now to check that the cooling system is ok? The indicator stream looks to be at it's normal pressure when running on muffs although the water coming out seemed hotter than usual...<br /><br />Engine type: 1997 Evinrude 115HP OceanPro.<br /><br />Thanks in advance.

 

[Lugnut36]

Re: Sand in the cooling system

If that happened to me i wouldnt have peace of mind running it until i replaced the Impeller for the water pump and check the housing for abrrassion or pitting. Cheap insurance if you think its running hotter than normal. How long has it been since the impeller has been changed?

 

[Jack Shellac]

Re: Sand in the cooling system

We have a lot of shallow salt water here and it's a given that your prop will always be scoured clean and some sand will be sucked up. Over the years, this hasn't proved to be a problem with the predominately OMC motors of people I know. It is, however, always a good idea to flush motor and keep an eye on temperature, just in case.

 

[62_Kiwi]

Re: Sand in the cooling system

Lugnut & Jack<br /><br />Thanks for your replies. Good point about the impeller, it's one year old but I will replace it anyway, to be safe.<br /><br />I took the boat out again this morning - no problems and everything seems back to normal. The indicator stream is fine - normal colour, pressure and temperature.<br /><br />Jack - from what you're saying and what I've just seen, those OMC engines seem to be able a lot of punishment - and a lot of sand!! I'm amazed...<br /><br />...but I'll still be careful.