siezed tight?????

[fozz]

I have a 1993 19 ft. Wellcraft with a 4.3 merc, alpha one. I was pulling a wakeboarder with weight in my boat for the first time this season.<br />We had been running fine for about 30 mins, untill it happened. What we think happened is that my son the driver accidently knocked off the kill swith while pulling at 20 mph. (we are not totally sure it was knocked off while running or while we wer paddling to shore). anyway the boat came to an abrupt stall and would not start again. The motor would not turn over , i pulled the plugs and water came out of 2 cylinders, one on each side. The moter still would not turn over even with a flex bar on the crank damper. Is it possible my drive somehowe locked ? Im not sure where to start to tear into first. This engine has always been a good runner and serviced well. Any input would muchly be appreciated. Thanks

 

[Capt Ken]

Re: siezed tight?????

Remove drive and recheck to see if the engine is still stuck. If it turns, then the problem is in the drive, if not. Well, you know the rest.

 

[flashback]

Re: siezed tight?????

Sounds to me as if you have expeirenced hydroloc.......be careful''''''''''''''''

 

[fozz]

Re: siezed tight?????

Well I took the drive off and the engine was still seized, i just started thinking about tearing it down and then checked the starter. Bingo, locked up on flywheel. engine cranks fine now so i pumped the cylinders out and ill test tomorrow. Can anybody explain exactly how hydroloc occurs, are there not baffles to stop that?<br />thks

 

[Lou C]

Re: siezed tight?????

You may have a leak in the riser or manifold that is letting cooling water back up into the cylinders. BAD for the engine, check the manifolds/risers first, do you boat in salt, if so the experts say they only last about 4-5 years, after that you are on borrowed time.

 

[sea wolf]

Re: siezed tight?????

sounds to me that when your son knocked off the kill switch a stern wave washed over your boat resulting in water entering your engine. it happens. it can also happen if u shut gown the engine when it's in gear. the flappers, which should prevent this, may have malfunctioned. change the oil & filter a couple times to get rid of the water. squirt some oil in the plug holes to prevent rust from forming on the cylinder walls. do it soon. good luck.

 

[fozz]

Re: siezed tight?????

I pumped the water out of the cylinders changed the oil a few times and it fired up after some cranking. it seems to idle fine but when i went for a cruise it runs pretty rough and lacks power. Is it possible i fried some electronics when i was cranking the engine over and over with the plugs out and the high tension lead pulled? anybody?

 

[flashback]

Re: siezed tight?????

Its time to do a compression check fozz, you may have a bad valve, also change the spark plugs, water in the cylinder can crack the plugs..

 

[SS MAYFLOAT]

Re: siezed tight?????

Possible that the backwash broke some corrosion loose in the riser, causing too much back pressure on the exhaust. This will cause power lose also. Sounds like your exhaust manifolds need thoughly checked out. Could be the backcheck flapper stuck or siezed too.....Check these first before tearing down your engine.

 

[akriverrat]

Re: siezed tight?????

i will be the voice of doom. hydrolocking can bend and/or break crank,rods,pistons. suddenly stopping engine that way can also cause cam chain to slip on sprockets if they are worn. the sudden cooling of the valves can't be good for them. hydrolock usually happens at idle or when starting motor which reduces the sress on the internals. i hope i'm wronge.

 

[FreeBeeTony]

Re: siezed tight?????

Hopefully the kill switch stopped the engine before the water came in! Just my opininon after reading the post.

 

[fozz]

Re: siezed tight?????

update. I did a compression chack and everything looked good. I put in some new plugs and went for a cruise,it now works great. I guess , just like you said Flashback, cold water must have cracked a plug. Im pretty happy not to be doing a tear down this time of year. Thanks to all for your help.

 

[speed29668]

Re: siezed tight?????

Good job Fozz. These usually do not have happy endings.