Submerged engine.

[JoshOnt]

So pretty much we had a **** ton of rain over 2 days and my boat partially sunk. The engine was fully under. It took a few men and some boats to pull it up again. Have it at home now and would like to start working on it this weekend. How should I go about getting it running again?

 

[diesel1960]

Re: Submerged engine.

What kind of engine ?
First drain the oil .
Remove ,and blow with the air any submerged components(carburetor,distributor etc.)
Add fresh oil,try to run it for 15-20 minutes at idle.
Replace oil again,and run till completely warm .
Replace oil again-you should be good to go .
Don't forget to check your drive too.

 

[mike176]

Re: Submerged engine.

Clock starts ticking once you have it out of the water. Plugs out and spray in WD40 as soon as it come out of the water. Then get the carb flushed, change the oil and run it. Once its good and hot the remaining water will burn off then change the oil, run it. You should be good to go.

 

[moosehead]

Re: Submerged engine.

http://forums.iboats.com/mercruiser...r-engine-after-partial-submersion-622709.html

 

[JoshOnt]

Re: Submerged engine.

1977 Mercury 500 Series Thunderbolt 50 HP. The engine has been out of the water about 5 hours now, and I will be able to work on it in an hour or so. Will it still be fine? Also how do I flush the carb?

 

[JoshOnt]

Re: Submerged engine.

I will also not you said to change the oil, I have to mix the gas and oil so there should be none I have to flush out if I am correct

 

[xjdriver]

Re: Submerged engine.

First off your gona want to pull the plugs and squirt oil in cylinders, then manualy turn motor ovrer to remove water, you can use the carb drains if u got em to drain outthe water. Spray everythin with wd 40

 

[JoshOnt]

Re: Submerged engine.

How do I manually turn over the engine??

 

[xjdriver]

Re: Submerged engine.

How do I manually turn over the engine??

From the flywheel, just spin it by hand. unless u think ur starter has dried out already.

 

[mike176]

Re: Submerged engine.

Ok 2 stroke is easier. Get the plugs out and get the WD40 on it. Take the plugs off and turn it over a few times with them out to blow the water out, then spray it down from the spark plug holes. You want to keep rust off on the cylinder walls. Drop the bowls on the carbs and get the water out. Then put the plugs back in and run it really rich. This is assuming it spent a short time under water and you have no damage to the electronics. The WD40 will stop rust while your working and once you can get it fired up again running it rich gets oil where it needs to be to protect parts while the water boils off. It will smoke a lot at first.

 

[mike176]

Re: Submerged engine.

oh and my comments only apply to best case.

 

[crabby captain john]

Re: Submerged engine.

Yes and I would use 656 instead of WD 40. Coat the entire motor with it to stop corrosion of wiring,

oh and my comments only apply to best case.

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Submerged engine.

also remove the starter... disassemble clean, dry, lube, reassemble and replace.... You will have to dry out the distributor as well

as for the carbs and engine itself..... tilt the engine all the way up as high as it will go... that should drain the carbs... tilt down, prime with squeeze bulb and repeat....

Once carbs are drained and primed and starter and distributor are dry you can pull the plugs ground the wires an crank her over at WOT to blow out most of the water.... once the water is blown out replace the plugs and fire her up... it'll likely spit and sputter and take quite a bit of cranking to start and stay running.... Take it slow... don't burn up your starter... when the starter gets warm (you can still keep your hand on it but you'd rather not) walk away for 15 minutes or so to let cool... extra oil in the gas would be a good idea, maybe 30:1 mix... let it idle with an occasional blip of just a little throttle... don't rev it high or try to drive the boat till it has idled for at least 15 minutes

 

[JoshOnt]

Re: Submerged engine.

Okay so I have my uncle come by who know a fair amount about engines and boat motors. He took the plugs out, cranked it over with the key and then poured transition fluid where the plugs go. It is draining out now. He has said to run new gas through it tomorrow. I was told to get it to start and let run for 3-5 seconds then shut off and take it to the water and let idle on trailer for about 15-20 min.

 

[jayhanig]

Re: Submerged engine.

Okay so I have my uncle come by who know a fair amount about engines and boat motors. He took the plugs out, cranked it over with the key and then poured transition fluid where the plugs go. It is draining out now. He has said to run new gas through it tomorrow. I was told to get it to start and let run for 3-5 seconds then shut off and take it to the water and let idle on trailer for about 15-20 min.

I don't have anything to add but I wonder if we could get you to post how things work out when the dust settles and what you did to get it to that point? This is how I learn and it's frustrating when the OP disappears from the forum after he gets his answers. Then we don't get to see what worked and what didn't or what the owner would do differently if it happened again in the future.

 

[JoshOnt]

Re: Submerged engine.

I don't have anything to add but I wonder if we could get you to post how things work out when the dust settles and what you did to get it to that point? This is how I learn and it's frustrating when the OP disappears from the forum after he gets his answers. Then we don't get to see what worked and what didn't or what the owner would do differently if it happened again in the future.

Well you will be getting a full detail of what we did and I shall make a video as well. Could someone remind me in a few days? I am forgetful. :/

 

[smokeonthewater]

Re: Submerged engine.

also post pics of the install of your new bilge pump, float switch, and big battery.... so this doesn't happen again

 

[JoshOnt]

Re: Submerged engine.

I will not be installing them, bilge pump will be installed once I find a way to do it without opening up the deck. It will be a trailer boat from now on, only reason it was not until today is because when I bought it, it came with a slip.

 

[UncleWillie]

Re: Submerged engine.

If you have access to compressed air, blowing out all the nooks and crannies will speed up the drying out process.

A boat in a slip without an automatic bilge pump is a recipe for disaster; But you already know that so I won't mention it.:facepalm:

On a trailer, or on the water, you need some way to remove water from the boat.
Either manually, or automatically. If you can manually bail out the water, you should be able to fit a pump.
If not, some day you are going to get caught in a big downpour while out on the water with no way to save your "Stern".

 

[JoshOnt]

Re: Submerged engine.

Well I am installing a bilge pump that I will have to flip a switch for and the boat was only in the water still because I was redoing a bunk on the trailer. It was great yesterday and now today it went down. It seems like it will run again due to the spark plugs still look like new/how they should.