Volvo Penta 5.0, Rookie let boat sit and filled with rain water!

[AustinFL]

So as the title says I purchased a 2004 Larson 230LXI with a volvo penta 5.0. Boat ran fine the 4-5 times i took it out and then it sat for a month or two and we had a ton of rain here in south florida. I didn't think anything of it until I tried to get the boat ready for a day on the lake with family. I do run the boat in the gulf and always clean and rinse with soap/water as well as flush after... Anyways I was shocked when i took the cover off and seen all the water. I knew it was such a rookie mistake. (Pic attached for your enjoyment.) Anyways I drained the boat and cleaned it up. Started it up and it ran fine in the driveway for 10 minutes. Thought all was good. Well I bring it to the lake, and of course fill the boat up with fuel, drop the boat in and of course it doesn't start.. try and try and nothing. I check and the belt snapped. So no boating for me that day. I order the new belt and install it. Try to crank and won't turn at all. come to find out alternator is seized. Get a new alternator and install it. Still have problems trying to turn over. Remove starter and install a new starter. Now it sounds great but still won't turn over. Change the old 8 spark plugs. Still won't turn over. Now i feel it has to be a fuel issue and water must be in the fuel. This is where I am now. I removed the fuel/water separator and filter was full of water. I am thinking water has to be in the lines. What can I do now? I don't want to drain the entire tank full of fuel. Anybody with guidance on what to do next would be greatly appreciated. I took the cover off the carb and its pretty damn black inside (pic attached). I know Ill eventually clean the carb but what can I do now to maybe get some water out and see if I can get it to turn over and run as good as she was before the boat filled with rain water. Thank you!

 

[AustinFL]

[No message]

 

[GA_Boater]

Pull the plug when the boat is parked and crank the jack so the bow is as high as it goes.

Does the boat have a working automatic bilge pump.

Turn over means the starter is working, so it must be turning over. It isn't starting.

Check the oil. If it's over filled, change the oil and filter. All that sludge in the throttle body didn't come from the boat filling with water unless the motor also filled with water and even then.....

Does the motor have spark?

 

[AustinFL]

Pull the plug when the boat is parked and crank the jack so the bow is as high as it goes.

Does the boat have a working automatic bilge pump.

Turn over means the starter is working, so it must be turning over. It isn't starting.

Check the oil. If it's over filled, change the oil and filter. All that sludge in the throttle body didn't come from the boat filling with water unless the motor also filled with water and even then.....

Does the motor have spark?

Yes I have since pulled the plug and will never make that mistake again. Not sure about the working automatic bilge pump but my bilge does work fine when i turn it on. Ill probably convert to automatic switch after i figure this all out. Yes it isn't starting but does turn over. The first thing I did was check the oil because I was scared to try and start if water was in the oil. No sign of water. Oil looks good and at a normal level on the dip stick. I just check one spark plug and I am getting spark. Should I check all spark plugs? I am having to record the spark on my phone because it is just me and don't have a buddy with me at the moment.

 

[tpenfield]

Nice going . . . Looks like you got a new swimming pool.

How high was the water on the engine?

See if you can get a sample of the fuel . . .

With the boat flooded like that, I'd think the issues are more electrical/ignition than fuel. . . you can always hook up a auxiliary tank to get the engine running again. . . if it is a fuel problem.

Any water in the cylinders?

Not sure how an engine can sound great, but not turn over :noidea:

 

[Bondo]

This is where I am now. I removed the fuel/water separator and filter was full of water. I am thinking water has to be in the lines. What can I do now? I don't want to drain the entire tank full of fuel.

Ayuh,..... Ya don't need to drain the entire tank, gas is lighter than water, just suck all the water out from under the gas,.....

 

[Scott Danforth]

so, here is where you are at.....

as Bondo stated, you need to drain the fuel system

your starter and alternator will fail (correction, has failed)
the engine wiring harness will fail (wiring with water in it will corrode and fail in a very short time)
your steering cable will fail (same as the wiring)
if your ECM was under water, that will fail (or has failed)

water has now made its way into various locations inside the hull that will most likely never drain

you have water in the u-joint bellows, start by pulling the drive to get to that area.

get oil in each of the cylinders on the motor. however if it sat for a month with water over the motor, you may be looking for a new motor

note that the alternator which was under water is higher on the engine than the throttle body and ECM

 

[AustinFL]

Thank you all for the replies. Water was not completely covering the entire motor. Half of the motor was under water covering the spark plugs and cylinders. I pulled the old spark plugs and only 2 had little wetness to them. I’m going to try and get some oil in the cylinders as you stated. The alternator was not under water but just seized up at the right time I believe. Starter was under water and was already having problems before all this happened so I replaced it. I’m not sure how to drain the fuel system. Would I just pull the line leading up to the fuel/water separator to start draining some fuel?

 

[AustinFL]

Water was not even over the oil cap that you see pictured above.

 

[Scott Danforth]

BTW, if you have insurance, you may want to consider a claim. I would

 

[Lou C]

BTW, if you have insurance, you may want to consider a claim. I would

agreed not sure if they would ask if you had the plug in or out, but doesn't hurt to try. Changing the starter and alt is the easy part, you are going to have to go through ALL the engine harness plugs take em apart, dry em out, spray with contact cleaner, etc. Then since you said there was water in the fuel filter, you should gain access to the fuel gauge sending unit and remove it carefully (clean up the area first) and get bright LED flashlight. (turn off battery switch first) look in the opening and see if you can see water sitting at the bottom of the tank, if so you really should try to get that out of there. You don't have to drain all the fuel, just the layer of water, the standard fuel filters can't really hold much water. Look carefully at the battery cables, trim relays etc. Its a lot of work and this is just to get the engine up and running so you can change the oil and get the moisture out of it.
I'd get a hold of a wiring schematic for your model and carefully go through each connection you can get to in the engine harness. Its fresh water so it might be salvageable. I had a salt water leak in my bilge some years back and I wound up changing the starter and alternator but the wiring was actually OK. The cooling hose from the PS cooler to the transom popped off and water sprayed out and filled the bilge to the crank pulley. Not a good day. Overheat and bilge full of salt water.

 

[Lou C]

Also:
pull off the outdrive and get the water out of the bellows, you might have to replace the gimble bearing and u joints.

 

[AustinFL]

Pulled all the spark plugs out and no water shooting out of cylinders so maybe a good sign? Added some oil to plugs and re installed. Sounded like it wanted to start but it didn’t. Going to try and figure out how to drain some fuel and remove the water. Also bought a new filter and fuel stabilizer but haven’t used either one of those yet.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Going to try and figure out how to drain some fuel and remove the water.

usually involves pulling the tank sender and siphoning out with a small hand pump