Hydrolock??? Help, unkown cause.

[Shaunc]

I installed a new starter on my port engine on my 53MY with 8v71N. Went to start and nothing.
After going over every possible senario we checked to oil dipstick and it was 2 inches higher thatn normal. I went to the oil transfer pump and pumped out some oil and the water, salt water.

I drained the oil pan and pulled about 2 gallons of saltwater out of the pan.

Got my mechanic over and we discovered that both manifolds were full of water. We have stripped down both sides of the motor and turned over the block so we are all good there for now.

We cant figure how the water got in. the elbow that discharges the water into the exhaust seems to be intact.

One scenario is that the wind blew water back up the exhaust system during hurricane Ian and filled the manifolds. We just cant seem to find the cause and even my mechanic who is the best in the business with 40 yrs plus on there DD is not sure.

I said I would reach out to the forum to see if anyone else has had, or can help with a cause of the raw water in the manifolds and motor.

 

[Glory]

My thoughts, you didn't mention both engines, so that makes doubt wind. Does the engine have a high collector above the trans? I haven't seen one ot them in a long time, but what you have is common failure.

 

[Shaunc]

We did discuss that why is it only 1 motor.

Here is the raw water return elbow into the exhaust. It enters the exhaust just below the exhaust 90

 

[Retired1]

I installed a new starter on my port engine on my 53MY with 8v71N. Went to start and nothing.
After going over every possible senario we checked to oil dipstick and it was 2 inches higher thatn normal. I went to the oil transfer pump and pumped out some oil and the water, salt water.

I drained the oil pan and pulled about 2 gallons of saltwater out of the pan.

Got my mechanic over and we discovered that both manifolds were full of water. We have stripped down both sides of the motor and turned over the block so we are all good there for now.

We cant figure how the water got in. the elbow that discharges the water into the exhaust seems to be intact.

One scenario is that the wind blew water back up the exhaust system during hurricane Ian and filled the manifolds. We just cant seem to find the cause and even my mechanic who is the best in the business with 40 yrs plus on there DD is not sure.

I said I would reach out to the forum to see if anyone else has had, or can help with a cause of the raw water in the manifolds and motor.

I’ve seen all kinds of engines ruined by water being blown up exhaust pipes by storms. I’ve also seen boats sink from otters eating the rubber exhaust hoses. Forever I’ve blocked exhaust pipes with balls from the Dollar Store.

 

[Glory]

Wind could have done this, I guess, intake and exhaust open to the same time. That would mean the wind heading up the exhaust would not find a dead end like on a 4 stroke. It would take a hurricane not a windy day.

 

[Shaunc]

Thanks
We had 70mph winds from the stern during hurricane Ian.

 

[bigbill]

i dont think wind would blow water up 15 feet of exhaust pipe, over the riser and into the cyliners.....OF ONLY ONE ENGINE better start looking at failing exhaust system parts.or one of the coolers.

 

[Shaunc]

this situation has got us all confused as to the cause. it does not appear to be exhaust related though so what else???

 

[cww]

i dont think wind would blow water up 15 feet of exhaust pipe, over the riser and into the cyliners.....OF ONLY ONE ENGINE better start looking at failing exhaust system parts.or one of the coolers.

Oh, it does, I've seen it before. It's common enough during tropical storms / hurricanes that a lot of people stuff volleyballs or something similar in the exhaust ports to avoid the problem. The combination of the wind and the wind-driven waves creates an almost constant pressure on the exhaust port that pushes water back up into the engine. As to why only one engine, who knows, could have been a difference of a few degrees in the angle of the wind from one side to the other, the boat next door acted as a breakwater on only one exhaust port, or a hundred other variables. This is not unusual in storms, one house will be fine and the one across the street is trashed. There isn't a lot of rhyme or reason when you try to pick apart what happens during large storms. But if the boat was tied stern-to into the wind and waves, there's a very high probability that's what happened.

 

[Shaunc]

thanks to someone walking the docks during hurricane Ian, I may have some answers.
With the amount of water that left Tampa Bay, some of the slips in our Marina were left with vry little water. It appears as if we touched bottom and listed. This caused the port side exhaust to sit lower and the starboard to sit higher.

I zoomed in an you can almost see waves going against the stern.

We are going to send water down the port side raw water exit side and see if we can see anything come back into the manifolds to be sure but I think we found the cause.

 

[rsmith]

The bathtub didn’t blow away ?

 

[Shaunc]

HELL NO !!!!!
Tub is all good lol