A bad day on the boat
 

Cut out of work at noon and scrambled to the boat to hook up with friends of
ours, meeting them at the mouth of the Vermilion River with boat our boats.
We arrived first and once safely past the breakwall idled while waiting for
them. The trip was perhaps 15 minutes tops.

I started to smell something burning and saw puffs of smoke coming out of
the engine compartment. I shut down the engine and grabbed a fire
extinguisher while my wife threw out the anchor, then opened the engine
compartment to see smoke coming off the engine and to hear hissing and
popping. Gave it a shot from the ABC dry chemical fire extinguisher
thinking there may be a fire. Saw the temperature gauge pegged at 250F.

Radioed our friends who towed us back to our marina. The marina mechanic
checked to see if there was any foaming or burnt smell with the engine oil
(none) or oil in the bilge (none). Sigh, maybe a good sign, or at least I
hope so.

We ended up leaving the boat with our mechanic and spent the day on our
friends boat. After 3 or so hours I got a call from the marina, telling me
they checked out the engine (after letting it cool) and judge it to be OK,
although the impeller needs replacing. They said I could safely move the
boat to my slip if I wanted to until repairs are made.

We got back to the marina later today and I took the boat from the gas dock
to our slip, with the temperature rising to 220F during that short trip from
the gas dock to our slip (5 minutes). The boat also ran very rough during
that short trip

So.......besides replacing the impellor any other suggestions on what I
should ask the marina to do? What is causing the rough engine, especially
after having a tune up only 4 engine hours ago? Is there some internal
damage I may have done?

Single 1997 Volvo Penta 4.3L, Chevy 190 HP.

TIA for your answers.

BTW: My vacation started this afternoon (one week of it) and this was the
last thing I expected to have to deal with.

A bad day on the boat
 

" JimH" jimhUNDERSCOREosudad@yahooDOTcom wrote in message
. ..
Cut out of work at noon and scrambled to the boat to hook up with friends
of ours, meeting them at the mouth of the Vermilion River with both our
boats. We arrived first and once safely past the breakwall idled while
waiting for them. That trip was perhaps 15 minutes tops.

I started to smell something burning and saw puffs of smoke coming out of
the engine compartment. I shut down the engine and grabbed a fire
extinguisher while my wife threw out the anchor, then opened the engine
compartment to see smoke coming off the engine and to hear hissing and
popping. Gave it a shot from the ABC dry chemical fire extinguisher
thinking there may be a fire. Saw the temperature gauge pegged at 250F.

Radioed our friends who towed us back to our marina. The marina mechanic
checked to see if there was any foaming or burnt smell with the engine oil
(none) or oil in the bilge (none). Sigh, maybe a good sign, or at least I
hope so.

We ended up leaving the boat with our mechanic and spent the day on our
friends boat. After 3 or so hours I got a call from the marina, telling
me they checked out the engine (after letting it cool) and judge it to be
OK, although the impeller needs replacing. They said I could safely move
the boat to my slip if I wanted to until repairs are made.

We got back to the marina later today and I took the boat from the gas
dock to our slip, with the temperature rising to 220F during that short
trip from the gas dock to our slip (5 minutes). The boat also ran very
rough during that short trip

So.......besides replacing the impellor any other suggestions on what I
should ask the marina to do? What is causing the rough engine, especially
after having a tune up only 4 engine hours ago? Is there some internal
damage I may have done?

Single 1997 Volvo Penta 4.3L, Chevy 190 HP.

TIA for your answers.

BTW: My vacation started this afternoon (one week of it) and this was
the last thing I expected to have to deal with.


edit

A bad day on the boat
 

My one experience with a fried impeller, is to make sure all the bits from
that impeller are removed from the engine. A friend had an overheating
problem, and the mechanic did just that...replace the impeller. He got it to
the lake, and it still overheated...just not as quickly. Rather than haul it
back to the shop, he asked me to take a look. I pulled the new impeller
(damaging it in the process), and removed the hoses from the housing. Low
and behold the "rest" of the old impeller were clogging up the ports. I
removed all the bits, and we took them and the impeller I tore, to the shop.
They gave us a new one, a coupon for a free 100 hour service, and a very
red-faced apology.

--Mike

" JimH" jimhUNDERSCOREosudad@yahooDOTcom wrote in message
. ..
Cut out of work at noon and scrambled to the boat to hook up with friends
of ours, meeting them at the mouth of the Vermilion River with boat our
boats. We arrived first and once safely past the breakwall idled while
waiting for them. The trip was perhaps 15 minutes tops.

I started to smell something burning and saw puffs of smoke coming out of
the engine compartment. I shut down the engine and grabbed a fire
extinguisher while my wife threw out the anchor, then opened the engine
compartment to see smoke coming off the engine and to hear hissing and
popping. Gave it a shot from the ABC dry chemical fire extinguisher
thinking there may be a fire. Saw the temperature gauge pegged at 250F.

Radioed our friends who towed us back to our marina. The marina mechanic
checked to see if there was any foaming or burnt smell with the engine oil
(none) or oil in the bilge (none). Sigh, maybe a good sign, or at least I
hope so.

We ended up leaving the boat with our mechanic and spent the day on our
friends boat. After 3 or so hours I got a call from the marina, telling
me they checked out the engine (after letting it cool) and judge it to be
OK, although the impeller needs replacing. They said I could safely move
the boat to my slip if I wanted to until repairs are made.

We got back to the marina later today and I took the boat from the gas
dock to our slip, with the temperature rising to 220F during that short
trip from the gas dock to our slip (5 minutes). The boat also ran very
rough during that short trip

So.......besides replacing the impellor any other suggestions on what I
should ask the marina to do? What is causing the rough engine, especially
after having a tune up only 4 engine hours ago? Is there some internal
damage I may have done?

Single 1997 Volvo Penta 4.3L, Chevy 190 HP.

TIA for your answers.

BTW: My vacation started this afternoon (one week of it) and this was
the last thing I expected to have to deal with.

A bad day on the boat
 

Jim, tht doesn't sound good at all. I think you may have burnt valves,
a blown head gasket[s], maybe even cracked heads.


Sorry for the downtime, man. especially when your vacation is just now
starting..

Good Luck!

JimH wrote:
Cut out of work at noon and scrambled to the boat to hook up with friends of
ours, meeting them at the mouth of the Vermilion River with boat our boats.
We arrived first and once safely past the breakwall idled while waiting for
them. The trip was perhaps 15 minutes tops.

I started to smell something burning and saw puffs of smoke coming out of
the engine compartment. I shut down the engine and grabbed a fire
extinguisher while my wife threw out the anchor, then opened the engine
compartment to see smoke coming off the engine and to hear hissing and
popping. Gave it a shot from the ABC dry chemical fire extinguisher
thinking there may be a fire. Saw the temperature gauge pegged at 250F.

Radioed our friends who towed us back to our marina. The marina mechanic
checked to see if there was any foaming or burnt smell with the engine oil
(none) or oil in the bilge (none). Sigh, maybe a good sign, or at least I
hope so.

We ended up leaving the boat with our mechanic and spent the day on our
friends boat. After 3 or so hours I got a call from the marina, telling me
they checked out the engine (after letting it cool) and judge it to be OK,
although the impeller needs replacing. They said I could safely move the
boat to my slip if I wanted to until repairs are made.

We got back to the marina later today and I took the boat from the gas dock
to our slip, with the temperature rising to 220F during that short trip from
the gas dock to our slip (5 minutes). The boat also ran very rough during
that short trip

So.......besides replacing the impellor any other suggestions on what I
should ask the marina to do? What is causing the rough engine, especially
after having a tune up only 4 engine hours ago? Is there some internal
damage I may have done?

Single 1997 Volvo Penta 4.3L, Chevy 190 HP.

TIA for your answers.

BTW: My vacation started this afternoon (one week of it) and this was the
last thing I expected to have to deal with.

A bad day on the boat
 

Best of luck getting back with minimal expenses and time down.

A bad day on the boat
 

" JimH" jimhUNDERSCOREosudad@yahooDOTcom wrote in message
. ..

We ended up leaving the boat with our mechanic and spent the day on our
friends boat. After 3 or so hours I got a call from the marina, telling
me they checked out the engine (after letting it cool) and judge it to be
OK, although the impeller needs replacing. They said I could safely move
the boat to my slip if I wanted to until repairs are made.

We got back to the marina later today and I took the boat from the gas
dock to our slip, with the temperature rising to 220F during that short
trip from the gas dock to our slip (5 minutes). The boat also ran very
rough during that short trip

So.......besides replacing the impellor any other suggestions on what I
should ask the marina to do? What is causing the rough engine, especially
after having a tune up only 4 engine hours ago? Is there some internal
damage I may have done?

Single 1997 Volvo Penta 4.3L, Chevy 190 HP.

TIA for your answers.



I would not panic yet. One of my first boats overheated one day as I left
the harbor heading for England.
Temp rose to 260 degrees. I putt-putted back to the slip and JiminFl came
to the rescue. He determined that my old manifolds were shot and replaced
them with new ones of an updated design. The boat ran fine after that.
Different engine, I realize (350 Chevy), but the first step would be to
replace the impellor and see how it goes.
You might get lucky.

Eisboch

A bad day on the boat
 

"Eisboch" wrote in message
...



I would not panic yet. One of my first boats overheated one day as I left
the harbor heading for England.
Temp rose to 260 degrees. I putt-putted back to the slip and JiminFl came
to the rescue. He determined that my old manifolds were shot and replaced
them with new ones of an updated design. The boat ran fine after that.
Different engine, I realize (350 Chevy), but the first step would be to
replace the impellor and see how it goes.
You might get lucky.

Eisboch


Does that engine have aluminum or cast iron heads?
Aluminum heads are not as tolerant to overheats as the cast iron.

Eisboch

A bad day on the boat
 

On 30 Jun 2006 21:03:23 -0700, wrote:

Jim, tht doesn't sound good at all. I think you may have burnt valves,
a blown head gasket[s], maybe even cracked heads.


Sorry for the downtime, man. especially when your vacation is just now
starting..

Good Luck!

JimH wrote:
Cut out of work at noon and scrambled to the boat to hook up with friends of
ours, meeting them at the mouth of the Vermilion River with boat our boats.
We arrived first and once safely past the breakwall idled while waiting for
them. The trip was perhaps 15 minutes tops.

I started to smell something burning and saw puffs of smoke coming out of
the engine compartment. I shut down the engine and grabbed a fire
extinguisher while my wife threw out the anchor, then opened the engine
compartment to see smoke coming off the engine and to hear hissing and
popping. Gave it a shot from the ABC dry chemical fire extinguisher
thinking there may be a fire. Saw the temperature gauge pegged at 250F.

Radioed our friends who towed us back to our marina. The marina mechanic
checked to see if there was any foaming or burnt smell with the engine oil
(none) or oil in the bilge (none). Sigh, maybe a good sign, or at least I
hope so.

We ended up leaving the boat with our mechanic and spent the day on our
friends boat. After 3 or so hours I got a call from the marina, telling me
they checked out the engine (after letting it cool) and judge it to be OK,
although the impeller needs replacing. They said I could safely move the
boat to my slip if I wanted to until repairs are made.

We got back to the marina later today and I took the boat from the gas dock
to our slip, with the temperature rising to 220F during that short trip from
the gas dock to our slip (5 minutes). The boat also ran very rough during
that short trip

So.......besides replacing the impellor any other suggestions on what I
should ask the marina to do? What is causing the rough engine, especially
after having a tune up only 4 engine hours ago? Is there some internal
damage I may have done?

Single 1997 Volvo Penta 4.3L, Chevy 190 HP.

TIA for your answers.

BTW: My vacation started this afternoon (one week of it) and this was the
last thing I expected to have to deal with.

This sounds very much like the symptoms I had with a plugged
manifold/riser. The smoke I got came from a rubber coated cable which was
resting on an exhaust elbow that overheated. I didn't have to use the fire
extinguisher though.

New manifolds and risers and exhaust parts made it run like new. Luckily, I
had no water get into the exhaust, but if a manifold gasket went bad, that
could also be a problem. When the engine is running, normally, I can place
my hand on a riser for a few seconds. When it was plugged, a slight touch
burned like hell!
--
John H

******************************************
***** Have a Spectacular Day! *****
******************************************

A bad day on the boat
 

On Sat, 01 Jul 2006 07:29:20 -0400, JohnH wrote:

On 30 Jun 2006 21:03:23 -0700, wrote:

Jim, tht doesn't sound good at all. I think you may have burnt valves,
a blown head gasket[s], maybe even cracked heads.


Sorry for the downtime, man. especially when your vacation is just now
starting..

Good Luck!

JimH wrote:
Cut out of work at noon and scrambled to the boat to hook up with friends of
ours, meeting them at the mouth of the Vermilion River with boat our boats.
We arrived first and once safely past the breakwall idled while waiting for
them. The trip was perhaps 15 minutes tops.

I started to smell something burning and saw puffs of smoke coming out of
the engine compartment. I shut down the engine and grabbed a fire
extinguisher while my wife threw out the anchor, then opened the engine
compartment to see smoke coming off the engine and to hear hissing and
popping. Gave it a shot from the ABC dry chemical fire extinguisher
thinking there may be a fire. Saw the temperature gauge pegged at 250F.

Radioed our friends who towed us back to our marina. The marina mechanic
checked to see if there was any foaming or burnt smell with the engine oil
(none) or oil in the bilge (none). Sigh, maybe a good sign, or at least I
hope so.

We ended up leaving the boat with our mechanic and spent the day on our
friends boat. After 3 or so hours I got a call from the marina, telling me
they checked out the engine (after letting it cool) and judge it to be OK,
although the impeller needs replacing. They said I could safely move the
boat to my slip if I wanted to until repairs are made.

We got back to the marina later today and I took the boat from the gas dock
to our slip, with the temperature rising to 220F during that short trip from
the gas dock to our slip (5 minutes). The boat also ran very rough during
that short trip

So.......besides replacing the impellor any other suggestions on what I
should ask the marina to do? What is causing the rough engine, especially
after having a tune up only 4 engine hours ago? Is there some internal
damage I may have done?

Single 1997 Volvo Penta 4.3L, Chevy 190 HP.

TIA for your answers.

BTW: My vacation started this afternoon (one week of it) and this was the
last thing I expected to have to deal with.

This sounds very much like the symptoms I had with a plugged
manifold/riser. The smoke I got came from a rubber coated cable which was
resting on an exhaust elbow that overheated. I didn't have to use the fire
extinguisher though.

New manifolds and risers and exhaust parts made it run like new. Luckily, I
had no water get into the exhaust, but if a manifold gasket went bad, that
could also be a problem. When the engine is running, normally, I can place
my hand on a riser for a few seconds. When it was plugged, a slight touch
burned like hell!

Whoops, should have said, "...no water get into the cylinders..."

Also, my manifolds/risers were seven seasons old when this happened. I've
heard that ten years is about max life.
--
John H

******************************************
***** Have a Spectacular Day! *****
******************************************

A bad day on the boat
 

"Eisboch" wrote in message
...

"Eisboch" wrote in message
...



I would not panic yet. One of my first boats overheated one day as I
left the harbor heading for England.
Temp rose to 260 degrees. I putt-putted back to the slip and JiminFl
came to the rescue. He determined that my old manifolds were shot and
replaced them with new ones of an updated design. The boat ran fine
after that.
Different engine, I realize (350 Chevy), but the first step would be to
replace the impellor and see how it goes.
You might get lucky.

Eisboch


Does that engine have aluminum or cast iron heads?
Aluminum heads are not as tolerant to overheats as the cast iron.

Eisboch


Cast iron heads.