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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.
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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
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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. |
A bad day on the boat
" JimH" jimhUNDERSCOREosudad@yahooDOTcom wrote in message . .. " 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 Thanks all for the advice and encouragement so far. I will let you know the outcome. |
A BIG Bad Day On The Boat!
The National Park Service and the U.S. Coast Guard are considering
banning overweight people from tour boats in the wake of reports that fatties caused the deadly rollover of a watercraft on New York's Lake George last fall. Bix Butterman, a tourist who witnessed the horrifying incident from shore, said he watched as about a dozen obviously obese adults shuffled to one side of the boat, causing it to list then roll over in the placid lake. "Some of those heavies looked like they weighed 400 pounds," Butterman said. "And they had these big bags of food they carried aboard. Those types should not be allowed near any tour boat. Let 'em stick to all-you-can-eat restaurants!" ===== "Weight of Passengers, Boat Are Cited in Deadly Sinking" Associated Press The Washington Post Saturday, July 1, 2006; A10 Survivors of a deadly tour-boat trip in the Adirondacks last October say heavy people flipped the boat over, according to newly released documents in a case that exposed how America's safety rules have been eclipsed by its expanding waistlines. Investigators quickly focused on weight in the Ethan Allen and how it was distributed, according to documents released yesterday by the National Transportation Safety Board. The 40-foot boat was carrying 47 passengers and its captain when it capsized in calm weather on New York's Lake George on Oct. 2. The accident killed 20 people. The passengers were elderly tourists from Michigan and Ohio on a fall foliage trip. The boat was certified to carry as many as 50 people, but officials said that was based on obsolete passenger weight guidelines. The boat, built in 1964, had also gained weight as it aged, modified with a heavier canopy, larger engine and more ballast. For decades, boat operators assumed the average passenger weighed 140 pounds, based on the Coast Guard's standards for a mix of men, women and children in calm inland waters. The Coast Guard announced in April that it has settled on a single standard of 185 pounds per person. The new weight calculation is voluntary until new rules are created. The boat's captain, Richard Paris, said the boat overturned because it was tipped over by a large wake, which he suggested came from a larger tourist boat on the lake. Passengers did not back that up http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...063001608.html 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 BIG Bad Day On The Boat!
MissSouth wrote: The National Park Service and the U.S. Coast Guard are considering banning overweight people from tour boats in the wake of reports that fatties caused the deadly rollover of a watercraft on New York's Lake George last fall. Bix Butterman, a tourist who witnessed the horrifying incident from shore, said he watched as about a dozen obviously obese adults shuffled to one side of the boat, causing it to list then roll over in the placid lake. "Some of those heavies looked like they weighed 400 pounds," Butterman said. "And they had these big bags of food they carried aboard. Those types should not be allowed near any tour boat. Let 'em stick to all-you-can-eat restaurants!" ===== "Weight of Passengers, Boat Are Cited in Deadly Sinking" Associated Press The Washington Post Saturday, July 1, 2006; A10 Survivors of a deadly tour-boat trip in the Adirondacks last October say heavy people flipped the boat over, according to newly released documents in a case that exposed how America's safety rules have been eclipsed by its expanding waistlines. Investigators quickly focused on weight in the Ethan Allen and how it was distributed, according to documents released yesterday by the National Transportation Safety Board. The 40-foot boat was carrying 47 passengers and its captain when it capsized in calm weather on New York's Lake George on Oct. 2. The accident killed 20 people. The passengers were elderly tourists from Michigan and Ohio on a fall foliage trip. The boat was certified to carry as many as 50 people, but officials said that was based on obsolete passenger weight guidelines. The boat, built in 1964, had also gained weight as it aged, modified with a heavier canopy, larger engine and more ballast. For decades, boat operators assumed the average passenger weighed 140 pounds, based on the Coast Guard's standards for a mix of men, women and children in calm inland waters. The Coast Guard announced in April that it has settled on a single standard of 185 pounds per person. The new weight calculation is voluntary until new rules are created. The boat's captain, Richard Paris, said the boat overturned because it was tipped over by a large wake, which he suggested came from a larger tourist boat on the lake. Passengers did not back that up http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn...063001608.html Thank you Miss South! Now...back to our regularly scheduled programming... ;-) |
A bad day on the boat
You've GOT to change the impeller every 2nd season REGARDLESS of hours, or
you get what you get. -W " 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
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A bad day on the boat
wrote in message oups.com... 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. As Eisboch pointed out and as was confirmed by our mechanic (and a mechanic friend of ours we saw today) it is probably not that bad if we did not see water in the oil and as the heads are cast iron. The impeller is being replaced on Wednesday and we will see if that does the trick. As a side note: I had asked the marina to change the impeller at the beginning of the season as I did not know when the last time it was changed (we bought the boat last summer). They said they checked it and it looked fine. Something had to have happened between then and last Friday. |
A bad day on the boat
Jim, a blown head gasket isn't necessarily determined by water in the
oil. It could be the "rough running" is because of some fire extinguisher stuff, got in the distributor, but I doubt it. OR the engine was hot enough that it's causing the fuel to pre-detonate. or even vapor lock in the intake manifold. That bad thing is that even if the heads and gaskets are ok, the over heating can still cause the valve seals to get brittle and eventually start leaking oil into the valves, this is usually evident by a puff of blue smoke on initial start up. Hope all works out for you. JimH wrote: wrote in message oups.com... 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. As Eisboch pointed out and as was confirmed by our mechanic (and a mechanic friend of ours we saw today) it is probably not that bad if we did not see water in the oil and as the heads are cast iron. The impeller is being replaced on Wednesday and we will see if that does the trick. As a side note: I had asked the marina to change the impeller at the beginning of the season as I did not know when the last time it was changed (we bought the boat last summer). They said they checked it and it looked fine. Something had to have happened between then and last Friday. |
A bad day on the boat
It would be good to give us more details on the boat. Age, enigne
size. Age of the manifolds and risers. Last major work. Salt water, fresh water, or both? Raw water cooling or heat exchanger? If it ran rough as soon as your started it back up that may be a bad sign. Running rough while actually overheated is not a problem. In either case you have to fix the overheating problem. As lost of other posters have pointed out the manifolds and risers are always the first suspect if they are more than 5 years old. The thermostat could also be a problem. Unfortunately overheating causes other damage. Heads warp. Gaskets start leaking. Rubber exhaust parts melt. Once you fix the overheating if it still runs rough I'd suggest a compression test to rule out major engine damage. wrote: Jim, a blown head gasket isn't necessarily determined by water in the oil. It could be the "rough running" is because of some fire extinguisher stuff, got in the distributor, but I doubt it. OR the engine was hot enough that it's causing the fuel to pre-detonate. or even vapor lock in the intake manifold. That bad thing is that even if the heads and gaskets are ok, the over heating can still cause the valve seals to get brittle and eventually start leaking oil into the valves, this is usually evident by a puff of blue smoke on initial start up. Hope all works out for you. JimH wrote: wrote in message oups.com... 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. As Eisboch pointed out and as was confirmed by our mechanic (and a mechanic friend of ours we saw today) it is probably not that bad if we did not see water in the oil and as the heads are cast iron. The impeller is being replaced on Wednesday and we will see if that does the trick. As a side note: I had asked the marina to change the impeller at the beginning of the season as I did not know when the last time it was changed (we bought the boat last summer). They said they checked it and it looked fine. Something had to have happened between then and last Friday. |
A bad day on the boat
1997 43.L Chevy 350 6 cylinder. Freshwater. Manifolds and risers are
original. Tuned up just weeks ago with only 4.2 hours on the engine following the tune-up. Thermostat was replaced in spring. "jamesgangnc" wrote in message oups.com... It would be good to give us more details on the boat. Age, enigne size. Age of the manifolds and risers. Last major work. Salt water, fresh water, or both? Raw water cooling or heat exchanger? If it ran rough as soon as your started it back up that may be a bad sign. Running rough while actually overheated is not a problem. In either case you have to fix the overheating problem. As lost of other posters have pointed out the manifolds and risers are always the first suspect if they are more than 5 years old. The thermostat could also be a problem. Unfortunately overheating causes other damage. Heads warp. Gaskets start leaking. Rubber exhaust parts melt. Once you fix the overheating if it still runs rough I'd suggest a compression test to rule out major engine damage. wrote: Jim, a blown head gasket isn't necessarily determined by water in the oil. It could be the "rough running" is because of some fire extinguisher stuff, got in the distributor, but I doubt it. OR the engine was hot enough that it's causing the fuel to pre-detonate. or even vapor lock in the intake manifold. That bad thing is that even if the heads and gaskets are ok, the over heating can still cause the valve seals to get brittle and eventually start leaking oil into the valves, this is usually evident by a puff of blue smoke on initial start up. Hope all works out for you. JimH wrote: wrote in message oups.com... 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. As Eisboch pointed out and as was confirmed by our mechanic (and a mechanic friend of ours we saw today) it is probably not that bad if we did not see water in the oil and as the heads are cast iron. The impeller is being replaced on Wednesday and we will see if that does the trick. As a side note: I had asked the marina to change the impeller at the beginning of the season as I did not know when the last time it was changed (we bought the boat last summer). They said they checked it and it looked fine. Something had to have happened between then and last Friday. |
A bad day on the boat
"Harry Krause" wrote in message . .. JimH wrote: 1997 43.L Chevy 350 6 cylinder. Freshwater. Manifolds and risers are original. Tuned up just weeks ago with only 4.2 hours on the engine following the tune-up. Thermostat was replaced in spring. I wonder if your tune-up guys pooched something and didn't tell you. Not likely. More likely a scenario like this: Plastic bag gets sucked up against water intake. Water is restricted or cut off completely. Engine overheats and water pump fries. Engine shuts down or is shut down and plastic bag slips away. After inspecting the water pump, mechanic suggests that the owner ran the engine without water. Owner suggests to mechanic that he should have seen that the water pump was on it's last legs when he inspected it. (Write your own ending to this story) Jim |
A bad day on the boat
On Mon, 03 Jul 2006 10:54:58 -0400, Harry Krause
wrote: Jim wrote: "Harry Krause" wrote in message . .. JimH wrote: 1997 43.L Chevy 350 6 cylinder. Freshwater. Manifolds and risers are original. Tuned up just weeks ago with only 4.2 hours on the engine following the tune-up. Thermostat was replaced in spring. I wonder if your tune-up guys pooched something and didn't tell you. Not likely. More likely a scenario like this: Plastic bag gets sucked up against water intake. Water is restricted or cut off completely. Engine overheats and water pump fries. Engine shuts down or is shut down and plastic bag slips away. After inspecting the water pump, mechanic suggests that the owner ran the engine without water. Owner suggests to mechanic that he should have seen that the water pump was on it's last legs when he inspected it. (Write your own ending to this story) Jim Well, I keep reading about "impeller failure," but I dunno about that. Jim boats on a freshwater lake. Bags, yes, but sand, sandbars, and the usual crud one finds in coastal waters? Probably not. 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
"Harry Krause" wrote in message . .. Jim wrote: "Harry Krause" wrote in message . .. JimH wrote: 1997 43.L Chevy 350 6 cylinder. Freshwater. Manifolds and risers are original. Tuned up just weeks ago with only 4.2 hours on the engine following the tune-up. Thermostat was replaced in spring. I wonder if your tune-up guys pooched something and didn't tell you. Not likely. More likely a scenario like this: Plastic bag gets sucked up against water intake. Water is restricted or cut off completely. Engine overheats and water pump fries. Engine shuts down or is shut down and plastic bag slips away. After inspecting the water pump, mechanic suggests that the owner ran the engine without water. Owner suggests to mechanic that he should have seen that the water pump was on it's last legs when he inspected it. (Write your own ending to this story) Jim Well, I keep reading about "impeller failure," but I dunno about that. Jim boats on a freshwater lake. Bags, yes, but sand, sandbars, and the usual crud one finds in coastal waters? Probably not. We often take the boat off a beach and often kick up sand when moving over a sand bar. These folks taking care of my boat are pretty reputable. I am prepared for, although I think it is unlikely, for the worst case scenario of an engine rebuild and new risers, possibly being without the boat for a few weeks. |
A bad day on the boat
"Harry Krause" wrote in message . .. Jim wrote: "Harry Krause" wrote in message . .. JimH wrote: 1997 43.L Chevy 350 6 cylinder. Freshwater. Manifolds and risers are original. Tuned up just weeks ago with only 4.2 hours on the engine following the tune-up. Thermostat was replaced in spring. I wonder if your tune-up guys pooched something and didn't tell you. Not likely. More likely a scenario like this: Plastic bag gets sucked up against water intake. Water is restricted or cut off completely. Engine overheats and water pump fries. Engine shuts down or is shut down and plastic bag slips away. After inspecting the water pump, mechanic suggests that the owner ran the engine without water. Owner suggests to mechanic that he should have seen that the water pump was on it's last legs when he inspected it. (Write your own ending to this story) Jim Well, I keep reading about "impeller failure," but I dunno about that. Jim boats on a freshwater lake. Bags, yes, but sand, sandbars, and the usual crud one finds in coastal waters? Probably not. Could have been a loose belt; but Jim would have found that. Could have been a plugged manifold or riser but overheating would not have been sudden. Also manifolds and risers run in fresh water tend to last a lot longer. What do you think might have been pooched and cause a failure 4 hobbs hours later? Jim |
A bad day on the boat
I would consider clogged risers and/or manifolds as a definate
possibility. 97 makes them 9 years old. A rule of thumb is 5 years in salt and 10 years in fresh but mileage can vary as they way. They all rust and as they get older the rust and scale started to flake off in chunks. The chunks clog them. The worst area is the risers because the water and hot exhaust get mixed there. Sometimes you can clean the manifolds and replace the risers. I would also check the circulation pump and the thermostat. It would be easier if the boat is out of water on muffs cause then you can see the water coming out or not. That engine is a fairly solid one and should be able to survive some overheating. Even if it was damaged it is more likely to be repairable with new head gaskets and possibly resurfacing the heads. Jim wrote: "Harry Krause" wrote in message . .. Jim wrote: "Harry Krause" wrote in message . .. JimH wrote: 1997 43.L Chevy 350 6 cylinder. Freshwater. Manifolds and risers are original. Tuned up just weeks ago with only 4.2 hours on the engine following the tune-up. Thermostat was replaced in spring. I wonder if your tune-up guys pooched something and didn't tell you. Not likely. More likely a scenario like this: Plastic bag gets sucked up against water intake. Water is restricted or cut off completely. Engine overheats and water pump fries. Engine shuts down or is shut down and plastic bag slips away. After inspecting the water pump, mechanic suggests that the owner ran the engine without water. Owner suggests to mechanic that he should have seen that the water pump was on it's last legs when he inspected it. (Write your own ending to this story) Jim Well, I keep reading about "impeller failure," but I dunno about that. Jim boats on a freshwater lake. Bags, yes, but sand, sandbars, and the usual crud one finds in coastal waters? Probably not. Could have been a loose belt; but Jim would have found that. Could have been a plugged manifold or riser but overheating would not have been sudden. Also manifolds and risers run in fresh water tend to last a lot longer. What do you think might have been pooched and cause a failure 4 hobbs hours later? Jim |
A bad day on the boat
Btw, if you have a 4.3, v6 it is not a 350. A 350 is a v8 and is a
5.7. The v6 is very similar to the v8 except it is two less cylinders. Two banks of 3 instead of two banks of 4. A lot of the bolt patterns on the front and back of both are identical. Thus they are somewhat interchangable. The v6 makes an excellent marine engine as it is lighter than the v8s but still produces a respectable horse power. And it is just as sturdy as the v8s which are known for their ability to tolerate some abuse and neglect. jamesgangnc wrote: I would consider clogged risers and/or manifolds as a definate possibility. 97 makes them 9 years old. A rule of thumb is 5 years in salt and 10 years in fresh but mileage can vary as they way. They all rust and as they get older the rust and scale started to flake off in chunks. The chunks clog them. The worst area is the risers because the water and hot exhaust get mixed there. Sometimes you can clean the manifolds and replace the risers. I would also check the circulation pump and the thermostat. It would be easier if the boat is out of water on muffs cause then you can see the water coming out or not. That engine is a fairly solid one and should be able to survive some overheating. Even if it was damaged it is more likely to be repairable with new head gaskets and possibly resurfacing the heads. Jim wrote: "Harry Krause" wrote in message . .. Jim wrote: "Harry Krause" wrote in message . .. JimH wrote: 1997 43.L Chevy 350 6 cylinder. Freshwater. Manifolds and risers are original. Tuned up just weeks ago with only 4.2 hours on the engine following the tune-up. Thermostat was replaced in spring. I wonder if your tune-up guys pooched something and didn't tell you. Not likely. More likely a scenario like this: Plastic bag gets sucked up against water intake. Water is restricted or cut off completely. Engine overheats and water pump fries. Engine shuts down or is shut down and plastic bag slips away. After inspecting the water pump, mechanic suggests that the owner ran the engine without water. Owner suggests to mechanic that he should have seen that the water pump was on it's last legs when he inspected it. (Write your own ending to this story) Jim Well, I keep reading about "impeller failure," but I dunno about that. Jim boats on a freshwater lake. Bags, yes, but sand, sandbars, and the usual crud one finds in coastal waters? Probably not. Could have been a loose belt; but Jim would have found that. Could have been a plugged manifold or riser but overheating would not have been sudden. Also manifolds and risers run in fresh water tend to last a lot longer. What do you think might have been pooched and cause a failure 4 hobbs hours later? Jim |
A bad day on the boat
Yep, I know that. Should have said 350 block, which it is, with 2 cylinders
left out during it's casting. ;-) "jamesgangnc" wrote in message oups.com... Btw, if you have a 4.3, v6 it is not a 350. A 350 is a v8 and is a 5.7. The v6 is very similar to the v8 except it is two less cylinders. Two banks of 3 instead of two banks of 4. A lot of the bolt patterns on the front and back of both are identical. Thus they are somewhat interchangable. The v6 makes an excellent marine engine as it is lighter than the v8s but still produces a respectable horse power. And it is just as sturdy as the v8s which are known for their ability to tolerate some abuse and neglect. jamesgangnc wrote: I would consider clogged risers and/or manifolds as a definate possibility. 97 makes them 9 years old. A rule of thumb is 5 years in salt and 10 years in fresh but mileage can vary as they way. They all rust and as they get older the rust and scale started to flake off in chunks. The chunks clog them. The worst area is the risers because the water and hot exhaust get mixed there. Sometimes you can clean the manifolds and replace the risers. I would also check the circulation pump and the thermostat. It would be easier if the boat is out of water on muffs cause then you can see the water coming out or not. That engine is a fairly solid one and should be able to survive some overheating. Even if it was damaged it is more likely to be repairable with new head gaskets and possibly resurfacing the heads. Jim wrote: "Harry Krause" wrote in message . .. Jim wrote: "Harry Krause" wrote in message . .. JimH wrote: 1997 43.L Chevy 350 6 cylinder. Freshwater. Manifolds and risers are original. Tuned up just weeks ago with only 4.2 hours on the engine following the tune-up. Thermostat was replaced in spring. I wonder if your tune-up guys pooched something and didn't tell you. Not likely. More likely a scenario like this: Plastic bag gets sucked up against water intake. Water is restricted or cut off completely. Engine overheats and water pump fries. Engine shuts down or is shut down and plastic bag slips away. After inspecting the water pump, mechanic suggests that the owner ran the engine without water. Owner suggests to mechanic that he should have seen that the water pump was on it's last legs when he inspected it. (Write your own ending to this story) Jim Well, I keep reading about "impeller failure," but I dunno about that. Jim boats on a freshwater lake. Bags, yes, but sand, sandbars, and the usual crud one finds in coastal waters? Probably not. Could have been a loose belt; but Jim would have found that. Could have been a plugged manifold or riser but overheating would not have been sudden. Also manifolds and risers run in fresh water tend to last a lot longer. What do you think might have been pooched and cause a failure 4 hobbs hours later? Jim |
A bad day on the boat
" JimH" jimhUNDERSCOREosudad@yahooDOTcom wrote in message . .. " JimH" jimhUNDERSCOREosudad@yahooDOTcom wrote in message . .. " 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 Thanks all for the advice and encouragement so far. I will let you know the outcome. What a bummer! One thing you might want to check is the water/steering tube from the bottom of the lower unit up to the pump. Have them back-flush that--they can clog. Can be back-flushed from the pump intake side. Then there is the exhaust risers on the "out" side that can clog. However, if it isn't a water flow problem, you could have as someone posted, a bad head gasket etc, or like a friend of mine, a burned piston because somebody dropped a screw into the intake manifold and it ended up on the top of a piston and melted it. Hope it's something simple! Dan |
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