Water in oil

[ej14]

Last season we had an intermittent problem with water in the oil. Is there any way that water could enter the engine if the bilge water was high?

[joe_db]

Sure -there is no front oil seal. So if the water is high enough to be about halfway up the flywheel...........that is a LOT of water

[CalebD]

If the water is half way up the flywheel it will also get in the dip stick hole.

[67c&ccorv]

How about excessive attempts at starting the motor with the engine water thru-hull open?

[merit131]

Water in Engine

Hi Group, Yes I’m new here with my little A-4 as well. Need help, is an understatement. I’ll give you the short story. 37ft Chris Craft sailboat, sitting in saltwater for a few years. Ofcourse I purchased it, (the price was right) mildew city inside, w/ maybe a foot of fresh water. The cockpit drains were clogged w/ leaves etc. Pump it all out of boat. Took the hand crank to the motor and it was frozen. Poured in MMO into all clyd’s, let it sit for a month.

Cleaned and painted int and ext of boat. Cranked the engine again and it moved, not easy, but it moved, let it sit another month and did the same thing, it was moving very nice. Checked the dip stick, no oil. So I open the oil plug on the port side and maybe 5 gals of fresh, clear, water came pouring out of the engine. I just sat there scorching my head and saying things like, oh sh--, But I thought this was good, because the MMO was not in the clear water. Now with all the water out and new oil in the engine, the engine was moving real nice with the hand crank. Time to try the starter. CLICK, we all know that sound. Out came the hammer, I beat up the starter and switch a bit, in a very professional matter, lol. Again CLICK, throw the battery switch for both new batteries and gave it a few more shots w/ my hammer, and may have said something like, come on you little mother ……., and throe the switch and that bay started cranking like it was brand new. I wanted to kiss it, but it was too nasty looking, maybe when I clean it up. Lol.

Checked the plugs and they looked brand new as well. The old owner had a portable gas take hook up, I guess the ordinal has problems. Gas in the bowl looked and smelled nasty. So no gas as yet. The a month later did a compression test. Clyd 1- 80, clyd 2- 0, clyd 3- 90, cyld 4- 95, this I did today. I’m thinking maybe a stuck valve in the open position. That’s where I’m at. Any suggestions? I guess my next step is to add gas, after I clean out the carb and bowl and see if I can get spark to all four clyd’s. If I still have problems with no 2 clyd, I guess I’ll need to pull off the head and check it out. Anyone have any ideas that are cheap? Thanks, I tried to make it short.lol. Jack

[Will Jacocks]

It will run fine as needed on 3 cylinders to get you out of a bind. Some have had the valve unstick itself by using MMO and just running the engine as well. Get the carb rebuild kit here at MMI, get the gas going and see how she runs for a few days without trying to pull the valve cover. If the engine runs fine and you're not in a hurry, I would even wait until the end of the sailing season to pull AND replace that valve, it could be even more covered in soot by that time.

Good luck!

[Al Schober]

If water in the boat was high enough to get into the engine, it also flooded the starter. This will cause corrosion of the brush gear. Recommend you add a starter (and solenoid) overhaul to your list..

Al

[merit131]

Bench start

Thank guy's, good advice. I like that, Carb rebuild and new starter. One other question. Assume the motor is out of the boat and I wanted to start it. Jumper cables. From battery pose to the large terminal on the solenoid, neg to ground on engine. Now this is where I’m lost, wire w/ alligator clips. One clip on pos of coil, other end on start ‘S’ of solenoid. Then what? Is it a push button w/ two alligator clips again, one to Ignition ‘I’ on solenoid, the other to start ‘S’ on solenoid, then push button. The engine is in the boat, but not sure of all wiring, needs attention. So to make sure I would like to start it as if it was out of the boat. Do I have it right?

[bondobob]

Re: Bench Start

This is the procedure recommended by Moyer Marine:

1) Connect a ground lead from the negative battery terminal to one of the 1/4" hex-headed bolts on the flywheel cover (or another convenient grounding bolt on the engine). A 10-gage wire is OK as well as the positive connection. (I just used spare battery cables I had).

2) Connect a positive lead to the big terminal on the starter solenoid.

3) Connect a wire from the big terminal of the starter solenoid to the positive terminal of the coil. This wire should have some kind of quick disconnect to act as an ignition switch. (I used a household light switch as my quick disconnect. Keep the switch in the off position until ready to start).

4) Connect a push button starter between the big terminal and the "S" terminal on the starter solenoid. (I used a remote starter switch like Moyer Marine recommends).

If you want to just crank the engine without starting it (ie: compression check, getting the oil pressure to register) keep the ignition switch off and just use the remote starter to spin the engine.

Hope this helps,

Jeff

[joe_db]

The "I" terminal on the solenoid is used for coils WITH a ballast, which you likely don't have - IIRC.

[merit131]

Bench starting

Bondo Bob and Joe, thank you very much, just wasn't sure. Will let you know the results. Need to order a few things from here first, so be back in a few weeks w/ good news, I hope. Jack

[merit131]

It sounds sooo good.

Hello again, well I must admit I was rather surprised the little bugger started up after all that water in it for such a long time, I guess because it was fresh water (rain water) and it was filled to the brim, may have saved it. Water wasn’t coming out of the exhaust pipe at the stern of the boat and was filling up the bilge when I first started it. I first thought it was the water pump, but it was the drain plug on the muffler. Now the water goes out like it should. I have the manual coming tomorrow. Once I get the gauges working we’ll see the temp and oil pressure. I know, I think, I should be doing more, can’t believe it started and sounds sooo good. I’m sure the manual will lead me in the right direction. I thank you all for your help, keep up the great advice. Jack.