Water in engine

[Scott Lynds]

I have water squirting out three of the four cylinders and figure I must have at the very least a head gasket blown.
The raw water intake is shut off and I have even disconnected the water line from the heat exchanger to the pump on the motor but still have water squirting out. I know it is not from the raw water side as I have taken the top off the strainer and sucked the water out of that below the line to the heat exchanger. Based on what I have read here I am now faced with removing the head. What I would like to know is why I am still getting water, and lots of it out the sparkplug hole when I turn over the motor, and if there is anything else I might be looking at in terms of additional repairs, or is it time to pull the old girl for a rebuild. Scott

[Hawkeye54]

Scott, hae you checked to see if perhaps the water is coming in from the exhaust piping ?
Also, what maintenance has recently been done on the engine ?

Rick

[Scott Lynds]

It recently had a tune up. Points, condenser, cap, rotor, plugs. How do you check water coming in thru the exhaust?

[Hawkeye54]

Scott, there is a great write-up by Don Moyer in the thread 'Much,much water in Atomic 4'
My Moyer forum page has a listing of similar threads on the bottom - start by reviewing
those -- as for checking exhaust, much depends on what boat it is in, and the type of
exhaust (water lift / standpipe) also if in water or on the hard. I will defer to one of
our more knowledgeable forum members to help you with specifics.

Rick

[Scott Lynds]

It is a water lift exhaust and the boat is a Pearson 323

[Hawkeye54]

Scott, you may find some extra information in posts 15 and 16 of the thread ' engine won't
start 3 cylinder no compression' on the active threads here - it references an issue with a water lift. Aside from this, need to have one of the more expert folks carry on

Rick

[edwardc]

Scott,

As the owner of a FWC cooled Pearson 323, I am familiar with the exhaust & cooling system.

Unless you have a hybrid FWC (where raw water goes thru the manifold), the only way to get raw water into the cylinders is via the exhaust. Any other kind of leak (blown head gasket, cracked manifold, cracked block, etc) would leak antifreeze, not raw water, into the cylinders.

So first, be sure its raw water, not antifreeze, coming out of the cylinders.

If it is raw water, I suspect your waterlift muffler is full, and you are still sucking water out of it (probably because one or more exhaust valves is sticking).

If you have the original stainless waterlift, built by Cambridge Welded Tank Co., it should have a drain plug on the bottom of it. Drain the waterlift, and then see if you can crank it enough to get the remaining water out of the cylinders.

[Brent W]

Scott, you may find some extra information in posts 15 and 16 of the thread ' engine won't
start 3 cylinder no compression' on the active threads here - it references an issue with a water lift.

yup, that's me. RW was backing up into engine. Multiple problems existed, from improper winterization, then cranking a lot trying to start. This can draw water back into engine thru manifold. I shut the RW valve but it was leaking by. Also my exhaust mixing elbow was corroded and was not functioning properly. I'm building a new exhaust now.

Unless you have a hybrid FWC (where raw water goes thru the manifold), the only way to get raw water into the cylinders is via the exhaust. Any other kind of leak (blown head gasket, cracked manifold, cracked block, etc) would leak antifreeze, not raw water, into the cylinders.

So first, be sure its raw water, not antifreeze, coming out of the cylinders.

If it is raw water, I suspect your waterlift muffler is full, and you are still sucking water out of it (probably because one or more exhaust valves is sticking).

and yes, my valves and lifters were corroded and stuck. I disconnected my WLM and it was full. Even with your RW totally disconnected, it can be drawing it up from there. With it disconnected and plenty of ventilation, I got it started on one cylinder and I found that I was no longer getting RW into my engine. The exhaust hose looked good on outside, but was collapsed inside and almost ready to start leaking from underneath