Water coming out of carburetor

[yeahjohn]

Okay. Here we go. I do not have a vented loop in my exhaust... it's on my should have done sooner list. Last night I was anchored up swimming and barbequing with friends (fun right?), I left the water intake open (I always close whenever engine is off or starting but at anchorage I wanted to be safe). I went below to turn off water intake to start engine and I noticed water pouring out of the carburetor (At the time I thought it was gas and I simply had a stuck float). I tried to start the engine... would not turn over. I was towed back to slip and went to boat this morning in a panic after realizing with was water not gas.

Here is what I did:
-Drained carb bowl
-Put mmo in each valve
-Replaced spark plugs
-Changed oil (pulled 8 quarts... so lots of water in crank case)

The engine started after a few attempts, it was sluggish out of the gate but smoothed out within 30 seconds. Now it is running normal. I was going to change the oil a few more times. What steps should I take to insure everything is okay? Thanks

[Dave Neptune]

Ouch, nice recovery

You have pretty well done what you can. You can change the oil 2~3 times, twice usually will get most of it. Just run a few minutes between changes, you'll get more of the water out that way. Spray a bit of oil in the cylinders until you see no more "milky oil" on the stick or the filler cap.

I have an a few occasions found water in mine or others and if th oil is still in the case after sucking the water out from under it I use that oil for the first run. Let it absorb the worst of it.

Dave Neptune

[Dave Neptune]

Oops part 2

Fix the vented loop or install one.

Dave Neptune

[CalebD]

...
I was going to change the oil a few more times. What steps should I take to insure everything is okay? Thanks

Until you install vented loop ALWAYS close raw water intake after shutting down the engine.
An added precaution would then be to run the engine for a few seconds to expel more water from the exhaust.

Another oil change (or two) couldn't hurt.

[Carl-T705]

This may seem like a very basic question, but where does the vented loop go? Intake water line or exhaust? I've taken 5 of these A4 engines out of boats and have never come across one with a vented loop.

[hanleyclifford]

If the water injection fitting is above the waterline no vented loop should be required. If possble every installation should be so designed. If not the vented loop is needed unless as a matter of religion you close that intake valve every time. Good to hear that in this case the ultimate penalty was not extracted.

[ndutton]

Ah yes, welcome to the world of Catalina 30's where the engine and entire hot section are below the waterline. For this reason I prefer a vented loop rather than an anti-siphon valve. No moving parts to fail and a failure in this system is . . . . . well, it's a bad thing.

[hanleyclifford]

My new favorite Neil Quotation from another thread, "...never underestimate the ability of water to run uphill..."

[ndutton]

My new favorite Neil Quotation from another thread, "...never underestimate the ability of water to run uphill..."

I said that? That's pretty good stuff. Look at me, will ya?

Carl, a vented loop in the water injection hose will continually spit water so a hose from the vent is necessary (to the galley sink drain on the C-30) to keep from messing up the galley cabinet. It's important that this vent hose have braided reinforcement to keep it from kinking closed at the bends. If it's kinked closed there's no vent, same as nothing at all.

[67c&ccorv]

We will see how this works in mine - next year.

It's mounted in the hull...working on the connections - fabbing, etc.

[yeahjohn]

A quick question. My carb now is getting all rusty thanks to water dumping all over it. Can I spray wd40, carb cleaner, mmo etc. Over the exterior of the engine? Any tips. Thanks.

[Mo]

John, where is this water coming from...thought it was coming down through the combustion chamber....anyway...yes you can spray it down with any light oil but if you don't run the engine soon you might want to take it off and clean it up inside as well.

[yeahjohn]

The engine is up and running well and has been sense day one of my issue. I was able to have it back up with in hours of the water episode. Will the gas clean out the inside of the carb? It never sat with water in it. Once I saw the water coming out I shut off the water and drained the system. My goal was just to wipe down the exterior of the engine and carb because I did notice the carb bolts a little rusty after water leaked out of carb.

[Mo]

The engine is up and running well and has been sense day one of my issue. I was able to have it back up with in hours of the water episode. Will the gas clean out the inside of the carb? It never sat with water in it. Once I saw the water coming out I shut off the water and drained the system. My goal was just to wipe down the exterior of the engine and carb because I did notice the carb bolts a little rusty after water leaked out of carb.

Probably just laying in the throat. Inside should be fine as gas is running through it now. Just an idea for you. You can spray some WD40 straight in the throat of the carb when it is running...like a shooter...then follow with a shot of break cleaner...the break cleaner is combustable (dats why I likes it so have the engine around idle when you shoot a shot or two in there...she will increase rpm with the stuff.
Best carb cleaner out there

[sastanley]

John, WD-40 on the exterior will not hurt the motor..it will probably burn off when you get her good and hot though, so be aware of that.

Spraying WD-40 is standard procedure on my wheel barrow after use, which unfortunately sees a lot of shovels, and is stored outdoors..it does help.