Help / Thoughts

[Aaronpav2001]

So naturally took the boat out for an early season cruise after being out of the water most of the winter for repairs... naturally things went bad. after cruising most of the day at idle speed I opened her up and got her onto plane. After about five minutes an alarm sounded and my bilge pump kicked on. The gauge that shows the balance of motor RPMs begin to sputter. I turned both engines off and tried to reset the alarm As soon as I started the starboard engine the alarm kicked back on. I checked the bilge and it was pumping out what appeared to be very muddy water. A lot of muddy water. I did not run a ground. first thought is that it was oil but it did not have the sheen. Also just had oil change and main seal replaced last year. Ran the boat back to the slip on one engine and restarted starboard engine at dock to get in slip. Alarm back on, but engine seemed ok, but at idle speed. I popped the hatch and the bilge and engine compartment were clean at this point. no oil sprayed all over place like when my main seal went. Ran some water through bilge compartment and the water coming out no longer brown. Also the oil pressure did not drop drastically when i restarted the boat and increased throttle.

I just had oil changes done a month back and main seal on engine replaced last year. The one thing i did notice was the pink coolant on starboard side was bone dry. Again this was just topped off. Maybe low on coolant? Hose popped and overheated? Still doesn't explain brown water though... (Please don't be something major or expensive)

 

[hughespat57]

Start with the basics. It may have just been a high water alarm for the pumps.
open everything up and run the engines one at a time at the dock.
Check your gauges temp, oil psi ok?
After the engine is running does the alarm come on immediately?
Check for any water leaking from anywhere into the bilges.

 

[mrsrobinson]

Start with the basics. It may have just been a high water alarm for the pumps.
open everything up and run the engines one at a time at the dock.
Check your gauges temp, oil psi ok?
After the engine is running does the alarm come on immediately?
Check for any water leaking from anywhere into the bilges.

Agreed, what were the gauges showing?

Shop vac dry and clean out the bilge, test again.

 

[Aaronpav2001]

The gauges were all reading normal. The alarm went on immediately after restarting the boat. The engine was sputtering and at one point would not restart. It did however restart without any issue after running back to dock on the other engine.
Oil PSI gauge was normal and reading at same level as the other engine

 

[Aaronpav2001]

looks like the housing for the thermostat for the starboard engine broke or is cracked. I am not sure exactly what this means. I know termostats are easy to buy. Any suggestions on housing?

This came from mechanic so don't have all the details yet... and am not very mechanically inclined

 

[hughespat57]

Are the engines freshwater cooled?
Have antifreeze in them and a tank across the engines with a cap like a car radiator?
Pictures always help

 

[Aaronpav2001]

yes sir they do

 

[hughespat57]

People (previous owners) have the bad habit of stepping on the engine to get into an engine room
Hopefully that's all that happened and someone cracked the housing or one of the hose fittings on it.
Muddy looking water however may mean they were overdue for a flush and change of the antifreeze

 

[Aaronpav2001]

Thanks all. I will let you know the outcome

 

[mrsrobinson]

Easy repair if that's the issue, try this one on your own to learn how to turn wrenches on your boat.

 

[Aaronpav2001]

Any suggestion on where to buy and what to replace for replacement parts? Having a tough time locating parts

 

[Aaronpav2001]

Easy repair if that's the issue, try this one on your own to learn how to turn wrenches on your boat.

any suggestion on where to buy and what to replace for replacement parts? Having a tough time locating parts

 

[mrsrobinson]

I am guessing you have the twin 5.7 Mercs. Google "Thermostat Housing Mercruiser 5.7" Go ahead and replace the thermostat while you are at it.

 

[Aaronpav2001]

Thermostat and housing replaced. Good to go. On to upgrading the audio and new canvas...

Also really missing last summers gas prices.

 

[mrsrobinson]

Great news!

Yeah, I have been boatless for 2 years, while prices were low. I thought it would be smart <insert sarcasm here> to go with the 8.1 HOs in my next boat, which I close on this week.