overheating engine alarms Help

[troggles]

Hi there as may reacall i had a problem on SRO forum.

starboard engine a mnth back or so was alot more white smoke, than port.

Anyaway called mechanic could not find fault., seemed okay.

So partner took boat out yesterday, fine but on return journey temp gauge went right up alarm bells going off, steam from engine.

so had to make back on one engine, but struggling to get back into marina as heavy winds and difficulty getting through lock,

Late last nite a mechanic looked at it and said water pump gone, he is not a mechanic we use as struggling to find a good one, he was just offering us assistance as stuck on river.

Need a new one, worry is could ENGINE Be fried now.

Will have some one look at boat when back in berth.

Dont know whats involved getting a new water pump fitted, not many mechanics up to speed.

Or how i would go about ordering one, take it best from mercruiser.

Feel like my boating days could be over, had so much bad luck lately.

But relieved this website is here :smt001

 

[Dave S]

Glad to see you found us. I don't remember what powers your 300 but if the impeller failed in the sea water pump that could certainly cause the problem you mention. As far as the alarm goes, if you shut down the engine when it sounded, your engine should be fine. On many gas engines the sea water pumps are located at the front of the engines if you have outdrives or in the rear if you have v-drives (since the engines are turned around) They are easily rebuilt with a new impeller. If indeed this is what failed, you should also replace the one in the other engine as well. The impellers are made of rubber and do need to be replaced periodically. Our dealer recommends every 100 hours or two years but that interval varies depending on the type of water you boat in. Many people change them out annually as part of preventative maintenance as well. It might also be a good idea to replace the pump body as well since it is made of plastic and it wear also.

If that turns out to be the problem, make sure the mechanic also finds all the broken pieces of the impeller in your cooling system as well since these will cause some blockage and potentially affect the ability to cool the engine

 

[troggles]

over heating

hi dave

thanks for quick reply. yes apparently it was shut down straight away but steam was there. he is not back yet as unabe to get boat back in to marina through lock as still windy.

mine is the vdrives, so at rear know little space in there.

As getting things sorted in uk, pretty useless, is it best that i re order mercruiser parts.

Now hard part is going to be finding a good mechanic as few and far between, as believe this could be a job for a mechanic, my father is pretty handy but maybe job is a tricky one?

So i will get parts for both engines, i might be quicker in ordering on line from the states. It took 7 months to get correct manual from uk. Mention i have a searay and the chanderley just go mmm.

Supposed to be going to london on train tonite, but if he can not get boat moored in next couple of hours, looks like wasted train tickets.

Any way hopefully engines will be ok fingers crossed. So pleased thjis site is here after hearing of closure of others my heart sank, while you are 1000s of miles away great advice is just a click away thanks. Karen :wink:

 

[Dave M.]

Karen,

Good to see that you made it to the new site, even though the circumstances are not the best. Hopefully a new impeller will resolve the problem.

It would be helpful if you would put the year of your boat and the engine and drive type in the signature line so people will know better how to respond to questions.

Again, good to see you back!

 

[troggles]

will do. if i can find how to do it thanks

 

[midway]

troggles, can't offer pump help but glad to see you have found us, welcome back.

 

[troggles]

Thanks midway, i am glad i found this site, have now updated my profile :smt001

 

[searayatl]

I had an impeller go on one of my engines this summer. As soon as the alarm went off, I shut the engine down and puttered back to the dock on one engine. Since I shut the engine off right away, all that was need was a new impeller. No damage was done to the engine. So as along as the engine was shut down right away, you should be ok.

 

[troggles]

I was not there my partner was. apparently his friend could smell somrthing like burning and as he turned engine off alarm bells rang.

trying to get a mechanic down this weekend to have a look, but on this side of the water its a lot harder than it sounds.

i remeber this when i first got boat i had a so called mechanic come to put props on boat. i got the feeling that he was not that confident and told me when put in water, the boat might go forwards instead of backwards, vice versa this is not what i was wanting to hear, as it happens i got advice on which way props go when bought boat and i think i so led him the right way. Charged me a silly amount as well. It was like the blind leading the blind :smt009

 

[Chris989]

Troggles -

First, get a new mechanic. Then, as long as the egine was shut down immediately, you should be okay. Next, if all okay, have the good mechanic check things out and if you don't know when the last time the raw water pump impellers were changed, have him do this.

I make this an annual ritual on Reflection just because the access to the pumps on V-drives boats in this size range can be so hideous. (searayatl knows what I'm talking about). It's better to spend a few pounds now than have to deal with it in some remote spot.

Finally, the comment the previous mechanic made about not being sure if the boat would go forwards or backwards is really disturbing. I would confirm that he actually installed the right size props as well (pitch and diameter). Sea Ray has prop size charts on their web site. If they don't have a listting for a 1995 300 with 5.7's, perhaps someone here can advise.

Good luck!

 

[troggles]

Hi chris

i got right size props as bought boat in usa and shipped to uk.

with boating more small time in uk than usa getting a good mechanic is hard, as some can just tell good stories. in fact the guy in question who fitted the props is rumming a course on diesel engines by the RYA, frightening if you ask me.

Thats wht i feel reassured when i ask you guys in whats involved for a new water pump and procedure, then i can get a good idea if they really know what they are on about. as the saying goes i am as green as grass when it comes to boating, but willing to learn, karen