Starting engine w/o water

Matt89GT

Matt89GT

New Member
Aug 6, 2009
123
Marietta,OH
Boat Info
SRV 200CC , Hummingbird depthfinder and an array of worthless inaccurate gauges
Engines
350 Merc w/Alpha drive
I just purchased this sea ray. I was told the engine is new and upon inspection found to be true. The work was done 3 or 4 years ago and ran a couple times, winterized, and pulled out of the water. Sometime after that someone stole the outdrive. I have the boat now and wanted to hear it run and make sure everything was a go before having my outdrive installed. I indeed started and it started right up it ran bout 40 seconds no longer than 1 minute revved it, turned it off and hit the key again just to reassure everything's a go. I got the gasket kit and a new impeller it to put in my outdrive. He said with me running the boat I could have burned my flaps up in the exhaust. Anyone else run their's any amount of time and burn up the flaps he is talking about? I'm worried about it I have everything ready, fuel tank is full and all my parts are ready to be installed and hit the water. Any information would be great thanks in advance
 
lol no the only thing u could burn up running it that short of a time is the impeller in the drive but u dont have the drive installed so Ur all set just dont run it for more then a few seconds
 
I didn't think I could burn anything up that fast however anything is possible but im with you I don't think it could hurt anything it was no longer than 1 minute
 
If your lucky, you didn't do any damage. IF there was water in the block and heads, better. If it was completely dry, it doesn't take long to warp a cylinder head. 45 seconds? I don't know but I doubt it. A few minutes will however.

Good Luck!
 
It never got hot at all. I've been around and built alot of Mustangs and a few Chevy's however a car isn't a boat. I know my way through a small block and this motor in this boat is no exception hell you can fix these old motor's with a hammer and screw driver practicly LOL
 
FWC block? Don't know, but do the bearings in the engine mounted circulating pump (water pump) require liquid to stay cool?

Never seen exhaust "flappers" on an I/O boat... but you still could have burned up the exhaust hoses...be sure to check them, they're not designed to run dry.
 
There are flappers in the y-pipe, also called shutters.
 
Thats what he was talking about the shutters I hope in a minues time I did not burn them up and also is it possible you would smell burning rubber out of the exhaust? Like I say it was 1 minute max probably not that long.
 
Not something I would recommend making a habit of doing. But I very much doubt you did any damage.
 
Take One(1) boat Add Water place boat in water start engine place control in forward gear push throttel forward and enjoy
 
u guys have been reading some old wise tales i build race motors at a shop called victory racing engines most of our race cars we dont even run water pumps and to warp a iron head that motor would have to be over 200 degrees and that takes about 5 or 8 min to get a cold motor that hot same with exhaust hoses ur not going to burn up 1in thick rubber in that short of time and if it does it needed to be replaced anyway
 
Old "wise" tales, do you build air cooled engines? If not, what type racing engine runs without a water pump? I'm curious.
 
A lot of drag cars run without water (AA Top Fuel). Typically they will fill the voids in the block to make it even stronger.
 
yeah thats of none of my concern warping an old iron headed small block I've built plenty and those nd they will take some heat I was just worried about the shutters. I've run an old 89 Mustang police car past 260º for about 30 minutes until it shut itself down, let it cool down started it back up and it was just fine. Like I said I my only concern was the shutters.
 
My 2 cents worth. I'm not a mechanic by trade but this is my hobby of many years.
There's a water passage on the face where the drive is bolted. At the very minimum have your buddy hold a hose on there next time. In a pinch I've used a couple zap-straps and a ladder to keep the hose in place. I think there's a 'store bought' adapter available now and/or making one wouldn't be very difficult either.
As a general rule I never start an engine 'dry'. It's a bad habit and you probably won't find that procedure in the service manual as part of a regular maintenance program! :)
The 'one minute' (+/-) running wouldn't have done anything to the engine as far as overheating goes. As for your shutters, I would've said they're fine until you said you 'revved it' before you shut it off. Idling doesn't create much heat in that area but revving the engine does. That leaves some (just a little) doubt in my mind.
If it were me... considering the vintage of the boat and since the drive is already off and I have a gantry crane, I'd just undo the mounts and lift the engine enough to get in there and check them. You may not have done any damage to them but maybe a previous owner has... or maybe they're just old and ready to expire... who knows? It's not a big job to check and you could save yourself a major headache later if they break and fall into the Y-pipe. You might as well slide an alignment tool in there too before you bolt the drive back on.
'Murphys law' seems to apply itself more often in the marine industry than other places.
Checking 'stuff' is the only thing you'll get for free in 'boat world'... take advantage!
 
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I have it at a mercruiser shop right now having the work done. As far as when I reved it it was just a quick rev. I would think that the shutters aren't that fragile as they are part of an exhaust system. I knew enough as to not run the engine very long. The engine is new and it has new bellows all that I don't know if maybe the shutters was replaced at some point in this boats long life. I hope they are fine I'm gonna see if I can't find a picture of some shutters on the net somewhere to see just how fragile these units are.
 
Hey Matt,
You're right, they're not that fragile and they're probably fine but I wouldn't make it a practise to start any marine engine without cooling water.
It's just asking for trouble.
 
yeah i've since got the old boat put together last saturday put the boat in the water for the first time and one of the regular automotive u joints decided to explode upon backing the boat off the trailor and busted the bellhousing, it didn't shatter it just broke a solid piece where the drive shaft slides through, its all welded and and new marine u joints are in place now. My mechanic said he didn't like the way the shifter cable is working and he said he never likes to reuse them anyway so I guess im now waiting on a new cable. I hope this thing is okay he said that outdrive doesn't wanna just slide into place he thinks it could be the shifter lingage rusted or something, he said he sometimes runs into that. I asked him about the alignment and he said the alignment is good. anyone ever run into problems with getting the outdrives mounted? And why will they they sometimes be stubborn? I'm leaving it all up to him I'll just pay the bill.
 
Matt Matt Matt... never just pay the bill! Poke your nose in there and see what's going on. Get him to show you what he's doing and see if it makes sense to you.
Something breaking like that is unusual to say the least. Maybe the gimble bearing was seized? Is it the gimble housing that broke? I'm a certified welder (C and B ticket) and I'd be amazed if that was welded and went back together true to spec. It would have to be machined straight / square. Gimble housings are almost always replaced if there's a problem. If the motor mounts have had a wrench on them the alignment has to be checked and likely readjusted. The only way to check is with an alignment bar. With a light coat of grease it should slide all the way in and bottom out with a light push. If you can do that, pull the bar out and give the engine a 1/4 - 1/2 turn and check it again. If it won't go after that, your coupler is 'out'. If it goes back in the same, you're good. Look in at the splines and make sure they're not rusty. Evenly grease the input shaft and the drive should slide right on by wiggling it into place.
sterndrives.com has some good information on the subject and a few articles that apply to your situation.
Here's a reference to shift cable info.
http://www.sterndrives.com/replace_bravo_shiftcable.html
Hope I don't sound like a broken record and hope you're in the water soon Matt!
 
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yeah I been in the water however when the housing broke it was right in the front of the tube or thats what I call the piece that the driveshaft slides through on the gimble housing. One solid break. but its welded back and everything is good. I trust my mechanic thats doing all the work he has been there since the 60's and is well known around here. He is a good guy but as far as the gimble bearing goes he installed a new one before the u joints busted and caused the problem he give me a complete new drive shaft, retainer bushing and welded my housing back all for 280.00 so im not mad. it's just an old boat its all solid and it has some age, original seats with no rips or tears, a new 350 merc an actual marine engine and not that old chevy truck motor heh, reupholstered cabin and newer carpet throughout the boat. I have about $1,500 in this boat I gotta start buffing soon I have aready stripped the worn tired stickers that used to be on the boat. I figure with a little work she will buff out, I'm just in the process of breathing life back into the boat after sitting for 4 years and also making it mine by adding my own touches.
 
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