Need Help!

[Grip-it]

I have an 87 18 350 with alpha 1. I was flushing the engine though the drive with the muffs for about 2 min. I only probem is that I thought the fresh water throuhg the hose was on, but it was off. I smelled a slight burning smell, and saw the water temp gauge was very high and turned off the engine. I then turned the water on and started the engine only to find weak water pressure going out the exaust and still a high water temp. How much damage did I do?????? Holding my breath until you guys give me your opinions.
Bumming

[Cuda]

I'm with Poodle. Burned the impeller, but probably didn't hurt the engine.

[Grip-it]

Deos the boat need to be out of the water to change the impeller?

[Rootsy]

yes. you have to split the drive... it's honestly not very difficult to do... get a whole kit... if it is a gen I alpha the housing is probably toast too... kit is like 25 bucks... gonna need just over a quart of merc hi-perf gear oil too... another 15 bucks...

[txtaz]

I'm not a pro here, but you did fry the water impeller and maybe some cylinder sleeve and/or ring damage. I bet the pro's here would recommend pulling the heads and inspecting the cylinder walls. Look for scaring and heat damage. Check for roundness. The manual says no more than 30 secs without water.
If it were mine, I would pull the engine and have the deck surface checked and replace rings and pistons if necessary. Actually I would replace them anyway, then have the block fluxed, blueprinted and polished. Balance the crank, roller rockers and anything else the pros on the board would suggest. BUT, I'm anal about my engines and if I had to pull it, I would do everything at one time.
Sorry to hear you forgot about the water, but on the positive side, you will only do that once. I know we all have learned lessons like that. For me, the last time was a kill switch and floating on the lake for a few hours with my thumb out. :rlol:
Wes

[Donzigo]

My 2 cents.......

The water impeller in an Alpha drive is in the bottom foot of the outdrive. I comes off with just a couple of bolts. You can do it yourself easy enough. Put it in forward when you do it. Then, the impeller and problable the impeller housing has to be replaced. As far as the engine, youprobably didn't do any real damage unless it reached above the 240 degree mark.

..........don't start it again until it fixed!

[gcarter]

Now if everyone got a heat exchanger, there would probably be no problem at all since the coolant in the engine would still be circulating, it all would just take longer.

Heat exchangers...YES!

George...running... COOL! :smash: :biggrin:

[Grip-it]

The water temp gauge showed 170 - 180 degrees f when I turned it off. Is that good or bad?

[MOP]

Don't panic just yet, change out the pump do the whole kit including grommets. Get it running good chance it is just fine. Most will survive 200 and a tad before they give you grief and then usually just head gaskets. Let it run on the hose for awhile, check risers for tightness once up to temp, tug on hoses to make sure they did not get damaged etc shut it down check the oil for discoloration "signs of water" if all seems OK go and bay test it.

Now if anything does not seem right do a compression test, you can also do a head gasket leak check that may not show up during a compression test. Pull the drive water inlet hose off the engine route it over the side don't flood the bilge, remove the T stat housing and T stat, remove "all" the belts, make sure the water in the block is full to the top of the T stat opening. Now start the engine it can run a minute and watch for bubbles in the standing water in the T stat opening any bubbles indicates cylinder gases being blown into the water jackets pull the heads. Have them checked for true and install new head gaskets.

[MOP]

I was typing when you posted temp, no sweat do a pump and go boating. You should be running near that temp when running anyway.

[Grip-it]

Thanks for all your help guys, I hope its just the impeller plus the kit. I really appreciate all of your help. I'll keep you posted. :smileybo:

[txtaz]

BTW, I forgot to mention...I'm no pro, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night....
:biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin: :biggrin:
Give Poodle a call, he is great with parts.
wes

[DONZI]

When re-assembling gear cases.
Make sure gear selector is in correct position & O-ring between cases is o.k..
Pick up a Merc. manual for all your maint. chores.





Also don"t over torque w/pump housing bolts.

[BUIZILLA]

Here's my .02.... you didn't hurt the engine.

There was prolly a little water left in the lower block anyways from the last shutdown. It just didn't circulate out, because you had ZERO coming in... it takes about 2 minutes to get the temp up to open the thermostat anyways....

sooooo...... follow the instructions carefully on the pump ASSEMBLY replacement (impeller rotation is keynote here) and just do it right, and don't worry about a thing. Be SURE you have it in forward gear, pay attention to the pump plate gaskets and the oil o-ring. Also, watch the rubber grommets on the spacer tube.

JH :shades:

[harbormaster]

Grip it,
I have a spare Mercruiser manual that I can send you if you are going to do your own work and want it.

[Rootsy]

Here's my .02.... you didn't hurt the engine.

There was prolly a little water left in the lower block anyways from the last shutdown. It just didn't circulate out, because you had ZERO coming in... it takes about 2 minutes to get the temp up to open the thermostat anyways....

sooooo...... follow the instructions carefully on the pump ASSEMBLY replacement (impeller rotation is keynote here) and just do it right, and don't worry about a thing. Be SURE you have it in forward gear, pay attention to the pump plate gaskets and the oil o-ring. Also, watch the rubber grommets on the spacer tube.

JH :shades:

and the seals in the upper housing where the vertical shaft passes... when you are slipping it back together... :cool:

[rayjay]

The water temp gauge showed 170 - 180 degrees f when I turned it off. Is that good or bad?

As an aside to anytime you run an engine without coolant, your temperature gauge does not read air temperature and is pretty inaccurate in steam. It needs to be immersed in some liquid to work properly.

If you hit (not came down to) 170 - 180 you probably still had some water left in the block (held in by the thermostat) and didn't really do anything major to the engine. Just check everything throughly. Change the thermostat, watch your oil consumption, look for water in the oil, have the cooling system pressurized it you are really worried, and have a leak down test done if you are really really worried or see some signs of problems. Engines are a lot tougher than the pump in an Alpha drive! I know, I've dumb this.

rayjay

[Grip-it]

Thanks again guys, you are the best. Harbormaster, thank you for your offer, althouhg I already have a copy. I will pull the boat this weekend and let you know how it works out.
:bonk:
The key lesson learned here, is not to rush. You can make stupid mistakes when rushing.

[Dredgeking]

since we are on the subject of impellors, where do i get a kit for a volvo 270?

[rickrsbro]

next time , don't ever shoot cold water into a hot block. that's a no-no.

anybody ever just remove the lower unit to do the water pump or is it just me bein' lazy?

refill the unit from the bottom.

napa list a few rebuild kits for volvo drives. if you can get an oberdorfer, jabsco or johnson #, i can look up/cross reference the impeller. does globerubber.com carry one?

no straight listing for a 250 drive, but AQ(125 a, b to 151 a, b) and MD ( 5 thru 21 ) drives are listed for rebuild kits.

[MOP]

since we are on the subject of impellors, where do i get a kit for a volvo 270?

270 does not have a drive pump, the pump is usually crank mounted. Several manufacturers made the pump Sherwood, Jabsco and Northern Lights probably a few others. The pumps are bronze and pretty robust, not much goes wrong with them physically. They don't eat impellers any faster than any other pump, cam plate, shaft and seals in that order go as they get older. The impeller can be changed without removing the pump a 15-30 minute job, depending how much room in front of the engine. A brandy new pump goes for $115 at my supplier, impeller a little over $20.

Phil

[Dredgeking]

thanks for the reply. i wondered if the 270 used an engine mounted pump like a jabsco. when they squeezed the 350 in my boat, they didn't leave much room to look around or work. i'll have to send my mini me in to find the pump. i hope it's a jabsco. i can get parts from our warehouse.


thanks

[Dredgeking]

holy smokes. my water pump is mounted on the starboard side under the fuel pump and along side a stringer. it's a major pain in the ass to pull it out and rebuild it. oh well, i'll keep my fingers crossed.

[MOP]

I hate to see ones that have been conveted to belt, check the post in parts for sale R/W pump may be worth going back.

Phil