Flooded engine

[TonyTitch]

My boat nearly sank recently when heavy rains got into the bilge and lowered the cockpit drain outlets sufficiently to let the sea in. My Sabb 8hp diesel was immersed up to 6 inches from the top and is now full of a mixture of oil and water. I have removed most of the water but some of this mixture remains, particularly in the space above the piston. I have removed the injector, but this stuff still spurts out when I turn the engine over vigorously with the handle. I particularly wish to get the combustion chamber etc cleaned out before I have a go at starting it up. I want to avoid having to remove the cylinder head. Can I have advice on this and anything else that's relevant?
Thanks all

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[l'escargot]

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.yanmarhelp.com/s_wtrine.htm>This</A> is from the Yanmar site but general principles apply.

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[Born_Free]

What a shame! However from experience of dealing with a couple of similar incidents in the past, I'd get the engine out of the boat as quickly as you can, drain all fluids, rinse and flush really thoroughly with fresh water, followed by a further flushing with either diesel or engine flushing oil . Drain down and then strip down and clean/overhaul. All as fast as you can get it done, as rusting will certainly have started somewhere already. Anything less and a little salt water in the wrong place can wreak havoc with main bearings, bores, gudgeons, valves and so on.
Injector pump, lift pump and injectors plus starter motor and alternator should be checked over by the relevant sevice agents, but the chances are they'll need to be exchanged or overhauled at least, and replace all the wiring.
Sorry to be such a harbinger of doom, just hope your insurance will cover the bill. Good luck!

<hr width=100% size=1>I have nothing to declare, except my genius
(Sorry Oscar)

 

[HenryB]

If your boat is still afloat then make sure the cooling water inlet cock is off. I once had a build up of water in the cylinder of a Sabb when it was reluctant to start. Because the engine wasn't firing the exhaust gases weren't enough to blow the cooling water out of the exhaust and it was finding its way back into the cylinder. Try disconnecting the exhaust while you are working on the engine.
The Sabb is a very robust motor and will most likely survive if you remove the sump oil, wash and wipe out all that you can reach in the sump area via the panel where the dip stick is fitted, and clear what you can from the cylinder head.
Renew the sump oil, give the top end a good oil and get it started as soon as possible, then run it for a few hours.

All IMHO

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[scarlett]

OR

Someone I know with an an old Volvo full of sea water;

Hosed it down.
Had the boat lifted
Sent the alternator and starter for check.
Overfilled the engine with flushing oil
Turned it over on the handle
Changed the oil
Replaced the checked starter and alternator. No problems.
Changed the oil for some cheap stuff four times, turning it over.
Started engine.
Ran it for five minutes and changed the oil again.
Ran the engine for an hour
Changed the oil again.
Added Slick 50 --------something used in the engine for previous five years.
As far as I know the motor is still going like a sewing machine ten years later.
Best of luck.

Slick 50 has no known benefit but I use it in my car, outboard and boat just in case.

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[Avocet]

Re: OR

It happened to mine (I'm told) about 10 years ago. The engine wasn't running at the time and was cold. Apparently the boat was on a swinging mooring and was holed by a rock at the bottom of a spring tide (no, it wan't my boat at the time!!!). Anyway, the guy who owned it said he drained the oil, stuck a hose pipe in every orifice - inlet port, exhaust port, crankcase and turned it over slowly by hand with the valve decompresser engaged. The engine was a single cylinder BMW. He then drained it and dried it with a fan heater and refilled with fresh oil. He ran it for half an hour and drained the oil and repeated this (he said) two or three times. He didn't do anything else to it.

When we bought the boat, the alternator was scrap, the starter was not working but was rebuilt and has survived to this day. The wiring harness has also survived but there is a fair amount of verdigris on the terminals. Last week I took the head off for a bit of a rebuild and pulled the piston out. There was no sign of rust anywhere inside the engine. The big end bearing was pitted (possibly water damage) but the crank was fine. The main bearings are massive roller bearings and although I couldn't see the tracks, the outer race and the bits of the balls that I could see looked fine.

I'm not saying you'll be as lucky but there may yet be hope!

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[Prospero]

When I had a boat hire business and this happened (inevitable with some clients?) I found that draining the oil and then refilling with petrol and turning over by hand and then draining once again got all of the water out. Then refill with a very thin oil again turn over by hand and drain. Then refill with the normal oil and provided the electrics have been chacked try starting. Good luck its worked for me three times and I hope it works for you the secret may be timing.

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[TonyTitch]

Thanks all. Prospero, are you sure you mean petrol. My engine's a diesel.

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[TonyTitch]

Thanks for all the advice. It has now been drained, refilled with oil, etc, and it runs again. It needed a replacement Dynastart and a new injector nozzle. Seeing the state of the oil I drained out of it, its probably running better now than it has for years.

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