2004 Tige 24V hydro locking issue

[GUY_RPM]

Guys I am having a repeat issue with hydro locking up the motor and I am finding it troubling and looking for answers. I have a 2004 24V and either 3 or 4 years ago I hydro locked the motor at the beginning of the season while on a fake a lake and luckily it did not create any major issues and last night while I was on the lake I began having issues with the boat being hard to start then about two hours later while idling changing surfers the motor just stopped and would not turn over. I removed the plugs and found water in basically all the cylinders down one side and on the other side I was able to shake the plugs and a drop of water came out of the first two but nothing in the last two (Nothing in the last two that are closest to the bow. I have spoken to my local repair shop and they are confident that the water came in thru the exhaust but I am just not sold on it. Three or four years ago the guy I had work on it replaced the exhaust gaskets and the elbow exhaust gaskets and I have had no issues since then. I have been battling what I thought was bad gas issues that I now think was not bad gas but water getting on top of the pistons. My oil is as clean as it was when I changed it a month ago at the beginning of the season. I need to state that I do have a FRESH AIR EXHAUST on this boat so the flappers have been removed from the outside of hull. My local mechanic thinks that the removal flappers is the issue but I am unsure and just need my Tige family to tell me what they think. I am at a loss and need some help. My local shop want me to put on the fake a lake and restart it now that I have blown all the water out of the cylinders but I am hesitant as I know a lot of bad things can happen when you hydro lock a motor.

[GUY_RPM]

I know this thread is in the wrong section but I know sometimes the general discussion gets more action so I figured I would just put it here.

[UNSTUCK]

If the first and second incidents are related then the FAE is not the issue. You locked it up on the fake a lake so not having flappers was not the issue. You have water on both sides of the engine. To me that suggests something that they both have in common. Do you have water running through your intake manifold? Maybe it has cracked. Otherwise I think you are looking at two different issues. Maybe both exhaust manifolds or both heads are cracked. Maybe one of each. Do you recall it ever overheating?

[GUY_RPM]

No over heating issues. No water in the oil. No water running down the outside of the engine. I looked the path the water would have to take to make it in thru the FAE this morning and I don't believe it could come in that way. To come in thru the FAE it would have to travel thru two 90 degree bends and up a 2 foot rise to get to the top of the manifold. I just don't think it could make it that far. I am not saying it can't be coming in thru the exhaust side of things just not from the main exhaust. There is something coming off the bottom of each manifold that looks like it could have some sort of a filter in it but I have no idea what this is and it does have a hose attached to it. The front cylinders were the worst by far which u would expect as the motor is slightly tilted higher towards the rear of the boat.

[GUY_RPM]

Well everyone was telling me to put the plugs back in now that I got the water off the pistons and start it. Well I did that tn and it idled a little rough for ab 15 seconds the idled ab like normal. I ran it up to operating temperature then shut it off to simulate shutting it off like when it hydro locked then I restarted it for ab 5 minutes then shut it off again. I did this ab 8-10 times and it started like a champ so to say the least I am confused. I would have thought it would have hydro locked again but it did not. Justin at Tige tech support thought today it could be a leaking intake manifold, he thinks there is no way a running boat with the amount of exhaust coming out the exhaust ports would let enough water in to snuff out the motor and hydro lock it. Anyone on here have any experience with anything like this? Are there any check valves (one way valves ) that could stick and cause this?

[JCP]

When it locked on the fake a lake, was it running when it locked up or did you have the water running prior to cranking and then it wouldn't crank?

[GUY_RPM]

4 years ago when it locked on the fake a lake it started idling really rough so I turned it off then when I went to restart would not turn over.

[JCP]

If you had the water running full blast and did not shut it off right away after turning off the engine it could have forced some water backwards through the water exhaust. I have heard of this happening but still doesn't explain your recent incident.

[GUY_RPM]

JCP
I have had other people tell me that too. That was the first time that I had done the dewinterization by myself so I turned the water on at the house by myself then it probably took me 30-45 seconds before I cycled the motor so this might have forced water up and thru the motor and caused my issue that time. I have also had people on here tell me that you can't force water past the impeller without the motor running. I am not sure who I believe on if the water can be forced past the impeller but I no longer turn the water on myself and start the boat myself to just be on the safe side.

[Jetdriver]

Im a believer that water can get past the FAE and risers but only if the engine shuts down while you're on plane. The boat sinking without exhaust pressure is the perfect storm for that system. Outside of that I don't see there being enough water pressure to get thru. After researching my recent experience with a hydrolocked engine I'd guess you've got a leaky head gasket.

[boatwakes]

Was the boat on a downward slope while on the fake a lake?

[GUY_RPM]

When I ran it on the fake a lake last night I would say the boat is sitting fairly level. I will pitch the front end downward tonight and run it on the fake a lake again to see if this causes any issues. My first thought is to eliminate the easiest thing to eliminate from the equation which would be to remove my FAE and put the old flappers back on the boat. Do any of you have your old flappers from around this same model year 2004 that you would be interested in selling? I am sure mine are lost as I have changed houses since the FAE was added to the boat.

[Jetdriver]

Just get some FAE flappers, $50. I just did the same. You drill two small ho,es in the flange and install there. Super easy.

[GUY_RPM]

Did not know they had flappers but I do see them in their website and will give them a try. Thanks for the advice.

[Thegerman618]

When I ran it on the fake a lake last night I would say the boat is sitting fairly level. I will pitch the front end downward tonight and run it on the fake a lake again to see if this causes any issues. My first thought is to eliminate the easiest thing to eliminate from the equation which would be to remove my FAE and put the old flappers back on the boat. Do any of you have your old flappers from around this same model year 2004 that you would be interested in selling? I am sure mine are lost as I have changed houses since the FAE was added to the boat.

DO NOT RUN THE BOAT WITH A DOWNWARD BOW ATTITUDE. If the water cannot get through the risers due to the angle that's all bad. I have a pretty good idea of what exhaust you have and its tough to believe the lack of flappers even in an FAE is the cause of your problems. That being said I ran a FAE on my Ve for 2 years with the flappers never once an issue.