6.0L Overheating

[evil0ne]

I had my boat overheat this weekend. It seems that all of the coolant disappeared. Any reason this could have happened?

We called the marina for help and they said the closest ranger was at Calville Bay, 20 miles away. We filled it up with lake water and the temp gauge was reading a little cooler then normal. We were pretty much stranded in the middle of the lake when we decided to use the lake water for cooling, could this have been a bad idea?

[talltigeguy]

I am no mechanic, but I think that is a fine idea. I think the problem with using water in your car radiator, is that it gets hot enough to boil, then you have major issues. If it stayed cool with water, then you should be fine. Smart just to keep an eye on the guage. Unless you were a ways up the Overton arm, the water should have been pretty clean, right?

[chpthril]

If the coolant was not found in the bilge, then the most likely cause would be a leaking heat exchanger.

Great idea to use the lake water to get you going again. Just make sure the engine gets a good flush with clean water after the problem is fixed and before you refill with coolant.

[Moki]

Your coolant system has now become a breeding ground for zebra mussels



I would have done the same thing: filled up with Lake water and watch the temp.

[anhaney]

NOOO not good.

I would say I would have done the same thing you did. You do need to flush it a then drain the block afterwords with the block drains. If you have know idea where the coolant went I would also pull spark plugs and check to see if any of them are cleaner than the others. It is possible you have a blown head gasket or leaking intake manifold. Your oil may also show signs of water. And if it does Change it ASAP and run the engine with now water or coolant in the system about a minute () minute to get good oil back through the engine parts. Then shut it down and fix the problem. We need the thing fixed before the reunion.

[dogbert]

BTW, I know you don't have a Mercruiser and you do have a closed cooling system, so I'm not sure this is really relevant. I had my plastic pitcock drain plugs just snap off and start draining into my bilge. After talking to my dealer, he said they do that after about 2 years. All of mine were the originals that came with the boat so I replaced them all. It was a real pain to get the rest of the plug out of the threads.

[anhaney]

Your coolant system has now become a breeding ground for zebra mussels



I would have done the same thing: filled up with Lake water and watch the temp.

These things look to me like a major pain and I wont say where. I would love to find the ummmm that brought them to the west coast. He is ruining lake Mead. It is probably the same guy that tried to steal LunchBoxes Boat.

[dogbert]

These things look to me like a major pain and I wont say where. I would love to find the ummmm that brought them to the west coast. He is ruining lake Mead. It is probably the same guy that tried to steal LunchBoxes Boat.

LOL, Did he look like this?

[Domsz06]

oh god that's gross!

[zad0030]

LOL, Did he look like this?

no thats the guy that imported the Asian Carp....

[dogbert]

Hey, Asian carp is cool...it eats Hydrilla (duck weed).

[zad0030]

Hey, Asian carp is cool...it eats Hydrilla (duck weed).

They are causing more problems then they solve... they are a big problem in the midwest..


Now that we jacked this thread.....

[evil0ne]

I would say I would have done the same thing you did. You do need to flush it a then drain the block afterwords with the block drains. If you have know idea where the coolant went I would also pull spark plugs and check to see if any of them are cleaner than the others. It is possible you have a blown head gasket or leaking intake manifold. Your oil may also show signs of water. And if it does Change it ASAP and run the engine with now water or coolant in the system about a minute () minute to get good oil back through the engine parts. Then shut it down and fix the problem. We need the thing fixed before the reunion.

Since I keep it in the slip I didn't have the trailer with me and left it as is. I was going to go back this Saturday and retrieve it and give the boat a good cleaning anyway. Do you think I can take it out for the day without any doing any more damage? BofN is obviously closed today, so I thought I'd ask the other experts.

I bet if any of those mussels made it in they got steam cleaned right away.

It should be good to go by the 13th.

[anhaney]

Since I keep it in the slip I didn't have the trailer with me and left it as is. I was going to go back this Saturday and retrieve it and give the boat a good cleaning anyway. Do you think I can take it out for the day without any doing any more damage? BofN is obviously closed today, so I thought I'd ask the other experts.

I bet if any of those mussels made it in they got steam cleaned right away.

It should be good to go by the 13th.

Of course you can take it out. You really do need to pressure test the cooling system though and that can be done out of the lake. the engine water pump on that is designed for coolant and the lubrication from the coolant keeps it from getting all rusty. On the other engines that cool from lake water they have stainless pump impellers in them so they do not have the rust factor. That would be my only worry is the rust factor that might take place. I am sure it will be OK but definitely don't wait to long.

[dogbert]

They are causing more problems then they solve... they are a big problem in the midwest..


Now that we jacked this thread.....

Send 'em all to Lake Austin! We sterilize them and send them after duck weed.