Engine trouble on the 4th weekend!

[UNSTUCK]

At this point don't turn the engine over unless by hand. Remove the plugs and just feel it. Should feel the same through 720* of rotation. Use the caliper through the plug hole to check piston height on all 8. Should be basically identical minus error. You can do the same to check valve movement and push rods. If all that checks out do the leak down and compression checks at which point you would need to use the starter to turn the motor over. The starter can cause parts to bend, but my guess this time it didn't. I think and hope those parts are ok. Head gaskets will be another story though.

[Jetdriver]

Update: I was able to get my motor started again and tested on the hose yesterday then the lake today. I dodged a bullet on this one!
I removed all the plugs (which were toast btw) and let as much water drain as possible, I also removed/reinstalled the manifold drains. I turned the engine over by bumping the starter. Sprayed WD-40 in the cylinders through the spark plug holes and cycled the starter again. I did that 4 times then tested the compression with a $30 tester from O'Reilys. All the cylinders were producing numbers within 10% of a healthy average. (148psi) Put the new plugs in and connected the garden hose and ran it for a half hour monitoring temp, etc.. never got over 145. I rested it for an hour and did it again, varied rpm a bit and it sounds good and us running cool. Understandably it was running sluggish after first starting it but it burned that crap outta the cylinders after a few minutes. I also changed the oil as a precaution. Took the boat out to cherry creek this am and rode some glass, boat ran perfect! All said and done I replaced the impeller, I replaced plugs and bought a tester for about $125. Not bad considering what I thought I was looking at!
What happened was I overheated most likely because my filthy strainer. The boat was on plane when the engine shutdown automatically. As the boat sank the lack of exhaust pressure allowed water to go through my exhaust, up the risers, through the manifold and right into the cylinders. I didn't get flappers in my FAE and I'm guessing that they would've prevented this. (Barring me not overheating it in the first place) My fault for being a cheap a$$. I've got a set on order to keep this from happening again. I'm also going to clean my raw water strainer after each outing from now on. Thats probably overkill but it'll give me piece of mind. It's crazy the amount of stuff they pic up!

Thanks for the help everyone! Cheers!

[Dandy]

^^^^WOW - GREAT NEWS!!! Happy to hear that things turned out well.

It is interesting that your boat doesn't run over 145. We finally got ours out last night for a quick 1.5 hour test run (wifey and I always take it our boats out alone for the first run of the season to run through the systems before bringing guests) and ours ran @ 160.

Side note - I would suggest seeing if you can find a spare bowl and gasket for your strainer. Those clear bowls do not tend to hold up as well as the solid ones do. Granted yours is not exposed to the sun, so it may be better. If you happen to lose or damage your gasket, it will cause an air leak and prevent your water pump from drawing water through it or at a very reduced flow. Heck, maybe having a spare filter may not be bad in your case, you could just swap the screens after each run and then clean and dry the other. If you get a slimy build up on the screen, I would consider spraying it with a little bleach solution after you clean it. If you don't, you will get a build up of "biofilm" and this will cause other bacteria to adhere to it quicker multiplying the effect.

If you can, let us know how installing the flappers works. This is got me thinking about getting them for our FAE...and I just put it on this Spring. They always say you don't really need them, but then I read something like this and think "I should have spent the $40"

Long story short, I am very happy to know that you were able to walk away from this with a functioning boat and minimal damage to your bank account.

[Jetdriver]

Thanks Dandy, not a bad idea at all getting a second bowl and seal. I thought about the seal but it would be good to have a backup of all the components.
I installed an FAE on my friends Tige 20V recently and he ordered it with the flappers. They are little rubber clamshell looking flappers mounted on a metal bar that sits in a hole drilled in each side of the flange.
Mine should be here tomorrow. Hopefully they'll eliminate the possibility of this happening again.

With a normally functioning engine you would never need them. In my scenario you will need them. I wonder if you ran out of gas on plane if it could do the same thing, or if the ignition was shutoff while on plane?

[dj2]

I have been busy the past couple weeks with a lot of family in town (rented a pontoon for my dad) took 18 people to the lake for a 3-day weekend and then everyone stayed until Friday, then I was back at the lake with my wife and kids. Needless to say I am finally checking back and am really happy it worked out well and fairly inexpensive for you. Dodged a bullet for sure!

[lancehon]

Really makes me glad I spent the extra $50 for flappers now!

[Jetdriver]

I just retrofitted them into my boat and a friends 22VE. Live and learn I guess