Corrosive Lakes and Cooling Systems? -Questions?

[Arctic Slalom]

I bought my boat last year from upstate New York.

Boat is beautiful and ran perfectly all season last year (about 100 hours).

Tonight I (finally) got around to changing the impeller and getting it ready for spring.

I was putting the knock sensor plug in the Starboard side and noticed that inside the threads (on the block) it was really rusty.

I cleaned it out best I could and threaded the plug in. Plug could only thread in about half the "normal" depth because of all the rust. I tightened it with a 1/2" drive socket (very snug).

Next, I climbed around to the other side and put the port plug in. Again, the orifice was really rusty.

I didn't winterize the boat last fall (local dealer did), but I certainly noticed the brass plugs threads were all buggered up and smashed down (like they were cross-threaded).

Do you think I should re-tap these and install a slightly larger plug?

When I got the boat, I did notice some (serious) pitting and corrosion on the wedge.

THe dealer who I bought it from said this is totally normal for lakes in that area (I specifically asked about the corroded wedge).

THe dealer (who was fantastic BTW) said the lakes were extremely clean and this was the reason for the corrosion on the wedge.

Anyway, after seeing all the rust on the drain plugs, should I be worried about the condition of the cooling system on my boat?

Can I flush & clean this somehow? How can I minimize all this rust?

On my old '89 Sunsetter (which I winterized myself) I never remember seeing this.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Am I over-reacting?

[Arctic Slalom]

One other quick question.

At the back of the exhaust manifold the water drops down to a "T".

One part of the "T" heads back toward the rear of the boat (a larger hose).

The other portion of the "T" heads forward and loops around the the same location and connects.

The hose seems like it's awfully tight (touching the oil pan, etc.) along the bottom of boat.

Is this normal?

thanks,

CR

[BlastRlxi]

I bought my boat last year from upstate New York.

Boat is beautiful and ran perfectly all season last year (about 100 hours).

Tonight I (finally) got around to changing the impeller and getting it ready for spring.

I was putting the knock sensor plug in the Starboard side and noticed that inside the threads (on the block) it was really rusty.

I cleaned it out best I could and threaded the plug in. Plug could only thread in about half the "normal" depth because of all the rust. I tightened it with a 1/2" drive socket (very snug).

Next, I climbed around to the other side and put the port plug in. Again, the orifice was really rusty.

I didn't winterize the boat last fall (local dealer did), but I certainly noticed the brass plugs threads were all buggered up and smashed down (like they were cross-threaded).

Do you think I should re-tap these and install a slightly larger plug?

When I got the boat, I did notice some (serious) pitting and corrosion on the wedge.

THe dealer who I bought it from said this is totally normal for lakes in that area (I specifically asked about the corroded wedge).

THe dealer (who was fantastic BTW) said the lakes were extremely clean and this was the reason for the corrosion on the wedge.

Anyway, after seeing all the rust on the drain plugs, should I be worried about the condition of the cooling system on my boat?

Can I flush & clean this somehow? How can I minimize all this rust?

On my old '89 Sunsetter (which I winterized myself) I never remember seeing this.

Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Am I over-reacting?

I think this is pretty normal and is a good reason to not leave the drain plugs out of the block over the winter. You should be able to get a tap and chase the threads without having to increase the size of the hole.

[WetSider]

If I get some dry weather today I'm going to attempt to chase the block threads with a tap for the drain plug and knock sensor. A bit nervous about doing this, but they really look to need it and I got a new brass plug and knock sensor last week that I'd like to install smoothly. I picked up a 1/4" - 18 NPT tap for the job from a local auto parts shop and will be taking it very slowly with some grease on the tap to hopefully catch the gack.

Edited May 3, 2014 by WetSider

[Bozboat]

If I get some dry weather today I'm going to attempt to chase the block threads with a tap for the drain plug and knock sensor. A bit nervous about doing this, but they really look to need it and I got a new brass plug and knock sensor last week that I'd like to install smoothly. I picked up a 1/4" - 18 NPT tap for the job from a local auto parts shop and will be taking it very slowly with some grease on the tap to hopefully catch the gack.

use some anti seize and don't get too aggressive putting in the knock sensor or the plug, snug plus will do it.

[wdr]

I want to say that both knock sensor plug holes on my '10 350 Monsoon were tapered threads like the transom drain plug BICBW. So be careful! I also do what Boz does and use anti-sieze. Works like a champ on the impeller shaft as well.