Help! Hot water in boat.

[SouthsideBoarder]

Sorry this is long I need help.

I just got my boat out of storage. The dealer needed to check some stuff so I believe that they hooked everything back up. However, I did have to put in the rear transom drain plug. The engine and ballast pump plugs were in. I looked in the engine compartments and did not see any hoses or plugs that seemed to be out. The only plug in the bag on the steering wheel was the transom one.

Everything started fine and seemed to run fine. I drove down the lake and noticed really hot water coming from under the dash by the subwoofer and running to the back of the boat. It was to me a significant amount of water and very hot. With the engine running I looked at the engine and did not see any water coming in. But with the boat in the water the water ran from the floor under the dash to the back. I've read the owners manuals and watched some videos.

Is there anything I am missing? Would something be brining hot water out of the engine to the front? Enough water is coming that the bilge runs at times. Would a water valve be off? The engine temp seems to be running 135 to 160. It spiked to about 170 for two seconds once and stayed at 140 for a while then to 160. Please help save the rest of my weekend!!!

[ID AX]

Do you have a heater? If so check your hoses

[SouthsideBoarder]

I do. The hoses under the dash? The hot air hoses or are there others?

If the heater wasn't on would it still do that? Would they disconnect hoses to winterized it? Does the heater use hot water? Sorry I am kind of illiterate with this.

Edited June 1, 2014 by SouthsideBoarder

[ajive]

It's your heater. The core is located behind the woofer. Coulve cracked over the winter from freezing.

[UofM_MXZ]

Yes check those hoses...maybe a clamp came off. There should be a way to get to them there. Also depending on how old the boat is I have seen them cracked as well. The hoses under the dash only make sense, especially the ones that go to that heater port.

[SouthsideBoarder]

How do I get back there? Do they disconnect hoses when they winterized? Or more likely the cracked heater?

[UofM_MXZ]

Probably a cracked heater core. What boat?

[SouthsideBoarder]

08 VTX.

Is there a way to turn off the flow so it doesn't leak until fixed?

[shawndoggy]

cut both heater lines in the bilge. Install male and female garden hose menders.

do them opposite of one another on each hose (so on the hot line, the male end is towards the bow, and on the return line the male end is towards the transom). Then you can just "short circuit" the hoses in the bilge for now, screwing the hot and return line together there. When the core is fixed, you can screw the hot and return lines back to the lines to the core. This also really helps for winterizing.

Saving that, the ghetto fix is to just pull the two lines from the core and fold them over (like you would with a garden hose) to stop the flow. A couple of zip ties should keep them crimped well enough.

[ajive]

Post of the day shawn... "Here is the super pro, kill two birds with one stone way to do it. Or just cut that junk and zip tie it."

Edited June 1, 2014 by ajive

[SouthsideBoarder]

Thanks a bunch for the help. You are all the best! I cannot get back in the boat until tomorrow but I will look at it them.

[shawndoggy]

Post of the day shawn... "Here is the super pro, kill two birds with one stone way to do it. Or just cut that junk and zip tie it."

LOL, the "pro" way is probably easier if the heater core is tucked up high and hard to get to. those hose menders wouldn't take but 1-2 minutes apiece to install. So it's really the lazy man's way.

[SouthsideBoarder]

Are these cores usually behind the sub panel or tucked up high? How do I get to it?

Will I cause manage to the engine by clamping the in and out hoses at the core?

I am in the middle of nowhere with no zip ties or hose connectors so if the was a valve I could shut off to use the boat tomorrow that would be awesome.

[shawndoggy]

unlikely there's a valve, but maybe. Follow the hot line from the top of the engine (it likely comes out from the intake manifold sorta right above the engine water pump). Could be that there's a ball valve on the line, but pretty unlikely.

Do you have electrical tape or duct tape?? Those are a bit messier but would serve the same purpose as the zip ties. A shoe string would probably even work for the weekend.

[SouthsideBoarder]

I'll just have to look around. I'm pretty engine slow so some of this and how the parts look are foreign to me.

Thanks again for your help Shawn.

I'll check in tomorrow with what I find.

[SouthsideBoarder]

Can the water wreck anything under the dash that I need to be cautious about? Or does it sit low enough?

[shawndoggy]

there are a couple of other ways it could be done, but this picture should give you a pretty good visual for where to start looking for the hoses. The hoses are about the size of a garden hose, but thicker insulated black stuff.

[SouthsideBoarder]

Thanks for the help everyone. It was the heater core. I ended up finding a connector in our garage, removed the heater module and connected the two hoses under the dash to make a loop. Runs great. Is that ok for fix? It completes the circuit. I will be calling my service center tomorrow to tell them about it. Doubt they are gonna replace it. But the crew did save my weekend!

Thanks!!!

[RTS]

You will be fine (albeit without a heater) until you get the new heater installed.

[Malibuzer]

Who winterized your boat?

[Jimmy Buffett]

You should definitely install the garden hose connectors in the two lines closer to the engine. Easy bypass if this happens again and easier to flush the heater core in the winter.

[UofM_MXZ]

Yeah I would double check on who winterized the boat.....they may owe you a new heater core

[liquidrider]

The easy fix is what Shawndoggy is showing. Get a 1foot piece of 5/8 heater hose from the parts store and disconnect the in and out lines from the engine. These two lines will be on the passenger side of the engine. One will be close to the thermostat and the other comes off the water pump as shown in the picture posted by Shawn. Take the piece of heater hose you bought and two hose clamps and make a loop between the thermostat housing and the water pump. Simple fix will take 5 minutes. I speak from experience I had to do it last weekend. Plans are to pull that heater core out this week.

[malibung]

I have an 05 VLX and my heater core did the same thing this year. We put it in for the first time this year Memorial day weekend and pink antifreeze from winterization started flowing from under the sub panel. You would think if I had antifreeze present it wouldn't have cracked but the winter in Minnesota this year had some pretty long stretches of really cold days. It cost me $160 for a new core from the dealer and the replacement is pretty simple. Once the sub panel is out of the way, there are only 4 screws that hold the heater unit to the wall and you already have the hoses disconnected. Remove the blower unit from the heater core box (4 screws) and take off the vent hoses and you'll have the heater unit out. Then there are 6 or so screws to take the end panel off the box and slide the core out of the box. The hardest part is getting all yoga twisted to get under the dash, especially when putting everything back in place. Getting those screws started when your upside down and trying to hold the heater unit in place is a bit challenging. Good look and sorry if I missed a couple minor steps but thats the main points.

[ID AX]

You'll be fine like that but I would be head hunting. Whoever did your winterization missed the heater.