Blown Engine / Exhaust ? Please Help

[The Hulk]

Ok so terrible start to the holiday weekend and season!

Purchased a nearly brand new 2013 $85k 23lsv with LSA 555hp at the end of last year 36hrs on it. Test drove it and purchased it. It was winterized for pickup... Drove it directly into heated storage and stared at it all winter until the dock and lift were put in this past weekend. Pulled her up and dropped it in, and drove across the lake to the house and 5 mins later... she shut down, smoke everywhere, engine boiling hot!

Exhaust manifold in the back blew up on the right side, engine over heated and who the heck else knows what.....

So the neighbor who knows more than me on engines looked around and sees the water-intake hose clearly not connected and bent upwards in a position it could NOT have just fallen off or came disconnected. So obviously no water was cooling the engine the LSA supercharged Engine!!!!!!!!!

i was still questioning possibly it fell off seemed impossible but upon returning to my warehouse i noticed on the floor the coolant/antifreeze which had clearly leaked out of the boat all winter. I didnt see it on the floor when i pulled the boat out most likely because i poured water on the floor for the tires to slip as i angled it out the garage door. regardless that coolant/antifreeze would NOT have been on the floor or leaked out if that hose was connected, it was clearly left NOT connected after i picked up the boat. Keep in mind when i purchased the boat it was winterized upon pick up.

My guess is they disconnected the hose poured antifreeze for winterization and forgot to reconnect it: so my questions are the following:

Launched boat, drove around idle for few mins then WOT, backed down for a min then WOT for 30 seconds then she went....

1. I would think there should have been some warning on the screen /dash or audible alarm for the engine getting too hot WELL before the point in which the exhaust manifold blows up and entire thing shuts down????

2. Has anyone had this happen and or is the engine still ok, it shut down so does it do that well before the point of damaging the engine, the thing was F'n HOT!

3. I'm guessing i should have the water-pump impeller replaced since it was running dry for several mins?

4. Should i be asking for a compression test to verify no damage to the engine pistons/linings?

5. Not sure if this is related to the engine alarm not going but the Gauge for the Lake Water Temp were way off, it was saying the Lake was 32F and Air was 88F when clearly not.

6. Anything else i should be concerned about and or have checked? the reason i ask is that i'm pulling it up today and i'm clueless when it comes to engines and dont want my 90k boat to turn out to be a lemon down the road past warranty period due to this issue.

look forward to all your help / advice!

thanks

[oldjeep]

first off - bummer

second - you learned a very simple lesson in a very bad way. When you put the boat in for the first time each year, fire it up while still on the trailer and physically inspect your engine compartment with it running before launching it and taking off.

third - winterized doesn't always mean ready to launch, that is why dealers have winterizing and summarizing - some of them leave the impeller out of the boat when it is winterized.

As for the rest, repair/replace the muffler and replace the impeller so that you can see where you are at. You may also have to replace your exhaust hoses if it got hot enough to melt the muffler.

[oldjeep]

Out of curiosity, what does it say on the tag that is attached to the plug wire?

Edited May 27, 2015 by oldjeep

[shawndoggy]

ouch. LSA is closed cooling, right? Seems like engine internals should be ok (cross fingers... I don't even want to know how much it costs to replace a blown LSA) if the ecm did its job and shut you down before the engine could truly overheat.

I think I'd tow the boat to the dealer with a stack of hundreds and ask them to please please fix it.

Regarding the overheat alarm, I'd have to imagine that the LSA is pushing a TON of fuel/air at WOT. normal operating temp to overheat seems like it could sure happen real fast under those conditions.

the lake water/air temp gauges are notoriously inaccurate. It's meaningless. Though usually the lake water temp gauge seems to err on the optimistic side.

Edited May 27, 2015 by shawndoggy

[85 Barefoot]

Wow. Sad to hear this.

A lot to respond to but as to the alarm, as it has been told to me, it can only read water temp. In other words, if the engine is dry, it can't read the temperature. But, you say there was coolant leaking. The only reasosn you'd have coolant leaking is if you had a closed cooling system (all LSA's may have that I don't recall) and it wouldn't make any sense that a closed cooled engine requires winterization like an open system OR the shop runs antifreeze in the system (which is unnecessary).

In the picture that's the transmission cooler that has the hose off, but I unfortunately do not know how the tranny cooling is plumbed in on your setup. If you have a closed system for the engine, the "open" part of the system cools the tranny and then the exhaust, in which case, the engine may well have be fine and its just the exhaust that's needs repair.

What did you engine temp say when you were running it? And before it shut down? Did you power up to check these readings afetr it shut down?

[oldjeep]

I think I'd tow the boat to the dealer with a stack of hundreds and ask them to please please fix it.

Preferably the dealer who winterized it if that is an option.

[jgates237]

Bummer. Very sorry to hear about your maiden voyage troubles. As you noted and in the event you caught a break you'll definitely at a minimum need to replace your impeller. I'm sure there are few cooked hoses as well. Your thinking of needing a compression check is also a good idea.

Recommendation...cooler minds prevail. I'd regroup and assess what you may be faced with before rolling in on the dealership that winterized your boat. I'm sure you're plenty mad right about now but they'll be on the defensive if you blast them for not doing their job properly which, at this point may come down to your word against theirs. I don't envy you having to conduct that conversation.

Lastly, and not meant to be salt in your gaping wound, is there a way to run your motor on the trailer and get it up to operating temp? Not sure what it takes for closed loop systems but I connect mine to the garden hose an run it till it gets up to operating temp (160) to make sure the thermostat is functioning plus it gives me an opportunity to verify all my hoses are snug as they should be. Yes, I had a couple of loose ones that would have been a pain to mess with on the water.

Good luck, I hope good fortune is shining down on you these next cou0ple of days.

[jgates237]

And obtw, this thread may be better served in the Maintenance and Technical Discussion section.

Edited May 27, 2015 by jgates237

[Steve B.]

Very sorry to hear. Hope all is okay. Fingers crossed. Hopefully, others reading this will learn from this too, what oldjeep said above.

We're pullin' for ya,

Steve B.

[Michigan boarder]

Just as an FYI, everyone here has, at some point, forgotten to put their drain plug in and almost sank their boat, or has forgotten to hook up a hose and ran it really hot. Dealers have done it, mechanics have done it, you name it. Pretty much everyone does it once, and then it never happens again. So don't get on the dealer too bad, and don't feel stupid for not checking it yourself. I'm sure there will never be a next time.

Not to add more to it, but at WOT that transmission probably got a little hot too with the hose disconnected, check that fluid as well.

I'm also curious as to what the tag says on the plug wire.

[skiguy]

Very unfortunate! Sorry to hear this. It's good you took photos. You may be able to hold the dealer legally responsible for any damage if it turns out there is permanent damage to the motor. I would recommend meeting with the dealer (or whoever winterized the engine) to notify them of their negligence. You could hope they will pay the cost to put a new exhaust manifold and hoses to allow you to test the engine to validate it's not permanently damaged. If it is, hopefully the dealer will do the right thing and make it all good. Otherwise, there's always your insurance or as a last resort, a lawsuit 'cause motors ain't cheap.

Please let us know how this ends up.

[Lance B. Johnson]

Yup very common to leave those hoses disconnected when winterizing.

[Michigan boarder]

I'd pull your winterization paperwork too, and see what it says on it.

[oldjeep]

Yup very common to leave those hoses disconnected when winterizing.

Intentionally or unintentionally Last year when I put my new to me boat in for the first time, I backed the trailer in and then fired up the engine - found water leaking from 4 different loose hose clamps that the previous owner had failed to tighten sufficiently after they winterized it. Only took a minute to fix the problem, which could have been a lot more exciting if it had blown one of the hoses off.

One more question for Hulk

If that hose was off, was the boat filling with water, or was the through hull valve shut?

[shawndoggy]

Intentionally or unintentionally Last year when I put my new to me boat in for the first time, I backed the trailer in and then fired up the engine - found water leaking from 4 different loose hose clamps that the previous owner had failed to tighten sufficiently after they winterized it. Only took a minute to fix the problem, which could have been a lot more exciting if it had blown one of the hoses off.

One more question for Hulk

If that hose was off, was the boat filling with water, or was the through hull valve shut?

I betcha that disconnected hose, which looks like it is before the raw water pump, is above the water line.

I kinda sorta think that the "cooler" in the pic could also be an oil cooler (I know my LS3 has an oil cooler and a tranny fluid cooler).

[DAI]

Sorry to hear about the issue. After reading this I will definitely be popping the hatch and checking the engine everytime out from now on.

[85 Barefoot]

I betcha that disconnected hose, which looks like it is before the raw water pump, is above the water line.

I kinda sorta think that the "cooler" in the pic could also be an oil cooler (I know my LS3 has an oil cooler and a tranny fluid cooler).

can you take a pic of this "oil cooler"? That would mean that oil is being cooled by an unregulated source (water temp). It's hard for me to imagine that's accurate. I did see that Indmar touts its "oil spray cooling" in the LSA but routing oil out of the pan for cooling seems quite strange. Remote oil filer is a different situation of course. I believe you, but I'd like to see this.

[shawndoggy]

can you take a pic of this "oil cooler"? That would mean that oil is being cooled by an unregulated source (water temp). It's hard for me to imagine that's accurate. I did see that Indmar touts its "oil spray cooling" in the LSA but routing oil out of the pan for cooling seems quite strange. Remote oil filer is a different situation of course. I believe you, but I'd like to see this.

yeah, but you've gotta give me a couple days.

[Lance B. Johnson]

And anyone else reading this I will second what old jeep says.

This should be S.O.P.-----first run of the season always check everything over before you put your boat in the water then start it on the trailer and check everything again! Every season.

[Bozboat]

Call the mayhem guy or your insurance agent and make a claim

[DocPhil]

Knowing the dealer you got the boat from VERY well, I wouldn't be surprised if it was their fault.

Bummer buddy.

Hope everything is OK.

Edited May 27, 2015 by DocPhil

[Lance B. Johnson]

Knowing the dealer you got the boat from VERY well, I wouldn't be surprised if it was their fault.

Bummer buddy.

Hope everything is OK.

Not their fault. Hose disconnected and boat wasn't inspected before dropping it in. Dealer has no stake in this imho.

Edited May 27, 2015 by Lance B. Johnson

[Michigan boarder]

Not their fault. Hose disconnected and boat wasn't inspected before dropping it in. Dealer has no stake in this imho.

Unfortunately, I think this is correct. I would expect it to state something to that effect in the winterization paperwork. Hopefully the worst of it is the silencer and some hoses, small stuff.

[shawndoggy]

I'm with LBJ on this one. Maybe it's because I do a lot of my own work, maybe it's because I've read many horror stories about dealer work, but come spring time, I always run the boat on the hose for a bit and make sure things are working / looking / smelling right.

[oceanbu]

It takes less than a minute at 25mph to melt your muffler if you are running your boat without a cooling source. Don't ask me how I know

If your engine is closed cooling and a half-loop system your block is probably fine. You will need:

- a new silent rider muffler (not cheap) unless you find one on ebay

- some new nylon 90s that screw into your exhaust manifolds to connect hoses too

- possibly new hoses

- possibly new exhaust dump hose from the manifold to the muffler (yours are orange)

- new impeller

- probably new impeller raw water pump assembly (if not now than probably in a year or two)

-possibly the 90degree bent exhaust hose after the muffler that connects to the transom.

Actually if just a hose was disconnected your impeller might have been pulling lake water and dumping it out the seawater (open) part of the system as designed and your impeller would be fine. If a hose was disconnected on the closed side of the system than your block could be hurt because no coolant. The fact that your muffler melted would suggest that there was no water on the open side because that dumps out the through the muffler which should keep it cool.

It's possible you might be okay and will just have to replace the stuff that melted and you will be back on the water. If your alarm never came on it is because either, like someone previously mentioned, there was no coolant in the block so nothing to read or because there is coolant in the block the block actually never got that hot.

Keep us posted on how this pans out.

Read your post again. I think if your engine is closed cooling your block will be fine. If you have a full loop system even better because your Exhaust manifolds were full of coolant too and would not of got that hot so you probably wouldn't need to replace the nylon 90s. You need to replace all the parts I listed above and you should be good (cross your fingers!)

Edited May 27, 2015 by oceanbu