Is my engine good to run?

[Malibuwake01]

Yesterday on the lake one of our cooling tubes split in half filling the bilge with water. I took us a while to figure out the water was coming from the engine but when we did we shut it off and drained the water and towed it to the ramp and got it on a trailer. I ordered the tube on bakes with overnight shipping because we're at lake all week with family. My question is since The lower part of the engine and the v drive was under water for probably 5 minutes, is it okay to just throw on tube and move on with our week or is there anything that needs to be done to engine.?

Thanks!

[hethj7]

If the starter got wet, it will eventually fail. I would check for water in the engine oil, vdrive, and tranny to be safe.  If there is none, I would run it for the rest of your trip but plan to replace the starter and potentially any sensors that got wet soon. 

[Malibuwake01]

15 minutes ago, hethj7 said:

If the starter got wet, it will eventually fail. I would check for water in the engine oil, vdrive, and tranny to be safe.  If there is none, I would run it for the rest of your trip but plan to replace the starter and potentially any sensors that got wet soon. 

What sensors would fail? How would you know? Thanks!

[riggowrestler]

You will be fine.  Those starters are made to get wet.  In my families old Spectra 19 jet boat the starter was always under at least a couple inches of water with no issues other that having to replace the starter ever other year.  lol Good times.  

 

We would usually find this out on the boat ramp ready to go.  It is amazing how everything always works great on the hose...

 

[hethj7]

I don't know how high the water was, but was specifically thinking the oil pressure switch on the v drive. I can't picture them all in my head but if water got over any wiring/sensors/switches I would definitely try to dry them out. 

Just now, riggowrestler said:

You will be fine.  Those starters are made to get wet.  In my families old Spectra 19 jet boat the starter was always under at least a couple inches of water with no issues other that having to replace the starter ever other year.  lol Good times.  

 

We would usually find this out on the boat ramp ready to go.  It is amazing how everything always works great on the hose...

 

Replacing a starter every other year is not routine maintenance and they are not made to be wet.  It will probably work fine for the OP this week and maybe even this summer but I would plan on replacing it as it likely will fail now that it was submerged (again, assuming the water was that high)

[MadMan]

You'll be fine, I'd check the oil in the v-drive and trans just to make sure it doesn't look milky.

[riggowrestler]

6 minutes ago, hethj7 said:

I don't know how high the water was, but was specifically thinking the oil pressure switch on the v drive. I can't picture them all in my head but if water got over any wiring/sensors/switches I would definitely try to dry them out. 

Replacing a starter every other year is not routine maintenance and they are not made to be wet.  It will probably work fine for the OP this week and maybe even this summer but I would plan on replacing it as it likely will fail now that it was submerged (again, assuming the water was that high)

Starters can absolutely get wet!  What do you think happens to the starter in your can every time you go through a puddle or drive in the rain.  It gets wet and since we are all boaters and love to pay extra for parts that have a j1171 desination http://standards.sae.org/j1171_201103/.

So yeah.  I didn't think about the fluids and the rest of the connections though.  I still think Malibuwake01 will fine running the Bu.

[Bill_AirJunky]

Getting wet is one thing, but being submerged is another. My bet is the starter will fail when corrosion begins to set in.

I had the prop packing fail on my 05 when it was about 5 yrs old, filled the bilge with water for a few hours, submerging the starter. Sure enough, 3 months later, the starter failed. I Googled it & found a guy in my home town that rebuilds starters & alternators specifically for marine use..... cost me like $100. He said he rebuilds a lot of starters & alternators specifically because of this.

[Rednucleus]

How about taking the starter somewhere to be properly dried out before corrosion sets in?

[oldjeep]

Just use the boat, cook the water out of it. When you get home, pull the starter and flood it with wd40

[REW]

You can try what OldJeep said about flooding it with WD40,  I had a starter get wet (flooded) in my first boat, failed about a year later.  The companies that make them even have tell tails on the bolts that hold them together for "warranty claims" If there is corrosion on the bolts then no warranty.  I tried.   What makes it much different than in a car going through a puddle is that the fly wheel will be in the water when the starter is getting wet.  When the fly wheel is turning it is pumping water into the starter at an alarming rate, the wetting is not just external but thoroughly pumped into the starter.  This also makes drying out the starter harder.   

[jtrovato]

How much water is a concern? I had about 5 inches in my bilge when a hose split last weekend. Probably the same one as the OP here. I drained it out, replaced the hose and used it all weekend with no issues. Is there anything that low in the engine bay to be worried about? I never even thought about anything getting wet down there that shouldn't. 

[Woodski]

@Malibuwake01:  Your checklist will also be different depending on how brackish the water that filled the bilge is/was.  If brackish in particular, I would at a minimum do a very thorough clean up and wash off all the components that were in contact with that particular water.  The gang down in Florida can see things like oil pans that corrode along with starter failures due to contact with the salty/corrosive water.  Personally, when back home I would pull the starter and make sure it is dry and if not, some of what old jeep noted makes sense.  I would also consider popping off the sight cap and maybe lightly spraying the flywheel with some WD-40 to reduce any corrosion issues.

Short term, since the V drive & trans was under water, the vent (if equipped) probably was also, check the fluid for contamination or water (milky color or more fluid than previous).  Good luck and have fun on vacation.