Boat Sank!!!

[duckseatfree]

Soooo. My boat sank.

This happened last year around October. It seems there was a slight tear where the platform is supported and my pump died while I was gone. Long story short...it sank. Good thing is that it only partially sank. I had it tied to the dock and the water level was low so it held the boat up a bit.

Water did get inside and in the engine. I had it towed immediately (when I notieced) and the engine was picked and winterized immediately. I also had a new starter put in it. The shop that did the work told me that the engine was in great condition still and ran great before they winterized it.

I plan on getting 2 new batteries, since they were surrounded in water, and a new solenoid.

I am also going to restore the entire thing (stingers, wiring, interior, etc.) over the spring/summer but want to make sure the engine is in great working order before I do. I don't want to do all the work and then find out that the engine is shot.

Any suggestions as to how to summerize the boat and any precautions I should take?


"86 Sunsport 351 pcm"

Boat.jpg

[DAFF]

I'm thinkin the perfect balast rather than sank.

As for the engine if it still turns over and all the fluids were changed in the fall all should be good.

[haugy]

Do your own fluid changes.

Then remove all your spark plugs, and spray engine fogger down into each cylinder. Then with the plugs still out, turn the engine over repeatedly. This will help prime the oil pump and get the cylinders lubricated. Plus, if you had any doubts about moisture, having the plugs out will let you know there is no moisture in it.

After that, she should fire right up. We've rolled vehicles, and the engines filled up with coolant. After flushing it out we'd start them right up.

[duckseatfree]

Awesome! Thanks guys.

I'll probably give it a shot this weekend.

Once I get it running (hopefully), its makeover time for the boat. I'll start a separate thread for the remodel.

[duckseatfree]

Do your own fluid changes.

What about the transmission. I haven't changed the tranny oil before. I'm guessing I should go ahead and do that now?

[DKJBama92Mariah]

What about the transmission. I haven't changed the tranny oil before. I'm guessing I should go ahead and do that now?

That would be a good idea if the shop didn't do it last fall.

[duckseatfree]

Ok, so I'm finally going to start with this project. Got a little busy with a new job.

Do your own fluid changes. Then remove all your spark plugs, and spray engine fogger down into each cylinder.

Haugy...any particular engine fogger I should use?

Thanks for the great tips by the way.

[DAFF]

I hope the engine isnt scrap. Wet rings and engine internals will cause a quick death.... Does it still spin??

[duckseatfree]

I hope the engine isnt scrap. Wet rings and engine internals will cause a quick death.... Does it still spin??

It still ran back in October when the mechanic pickled the engine (I misspelled that earlier, I said "picked"). It was pickled immediately after it was towed but I haven't tried since then - I start today after work.

I took the time last night to make an inventory of what I'm going to do with the engine tomorrow (if I can do it all).

New solenoid
New breaker
New wiring (mainly cables that run to the battery, but the others as well.
New tranny Oil
New Oil
New spark plugs
New fuel filter
New alternator (doesn't really need it but I might as well get a new one).

This should keep me busy for the night. After I get it running again I'm going to start tearing down the floors and replacing the stringers. Since I know I won't be able to do it all at once I think I'm going to try to do it in sections, kind of like oldman did last year (or was it 2 years ago?).

[haugy]

Oh buddy.........you haven't done this yet? Oh man, can we say rust?

Okay, take everything I said regarding the oil changes and fogger, and double it. That engine is going to have rust in places you aren't even familiar with. Once you get all the wiring re-done and start to tackle the engine, I'd recommend something along these lines.

1) Change the oil
2) Remove the spark plugs
3) Engine fogger (any kind, a couple cans), and spray the hell out of each cylinder. Once one is sprayed heavily take a large wrench and do a half turn on the crank. This will allow the piston to move and help spread the fogger around. Also freeing up anything rusted. Respray that cylinder before moving to the next one. Repeat for all 8 cylinders.
4) By now you should have put about 4 full turns on the engine, do about 8-9 more by hand, not with the starter to ensure everything is loose and freely moving.
5) Use the starter to prime the engine oil and fuel.
6) Reconnect everything, and start. It's going to smoke pretty good burning up the fogger and rust.
7) Use SeaFoam. If you haven't used Seafoam before, it's the only thing I use for stuff like this. There are videos on it, and how to use it. While the engine is running, and warmed up, pour a half of a can into the carb bowls slowly until the engine chokes out and dies. Then let sit for 10 minutes. Pour the other half of the can into the oil fill (crankcase). Wait another 10 minutes, and fire it up to run for about 10 minutes. It will smoke pretty good, no worries.
8.) Once that's done, re-change the oil to remove the rust debris, seafoam (can thin the oil), and any other contanimants in the oil.
9) Check spark plugs. Seafoam is designed to clean them up, so they should be fine. If any oil is on them, rechange.

I know there are guys in there that will say that's overkill, and it's somewhat true. I've started 40yr old engines with just new oil and fuel, but if you want to clean up the insides, and go about it gently, that's what I would do.