Starboard TR-1 Hydrolocked

[YoDaddy292]

So get this. We were parked in a cove doing the swimming, bs-ing, and goofing off. Went to start the starboard motor and it won’t. Thought I had a dead battery but the port motor fired right up. My buddy asks me to try again and same problem. He looks at me and says “it sounds hydro locked”. We pull the spark plugs and turn it over and it shoots liquid out of the holes. Buddy tastes it and says “it’s water”. We check the oil and it is fine. So we cycle it and blow it out. We reinstalled the plugs and it fires and runs…..holy shit! Next we shut it down, check the oil (still no water in it) and run it at all rpm’s. Needless to say, it is running fine and to full rpm with no water in the crankcase. Does anyone have an idea of what the actual f*** is going on here? I’d like to avoid this in the future.

 

[HangOutdoors]

If it was hydro locked, you would have destroyed the engine and it would of needed rebuilt. When you indicate the motor didn't start was it cranking?

 

[YoDaddy292]

If it was hydro locked, you would have destroyed the engine and it would of needed rebuilt. When you indicate the motor didn't start was it cranking?

It would turn over slightly like it had a dead battery and stop but the port motor fired like normal. When we pulled the spark plugs out it turned over (but of course wouldn’t start) and literally blew out water from all three cylinders. Didn’t smell like fuel so we tasted it.....it was water. We reinstalled the spark plugs and coil packs and it turned over and it fired right up. I was VERY worried about rod damage and the like but he seemed to think it was luck that the starter couldn’t over power it enough to keep cranking. He got right on the internet and found a guy who claimed the same thing happened to him while sitting in wavy conditions that forced water in the same way running one engine over 5mph would damage the other one ?

 

[ChrisM]

Doesn't sound like the engine rotated enough with the short crank before stopping to cause damage when hydro-locked, and the fact that you didn't keep trying before pulling the plugs was a help.

 

[YoDaddy292]

Doesn't sound like the engine rotated enough with the short crank before stopping to cause damage when hydro-locked, and the fact that you didn't keep trying before pulling the plugs was a help.

Yeah. We all just stared at each other when it fired up like……You gotta be kidding me! No rough idle, no strange sounds, NOTHING. So he says “let it warm up and run it”……..we rechecked the oil, restarted (fired up with no excessive cranking) and we drove around slowly for a bit. Then it became “screw it” and we ran the motor hard and it went just fine the rest of the day. The only issue we had was to clear the “check engine/contact Yamaha dealer” code by disconnecting the ground wires from the batteries. I am just hoping someone else recognizes this and can suggest a fix. My VERY mechanically inclined buddy happened to find an article or post suggesting water getting in to the engine when another guy was parked bouncing around on the waves while anchored but I can’t find it (this is when we where on the water). Is this a freak thing? Should I install a one way valve? Either way at least someone else might save a motor by reading this post and remember to carry tools on the boat. At least be able to pull the plugs and check for water.

 

[HangOutdoors]

I don't see water getting in by bouncing on the waves stationary. If that was a possibility it would occur a great deal since a lot of us boat in rough water and chop while drifting and anchored.

I helped a guy with his engine on the water in a similar situation. What he realized is that what most likely occurred was as he slowed down/stopped coming off plane he shut his engine downs first while still moving pretty good, easily more than 5 mph. In order to just coast into the area. It was postulated that this is what caused water to be forced into his engine.

 

[YoDaddy292]

That was what I racked my brain over too….did I shut off a motor or both early? Did one not start and I drove it? We were able to eliminate that as I always cruise in slowly and start/ shut off simultaneously (like most of us). I DO however sometimes back in/line up with a hard reverse then shut her down……I just don’t know.

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

When I read the first post I thought, I wonder if that engine quite running for some reason and he drove with it off.. you would have definitely felt it at anything beyond 7-8 mph. I could also see it happening if you were med tied the the stern facing the waves, bigger waves, that were splashing up against the swim deck.

Did it shoot water out of all of the spark plug holes? Or just one or two? You are darn lucky one cylinder did not fire or it probably would have bent a rod.

The good news is that all seems to be golden at this point and I’ll bet you’ll be keeping an eye on the tachs now to make sure both engines are running at all times.

That backing up in a hard reverse is probably not the best idea, but a lot of people use that method to clear the jet pump of debris with no reported issues. I think that procedure is to go hard in reverse, shut off the engine where the clog is and put the throttle lever in WOT position to allow the water to flow into the pump and push the debris out. Although it is something I would not do for the very reason of pushing water up into the engine, as that water has to push past the impeller and its tight clearances and pressure will build up in the post impeller area of the jet pump which is where the intake screen is and that WILL push water into the engine.

Check valves or one way valves typically do not have the ability to flow nearly as much water as an open hose and would cause a restriction.

I‘ve got roughly 250 hours on my TR-1’s and I troll a lot with an electric trolling motor, less than 3 mph, I have been in some really rough conditions and taken some big waves up over the swim platform thanks to the wake boats, and some wind waves and I’ve never had an issue with this.

I have one last guess.. is it possible you shut the engines off with the throttle levers in full idle ahead when you came into your spot? That could allow pressure to build in the aft section of the pump and push water up into the engines via the exhaust manifold.

So from now on, make sure you are at full stop when you shut the engines off. It really does sound like one engine was off and the boat was till moving well above 5 mph for some distance.

 

[drewkaree]

That backing up in a hard reverse is probably not the best idea, but a lot of people use that method to clear the jet pump of debris with no reported issues. I think that procedure is to go hard in reverse, shut off the engine where the clog is and put the throttle lever in WOT position to allow the water to flow into the pump and push the debris out.

I generally have to do this almost 100% of the time leaving my weed-infested Creek.

If a clog is suspected (cavitation is the quick indicator), mine have always been enough that I can't build up enough speed to get past 2-3 mph.

Come to a stop, put the boat in reverse, and get it moving as fast as you can without cavitation. Pull the shutoff bungee while at the same moment throwing the throttles wide open. Reattach the kill switch bungee, throttles to neutral, start the motors and hit the gas. 99% of the time once is sufficient for me. I'm never able to get enough speed in reverse to worry about water being pushed up into the engine. If I were able to get going faster than 5mph in reverse, I would suspect anything other than a clog, and wouldn't follow through with the procedure, as something else is likely at play.

 

[YoDaddy292]

When I read the first post I thought, I wonder if that engine quite running for some reason and he drove with it off.. you would have definitely felt it at anything beyond 7-8 mph. I could also see it happening if you were med tied the the stern facing the waves, bigger waves, that were splashing up against the swim deck.

Did it shoot water out of all of the spark plug holes? Or just one or two? You are darn lucky one cylinder did not fire or it probably would have bent a rod.

The good news is that all seems to be golden at this point and I’ll bet you’ll be keeping an eye on the tachs now to make sure both engines are running at all times.

That backing up in a hard reverse is probably not the best idea, but a lot of people use that method to clear the jet pump of debris with no reported issues. I think that procedure is to go hard in reverse, shut off the engine where the clog is and put the throttle lever in WOT position to allow the water to flow into the pump and push the debris out. Although it is something I would not do for the very reason of pushing water up into the engine, as that water has to push past the impeller and its tight clearances and pressure will build up in the post impeller area of the jet pump which is where the intake screen is and that WILL push water into the engine.

Check valves or one way valves typically do not have the ability to flow nearly as much water as an open hose and would cause a restriction.

I‘ve got roughly 250 hours on my TR-1’s and I troll a lot with an electric trolling motor, less than 3 mph, I have been in some really rough conditions and taken some big waves up over the swim platform thanks to the wake boats, and some wind waves and I’ve never had an issue with this.

I have one last guess.. is it possible you shut the engines off with the throttle levers in full idle ahead when you came into your spot? That could allow pressure to build in the aft section of the pump and push water up into the engines via the exhaust manifold.

So from now on, make sure you are at full stop when you shut the engines off. It really does sound like one engine was off and the boat was till moving well above 5 mph for some distance.

You’re probably right about my saving grace, all three cylinders blew water. Went out all day today and so far so good (fingers crossed). Something freak happened and I have no idea what I could avoid on this one as my theories are pretty frickin’ lame ?

 

[YoDaddy292]

Just wanted to give an update. I have put 20 hrs. on our boat while on vacation since the weird hydrolocking incident. I still don’t have any idea what had happened or how water got into the cylinders but it bugs me to this day and it weighs on my mind even to the point where I don’t fully trust my boat anymore. Hopefully I get over it because after spending so much cash there isn’t a new one in the foreseeable future ?.

 

[WREKS]

@YoDaddy292 Did the stern get submerged for some period of time to allow water to back feed through the exhaust?

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Captain Obvious here…

The great news is that everything seems to be fine! And it hasn’t happened again.

A suggestion; before you change your oil, heck you can do this now, get an oil analysis kit from Amsoil, ALS Tribology or one of the other reputable oil analysis places and get your oil tested. You can even send a section of your oil filter pleat in as a “patch” test. If there was any significant damage it May show up in the oil analysis, and possibly in a patch test.

The article your mechanical friend found could have been something similar to what you thought may have happened coming into your anchorage and coasting too fast and the motor hydro locked, or maybe that boat was anchored stern into some decent size waves?

 

[anmut]

Here's some nearly impossible causes to your issue that I'll throw out there for you to contemplate

1) While you were parked you happened to have that motor's intake screen and/or exhaust ports pointed directly into a current.
2) You had children messing around and squirting water into your flush points.
3) There's apparently aliens now - have you considered aliens?

 

[FSH 210 Sport]

Here's some nearly impossible causes to your issue that I'll throw out there for you to contemplate

1) While you were parked you happened to have that motor's intake screen and/or exhaust ports pointed directly into a current.
2) You had children messing around and squirting water into your flush points.
3) There's apparently aliens now - have you considered aliens?

Dang totally forgot about….

 

[YoDaddy292]

@YoDaddy292 Did the stern get submerged for some period of time to allow water to back feed through the exhaust?

No sir. Pretty standard float at anchor. Lots of surf boat waves that day but who knows. Since then I’ve made sure I let it idle in place for a bit before shutting it off but wherever I park I am generally coming in at idle anyway.

 

[Scottintexas]

we heard reports many many years ago of a couple of members who beached bow in and got hydrolocked, the theory was the continuous wave action was enough to force water back to the engine,

one theory was when park to leave the boat in reverse so the bucket is down to lesson the wave force