Water in the engine

[skipmac]

Long story short, got water (fresh water fortunately) in the bell housing. Water is out (at least all I could pump out through the starter mounting hole) but have a question what to do next.

I believe that is the location for the damper plate which would be a huge pain to replace. First question, am I correct that that is where the damper is located?

If so, then I'm concerned that over time the damper will rust away requiring major disassembly to replace. So should I pour or spray some kind of magic engine goop into the starter hole (the only access I have without disassembly) to stop the rust? I don't want to use the wrong stuff as it might eat the crank shaft or transmission seals. What if I pour a half liter of engine oil in there, run it for a while and pump that out? Any other ideas?


Thanks
Skip

[UNCIVILIZED]

Knowing what make & model of engine would help, ditto on how your transmission is setup, along with your starter, alternator, etc. Plus pics of everything, including what sort of access you have.
All of these things will help you to get more, & better targeted responses.

If you pull off the starter will that give you greatly improved access to things? How wet did the starter get, & has it been well cleaned? Ditto the alternator. And any other key bolt on bits.

Several hours of wrenching & cursing now could save you having to replace everything a few months from now. Depends on the configuration of things, & what got wet.

[Cheechako]

At least we get a unique question now and then! I had no idea any housings were water tight... I'd definitely want to get all the water out.
Maybe one of the vacuum oil changer devices... they have small pickup hoses.
Then I'd dry it out in there with heat , a light bulb in the starter hole? or even a vacuum outlet pumping air in there.
After that your idea of some oil coating would be good I would think.
Just thinking out loud....
You'd think the heat of running the engine for some time would dry it out in there... but not if it's that water tight. Sounds like you need a drain hole...

[a64pilot]

Get all the water you can out, replace starter and go on a couple hours motoring run.
When you get back remove starter and spray interior with Corrosion-X and have a beer.
I'd spray it with it idling to get it everywhere, yes that means remove starter with it running

[Cheechako]

A spray bottle with alcohol is a start .

[UNCIVILIZED]

Originally Posted by Cheechako

A spray bottle with alcohol is a start .

This may go over the heads of a lot of folks. Since what I think that you're getting at is that you're using the alcohol to displace the water, & that even if the alcohol puddles a little on the engine, it'll dry much more quickly. And more importantly, won't corrode anything. Nor will it damage most type of basic electrical components so long as they're not hot.

[Peregrine1983]

"Knowing what make & model of engine would help, ditto on how your transmission is setup, along with your starter, alternator, etc. Plus pics of everything, including what sort of access you have."

I'm pretty darn sure skipmac has a Westerbeke 58 into a Borg Warner velvet drive into a Walter V drive. If I remember correctly, he has the same setup as I do.

[a64pilot]

No, alcohol and water mix very well, and the mix evaporates much faster than water.
It is of course flammable though so use common sense

[Mikado]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Long story short, got water (fresh water fortunately) in the bell housing. Water is out (at least all I could pump out through the starter mounting hole) but have a question what to do next.

I believe that is the location for the damper plate which would be a huge pain to replace. First question, am I correct that that is where the damper is located?

If so, then I'm concerned that over time the damper will rust away requiring major disassembly to replace. So should I pour or spray some kind of magic engine goop into the starter hole (the only access I have without disassembly) to stop the rust? I don't want to use the wrong stuff as it might eat the crank shaft or transmission seals. What if I pour a half liter of engine oil in there, run it for a while and pump that out? Any other ideas?
Skip

So to me an obvious question is how did the water get in and is that issue resolved? Not knowing what type of engine/transmission set up you have makes me guess at a solution but I think everyone responses have you on the right track.

I would consider drilling a couple 1/4" weep holes at the bottom of the bell housing to eliminate future concerns. Also gives you a couple more ways to hose down the inside with WD40 instead of just the starter hole.

Good luck.

Jeff

[Lancerbye]

Could be an ideal time to check the damper plate. If you have an older boat and you have gone many years without having to remove the transmission you could end up like I did one nice summer day, as I was anchoring and shifted into reverse to set the anchor with no response. Luckily I have twin engines and recovered the short panic situation by starting the other engine. After a few tests I realized that the coupling between the engine and transmission was gone. I removed the heavy transmission and there was the old damper plate basically falling apart. I ended up replacing both damper plates with heavier R&D types that don't use springs and are stainless. If you already have that type in your setup, you don't have to do anything. It will dry up on it's own and be fine.

[Diesel Bill]

I'm befuddled thinking how the water got in there in the first place. All the ideas offered so far seem reasonable. After getting it dry and pumping/pouring some type of rust preventative into the bell housing and running the engine to splash it all around you need to stop any more water intrusion. Was it a flooding situation or a leak from a freeze plug that caused it?

[MarkJ]

Hey, Mac, I'd go the other way and ADD water.
There's already water in there and it'll be a bugger to get out and sloshing around will just rust everything. But you look at the Titanic... now fully immersed in water for 100 years and not much rust at all!

Take it from me...



Mark ☺

[Diesel Bill]

Originally Posted by Lancerbye

Could be an ideal time to check the damper plate. If you have an older boat and you have gone many years without having to remove the transmission you could end up like I did one nice summer day, as I was anchoring and shifted into reverse to set the anchor with no response. Luckily I have twin engines and recovered the short panic situation by starting the other engine. After a few tests I realized that the coupling between the engine and transmission was gone. I removed the heavy transmission and there was the old damper plate basically falling apart. I ended up replacing both damper plates with heavier R&D types that don't use springs and are stainless. If you already have that type in your setup, you don't have to do anything. It will dry up on it's own and be fine.

Hi Lancerbye, I will be pulling my port transmission in the near future to replace the front oil seal on the pump. When you pulled your's did you have to separate and pull the reduction gear first. The reason I ask is my trans is mounted to the bellhousing on studs and I don't think I have enough clearance to pull it back before it hits the coupling. The reduction gear has bolts holding it to the trans so I think I can pull it first to gain the room needed. Any tips or tricks you can share. These suckers are heavy.
Sorry for high jacking the thread but I think it's related.

[a64pilot]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Hey, Mac, I'd go the other way and ADD water.
There's already water in there and it'll be a bugger to get out and sloshing around will just rust everything. But you look at the Titanic... now fully immersed in water for 100 years and not much rust at all!

Take it from me...



Mark ☺

There is a perverse logic in that, if you fill a 55 gl drum with water and seal it, it will rust slightly inside until all the O2 is consumed into iron oxide, from that point on there will be no more rust as long as its sealed.
Don't anyone take it seriously its an attempt at humor.

[scherzoja]

Skip,

Be careful with squirting different fluids in and around your engine. Some might damage seals on engine or transmission.

Disclaimer: I don't know what I'm talking about and could be wrong.