ENGINE SUBMERGED IN SALT WATER

"Our boat was partially sunk,

"Our boat was partially sunk, and the motor was completely submerged in salt water... What things should we make sure are checked by the guys "pickeling" the motor. Wouldnt one think that this would be a total loss to the insurance company? Salt water was all through the engine for at least 2 days. On top of all the wiring, trim motors, hatch motor, batteries, etc.. Looking for a non-biased oppinion, as our insurance company does business with the folks fixing the boat frequently."

"all depends on the value of t

"all depends on the value of the boat compared to the cost to fix. but to answer your question, my boat sank only for about 5 hours in brackish water and the insurance company said it was a total loss. So I bought the boat back from the insurance company and fixed it myself. I had to replace any and everything electrical that was under water including some of the wiring. It also matters what policy you have and who you have it with.. Good luck"

"Thanks Bill, we do have comp

"Thanks Bill, we do have comp coverage.. I am thinking due to the recent storm down south we may get the short end of the stick due to the massive amount of losses. Saltwater sat in the block for 48 hrs. and they are saying that it shouldn't have hurt the engine at all?! I am no mechanic, but wouldn't that cause a bunch of damage to the internals (bearings, gaskets, seals) ?"

"I was worried about the same

"I was worried about the same thing but the price of two motors wasn't in my budget so I just kept changing the oil everytime I went out, I changed it probably 15 times (maybe over kill) but everyone kept telling me that the bearings would probably fail, 100hrs later and both motors still running great. check with the shop and see if they will give you sometype of warranty or grace period to insure that the motors are going to last. if they will do that, don't waste any time, put as many hours on it as you can or up to their limit and put them to the test. nothing worse then getting the boat back and 3 months later you have to put a new motor in and the insurance company says they are done with the claim.."

"This is no big deal..........

"This is no big deal..........just a pain!!

Saturate the motor and bildge area with a good soapy fresh water solution for a good amount of time with preferably a pressure washer and get as much saltyness out of there.

Drain the oil out of block and change oil filter and put new oil in.
pull plugs and turn engine over to get water out of cyclinders.
Pull distributor cap and clean everything under it,
Pull carb if so equipped and rebiuld.

drain gas out of tank COMPLETELY and put some new in.
Spray or add some marval mystry oil to each cyclynder for sh!ts and giggles.

or mix some 2 cycle oil in the gas to get a bit of lube mixed in with the fuel.

Been there and done that before. It is a pain in the you know what but it can be done......

Put it all back together and give it a shot."

"Would it be out of line to as

"Would it be out of line to ask that we have the motor torn down to ensure that there was no damage? We went to look at it for the first time since it sunk yesterday and it didn't look good, and they still havn't pulled the OD off to inspect and grease in there..."

The longer you wait to work on

The longer you wait to work on it the worse it will be.

Not worth the money to tear down.........If it is that bad get a remanufactured long block.

"use WD-40 heavily on all wiri

"use WD-40 heavily on all wiring, connections and exterior engine parts--be careful; it is flammable until dry."

tell them you want everything

tell them you want everything that was under water to be replaced or give you some type of warranty. have they done anything to the motor yet???

"Nick

One of my engines has

"Nick

One of my engines has had more salt drinks than I have had good meals at my mother in laws.
I have had some success with flushing engines with diesel, when I say flush I mean drown until diesel was running out the dipstick tube.

Did that a couple of times and changed the oil and filters a couple of times and I havent had any problems.
cheers
Peter C"