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Motor sucked air and overheated, help please.

S

Samav

Contributing Member
Motor is a BF30A LHSA pre-1997.

Well, I left my brother alone for 5 minutes, and he pulled the hose out of my bucket I use to flush my motor to wash our fishing equipment... Yeah, the motor eventually sucked up enough water to put the water level below the cavitation plate, and sucked air for a good 20-30 seconds before I returned and shut the motor off. The motor was definitely much hotter than normal, and I am worried about what might have happened. I let the motor cool completely before trying to start it again, and it started fine, sounded good, and water was circulating and warming up to temp. However, I noticed that water was coming out of the exhaust, which I have never seen before. The most alarming thing, however, is that water seems to be getting into the engine oil.

Now, the rubber seal for the oil bolt on the bottom of the upper unit is slightly torn, and leaks a little oil from time to time, causing me to have to fill the engine with a little oil every now and again. But now water is dripping from the tear along with coagulated oil. So obviously water is mixing with the oil, but my question is what could cause that? Could the motor be big time damaged, or is it an easy fix? Also, what are some other things I should look out for or change because the motor overheated?

Thanks guys!
 
1st, drop the lower unit and inspect the impeller PLUS impeller housing. If the pump ran dry, you most likely damaged the housing plus the impeller. If you haven't done either over the past 2-3 years you are OVERDUE. Its an under $50 and 1/2 worth of easy work.

2nd, replace the damn oil drain seal, its only a few dollars.

Running it dry for 30 seconds isn't going to cause oil in your water, that in my opinion and experience is seal related or your rings are shot and oil is getting buy the rings or you cracked a cylinder and water is entering that way. A simple compression test is where you should start with this. Testers are free from Autozone or similar on a rental basis.

Start with those things and tell us more.
 
Do you see the water mixed with the oil when you pull the dipstick?
Many outboards get some water in the oil due to condensation. This is especially true of outboards with stuck open tstat causing the engine to run below operating temperature.

I agree with eneusiis that 20 or thirty seconds of no cooling will probably not cause serious damage but any longer than that and it might make me worry a bit.

I would do an oil change and see what happens. If you start seeing water in the oil again in a short period of running then it will be cause for concern and further investigation.
 
Thanks for the responses guys. I will do a compression test and order parts. Ill let you know how it goes..
 
Aloha everyone. I just had time to do a compression test on the motor, and it came out good; the compression in each cylinder is the same as it was before the incident. As for the oil mixing with water, that was my faulty judgment; all it needed was a new oil plug washer. I decided to start the motor up and see how it ran, and it seems to be running fine.

I am still a little worried, though, as I still am seeing water coming out of the exhaust, and it seems like the telltale is a little sputtery (if I feel the stream with my hand I can feel it is not a steady stream, but a little sputtery, making me think that there is still air mixing with the water coming out of the telltale).

Also, I might as well ask: before the incident, the motor began idling at really high rpms making it really clunky switching gears. It did not sound good at all. I am unsure why it began idling high all of a sudden. Nothing seems different as far as the throttle goes. Any suggestions are much appreciated.
 
I would for sure drop the lower unit and replace the water pump impeller. Regarding the high idle try spraying some carb cleaner around the intake while the engine is running. This is a good way to determain if your intake gasket is compromised. Mine was and the rpms would drop right down when I sprayed it around the gasket. It’s a quick easy test.
 
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