Trying to do the Loop in a 2013 R31CB. We are currently undergoing repairs due to hydrolock of our engine. It appears that raw water has back flowed through the Cutless bearing cooling line into the engine. Water was found in the exhaust elbow as well as the turbo and the #1 and #2 cylinders. We have never been towed. Has anyone ever experienced this situation. Very discouraging.
Hydrolocked Engine
- Thread starter RexAnnie
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On my boat the yard that is fixing it told me that the exhaust system for the Volvo Penta engine was a marginal installation which may have contributed to my engine water ingestion during a tow. If you can, I would have a Volvo technition verify the installation of your engine/exhaust system according to Volvo's engine installation manual. Also, on my new engine installation, due to the compactness of the RT25SC, the yard has had to order a special exhaust riser for the new engine inorder to eliminate the possibility of water ingestion thru the exhaust. So, I expect if your exhaust system is not installed correctly it may have caused your problem.
Good luck with the repair and have a greal loop!
Good luck with the repair and have a greal loop!
BB marine
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Without knowing the full story of the incident it is hard to speculate what happened to cause water injection into the engine. I agree that the engine installation elevations in both RANGER TUGS AND CUTWATERS are/were marginal. I questioned this shortly after purchasing my C26 Cutwater and taking measurements of the exhaust hose to muffler can to riser. It was marginal at best but I was reassured by Fluid Motion customer service that Volvo approved the install. The issue with Marginal installs is it opens the opportunity for failure when variables on the water change. Such as when boats have mechanical failure and need to be towed. The marginal design works if the engine is running but if it is not and it is still moving through the water conditions change. another example, a boat is being lifted out of the water with a travel lift and the operator keeps the bow lower than the stern. Water in the exhaust system can easily back up the exhaust and flood the engine if the elevations are marginal. There is no room for error. The same can happen if a boat is moored or anchored in rough conditions. For theses reason the engine manufacture have measurements and specifications that are based on worse case scenario not best case. I have heard of Ranger Tugs having water injection from trailering too. The exhaust system has water left in it when the engine is shut down. The water from the riser drains to the exhaust can (Muffler). The water in the exhaust hose from the can (Muffler) to the hull exhaust outlet should drain out the exhaust outlet if the hose is installed to engine manufacture specifications. If not it can drain back to the can (Muffler) If the Muffler water level is high or fills up this can lead to water backing up the exhaust hose from the can (Muffler) to the riser (exhaust elbow ). When this happens the turbine side of the turbo gets water (Rust and seizes) water enters the dry side of the exhaust manifold and the water drains into the cylinders. This can cause a Hydrolock and if not found soon enough damage to the cylinders that were contaminated with the sea water. In the case of trailering going down steep hills would be equivalent to a travel lift operator lifting the boat bow down stern high.
Water injected in the cylinders while being towed on the water. This can happen but is rare to happen. For this reason most Boat Us or Sea Tow Boat captains do not have "close the seacock and pinch off the packing or dripless coolant line" in their check list. Personally I never heard of this until joining this Forum and reading the experiences of Tug owners that have had water back up the exhaust and fill cylinders hydro locking the engine. It is well publicized to readers of this forum but I doubt many Boat Us captains a Sea tow captains read this forum. Many owners of these boats don't read the forum either. Unfortunately I know of a hand full of Tug owners that have had this issue and had to replace the engine because of it. A few were covered by insurance and I know of one individual that was reimbursed by the Tow boat company for damages.
What is the answer? I don't know if Fluid motion has changed the install procedures to their inboards because of this issue. I haven't heard of it happening to Newer boats 2018 and up. This is not to say it isn't but I personally have not talked to a owner that has had the issue in a new production Tug or Cut. Most that have had the issue with water injection are older 2016 and earlier. Why? Maybe because they are older boats breaking down or maybe there was a change in design? Regardless a simple notification to Boat US, Sea Tow and tow boat captains along with a service bulletin with instructions of Towing, land and Sea and travel lift instructions as to maintaining a bow high lift when lifting the boat out of the water may help prevent the damages that a number of owners have experienced. A service bulletin to Ranger Tug and Cutwater owners with Volvo and Yanmar installation specifications published so they can inspect their installation to confirm it meets or exceeds manufactures requirements based on the way the boat is used. This could save owners the expense of the damages caused.
This does not mean that the build was not done right when the boat was built. In my case, C26 Cutwater I was doing my yearly rudder post and grease inspections. I noticed the exhaust hose was laying below the support running across the transom. I did email Fluid Motion and gave my as found elevation measurements.
Copied from my email:
"I found my factory installed exhaust hose to be mounted 12”( this measurement is from the bottom of the hose not top of the hose) from the the loaded water line so I moved it 2” higher. It actually should be 3” higher but I would need a longer hose to achieve this measurement. The 14” is a minimum dimension.( this is from Volvo’s installation manual) With my Rib installed which wasn’t when I measured, loaded height would be to low."
"This is out of Volvo’s installation manual" —— To prevent water from entering from the rear, the last part of the exhaust line should be arranged in a bend (swan neck) reaching up to at least 350 mm (14”) above the water surface when the boat is loaded.
Use stainless hose clips. If the hose passes through bulkheads or similar it must be protected against cha ng.
The height of exhaust elbow above water line (C min), see g. D, should be 200 mm (8"). If less a vacuum valve is needed in the cooling system to avoid siphon action that could result in water ingress through the exhaust system.”
" This dimension is really close I’m surprised there is not a vacuum valve installed!”
The response from Fluid motion.
" Hello Brian,
The higher the exhaust hose the better. This prevents water ingestion to the engine. All of our installations are Volvo certified and have been gone through to certify for warranty.
The point of this is a lightly loaded or factory boat demo boat with a marginal exhaust install meets the requirements. When we purchase these boats for cruising we load them with equipment, some even have tenders on the swim deck. This lowers the water line so now the marginal install that met the specifications is now to low and the chances of water injection is increases when "the holes in the cheese line up".
RexAnnie, if no one else has had this issue it doesn't mean it can't happen. Something should be done to prevent it from happening again. Good luck with any further repairs.
Water injected in the cylinders while being towed on the water. This can happen but is rare to happen. For this reason most Boat Us or Sea Tow Boat captains do not have "close the seacock and pinch off the packing or dripless coolant line" in their check list. Personally I never heard of this until joining this Forum and reading the experiences of Tug owners that have had water back up the exhaust and fill cylinders hydro locking the engine. It is well publicized to readers of this forum but I doubt many Boat Us captains a Sea tow captains read this forum. Many owners of these boats don't read the forum either. Unfortunately I know of a hand full of Tug owners that have had this issue and had to replace the engine because of it. A few were covered by insurance and I know of one individual that was reimbursed by the Tow boat company for damages.
What is the answer? I don't know if Fluid motion has changed the install procedures to their inboards because of this issue. I haven't heard of it happening to Newer boats 2018 and up. This is not to say it isn't but I personally have not talked to a owner that has had the issue in a new production Tug or Cut. Most that have had the issue with water injection are older 2016 and earlier. Why? Maybe because they are older boats breaking down or maybe there was a change in design? Regardless a simple notification to Boat US, Sea Tow and tow boat captains along with a service bulletin with instructions of Towing, land and Sea and travel lift instructions as to maintaining a bow high lift when lifting the boat out of the water may help prevent the damages that a number of owners have experienced. A service bulletin to Ranger Tug and Cutwater owners with Volvo and Yanmar installation specifications published so they can inspect their installation to confirm it meets or exceeds manufactures requirements based on the way the boat is used. This could save owners the expense of the damages caused.
This does not mean that the build was not done right when the boat was built. In my case, C26 Cutwater I was doing my yearly rudder post and grease inspections. I noticed the exhaust hose was laying below the support running across the transom. I did email Fluid Motion and gave my as found elevation measurements.
Copied from my email:
"I found my factory installed exhaust hose to be mounted 12”( this measurement is from the bottom of the hose not top of the hose) from the the loaded water line so I moved it 2” higher. It actually should be 3” higher but I would need a longer hose to achieve this measurement. The 14” is a minimum dimension.( this is from Volvo’s installation manual) With my Rib installed which wasn’t when I measured, loaded height would be to low."
"This is out of Volvo’s installation manual" —— To prevent water from entering from the rear, the last part of the exhaust line should be arranged in a bend (swan neck) reaching up to at least 350 mm (14”) above the water surface when the boat is loaded.
Use stainless hose clips. If the hose passes through bulkheads or similar it must be protected against cha ng.
The height of exhaust elbow above water line (C min), see g. D, should be 200 mm (8"). If less a vacuum valve is needed in the cooling system to avoid siphon action that could result in water ingress through the exhaust system.”
" This dimension is really close I’m surprised there is not a vacuum valve installed!”
The response from Fluid motion.
" Hello Brian,
The higher the exhaust hose the better. This prevents water ingestion to the engine. All of our installations are Volvo certified and have been gone through to certify for warranty.
The point of this is a lightly loaded or factory boat demo boat with a marginal exhaust install meets the requirements. When we purchase these boats for cruising we load them with equipment, some even have tenders on the swim deck. This lowers the water line so now the marginal install that met the specifications is now to low and the chances of water injection is increases when "the holes in the cheese line up".
RexAnnie, if no one else has had this issue it doesn't mean it can't happen. Something should be done to prevent it from happening again. Good luck with any further repairs.
Another couple thoughts I had on boats with a shallow rise of the exhaust plumbing to the muffler, like my boat, is a possibility when moving the boat on land, if the stern is raised above the bow, water may run from the muffler into the engine.
Also with a water lift muffler, if your engine didn't start immediately and you cranked more than a few seconds without it starting, that could cause a backup of water in the engine. On my new Yanmar engine, the manufacture suggests a maximum of 15 seconds of trying to start the engine. If it does not start, close the raw water intake and continue the starting process until the engine starts. Then stop it immediately, open the raw water intake and restart.
Go to Seaboard/Marine on the web and they have some good articles on marine exhaust system design. That may help you comparing your exhaust system with one that is inherently safe.
As I found out in reading several online articles, the problem we have had is not rare.
Also with a water lift muffler, if your engine didn't start immediately and you cranked more than a few seconds without it starting, that could cause a backup of water in the engine. On my new Yanmar engine, the manufacture suggests a maximum of 15 seconds of trying to start the engine. If it does not start, close the raw water intake and continue the starting process until the engine starts. Then stop it immediately, open the raw water intake and restart.
Go to Seaboard/Marine on the web and they have some good articles on marine exhaust system design. That may help you comparing your exhaust system with one that is inherently safe.
As I found out in reading several online articles, the problem we have had is not rare.
mddogpilot
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How can I prevent damage while having the boat towed? Do I need to block the exterior exhaust outlet?
Osprey
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I removed the drain plug located on the side, near the bottom, of the muffler and added a muffler drain line. The line includes a ball valve to allow draining the muffler when required. There is an image on the second album page of Osprey
knotflying
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Squeezing the cutless bearing line when being towed is a good move as well. Or disconnect it and plug it while being towed.
BB marine
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RexAnnie":yqdtpogu said:
I realize that you were told that the injection point of the water that Hydrolocked the engine was from the cutlass/packing cooling hose back feeding to the exhaust elbow. This happened in a event that the boat was not being towed?
RexAnnie":yqdtpogu said:
This is hard to believe. The connection point of the packing/Cutlass cooling hose is under the after cooler. There is a tee connection there, up stream side of the hose connected to the tee connection goes to the after cooler/heat exchanger. The down stream side of the tee connection goes to the reverse gear cooler. The hose connected to the downstream side of the reverse gear cooler is at the same elevation as the exhaust muffler. The hose does a 65 degree turn goes up to the exhaust elbow. The exhaust elbow water jacket fills with water that is supplied by the raw water cooling system via the hose that comes from the reverse gear cooler. On the bottom of the exhaust elbow ( portion facing down there are shower nozzles or ports that allow the water to cool the hot exhaust when the engine is running. The nozzles or ports are slightly higher than the exhaust muffler or "can". The water fills the can and by way of the engine running ,exhaust pressure pushes the water out of the can. The water exits the can into the exhaust outlet hose and hull exhaust port.
Click on this photo. Look at the Tee connection below the after cooler. Two hose clamps close together. This is where the cutlass/packing gland hose gets the water for cooling. Look at the elevation. It is lower than the muffler inlet connection.
https://cdn.yachtbroker.org/images/high ... d53_97.jpg
The R31, the most likely way that that engine in this installation would ingest water is the thru hull engine raw water pick up. If it is being towed. It is highly unlikely that it would be through the Cutlass/packing gland cooling port. But you said the boat was not towed.
Was the boat lifted off a trailer with a travel lift, was the boat towed over the road and then lifted by a travel lift, did the boat get launched at a boat ramp that had a steep incline, any of theses Before the water ingestion ? If yes to any of those conditions that would make more sense to the cause of the hydrolock. Water back feeding up the exhaust into the turbo and exhaust manifold causing the cylinders to fill with water. The solution that Osprey stated would have prevented this from happening. The Exhaust system installed in all of the Ranger inboards is marginal. The difference of 1" or 2" of elevation of the exhaust hose could be the difference of water getting into the engine when floating statically, being towed over land, launched at a steep ramp, or lifted by a travel lift.
I mentioned the use of a travel lift. Many times a travel lift operator will pick a boat up and when moving it to the pit to launch it he/she will drop the bow a bit and carry the boat stern high. If this is done in your R31 with a exhaust system that has water in it ( exhaust can or Muffler) there is a chance that the water will drain out of the can into the riser dry side and ingest water into the turbo and exhaust manifold filling the cylinders with water.
Why am I posting this? I'm sure you are on your way by now doing the Loop and have the engine issues repaired. The Cutlass /packing cooling line should not be ruled out as a cause but in my opinion it wasn't the cause based on the information that you posted. The boat was not towed in the water. Being towed meaning 5 mph + for an extended period of time. Cutlass/packing cooling hose is 3/8", the water volume and pressure that would be created from towing the boat would be minimal. The tee location on the D4 and D6 is not the same as D3 or Yanmar used in the R27, R25 or C26. I am posting this so you have an awareness of other possible causes so this does not happen to you again in your R31. Does your exhaust muffler have a slosh knob on the bottom of it?
This picture shows the Knob on the bottom of the can. This helps eliminate the water from slushing up the exhaust hose into the dry side of the exhaust elbow.
gallery2.php?g2_itemId=70780
This is a D3. Notice the Tee fitting for the Cutlass/packing gland coolant hose mounted high at the same level as the exhaust elbow. This installation is more likely to get water ingestion from the gland coolant hose.
If you don't have that knob you would be wise to do an installation like Osprey described. Drain the exhaust when towing over the road, lifting the boat with a travel lift, winterizing.......
What happened to RexAnnie could happen to anyone if the right conditions exist.
snydzy
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I’ve posted this link before: https://www.sbmar.com/articles/designin ... st-system/
Of most interest:
1) Understand the difference between a “requirement” and a “recommendation”
5) When using a “lift muffler” design, remember that in most cases you can make the system “inherently safe”
It’s very informative,…. marine exhaust system failures are common and it’s easy to see that the exhaust design in my 2013 25sc is marginal, but by being aware of it’s faults allows me to take preventative measures to keep risk at a minimum.
Of most interest:
1) Understand the difference between a “requirement” and a “recommendation”
5) When using a “lift muffler” design, remember that in most cases you can make the system “inherently safe”
It’s very informative,…. marine exhaust system failures are common and it’s easy to see that the exhaust design in my 2013 25sc is marginal, but by being aware of it’s faults allows me to take preventative measures to keep risk at a minimum.
bob daily
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Another cause of hydrolocking that is sometimes overlooked is the current flow of water around your boat if anchored or moored. The speed of the outgoing tide on the Columbia river can rise from 4 up to 8 knots depending on rainfall upstream. Fishing below the dam on the Snake river the current is usually around 6 knots and if anchored precautions should be taken. Not saying this is the problem that caused your problem, just something to think of. Bob
We were stunned with this ordeal. I can only state the facts of the case.
The engine was locked up, when the tech separated the exhaust elbow from the turbo charger water flowed out of the turbo charger and the exhaust elbow. Laying there separated at the same level water continued to slowly flow out of the exhaust elbow. I was a witness and assisted with this process. The question was raised about where this water was coming from. I mentioned the cutlass bearing line. The tech removed the cutlass cooling line from the raw water cooling connection. Water was flowing back up the cutlass bearing cooling line. He pinched it shut, still disconnected, and the water stopped flowing out of the exhaust elbow. So it was determined, justifiably so that this was the source of the back flow.
So after two maintenance techs and a marine insurance adjuster with 30 years of experience agreed that this was the issue I sort of agreed with them.
The repairs included four new fuel injectors, a new turbocharger, a comment from the adjuster that the system was a bad design, he had seen it before on this similar set up, and a vented loop installed in the cutlass bearing cooling line at an elevated position. After the new installation was completed to verify that this fixed the problem we disconnected the cutlass bearing cooling line at the raw water connection and no water was flowing back now.
We also moved some weight forward out of the cockpit storage compartments to raise the boat an inch or two higher in the water. Some boats tend to be a little aft heavy with a dinghy and spare parts loaded, combined with this design and a series of unfortunate events a hard mariners lesson was learned. The vented loop resolved it all.
Thanks to all who responded and I hope this experience can keep someone else from having it.
Due to other circumstances we were unable to complete the loop, but may one day do so. The boat was listed and sold.
The engine was locked up, when the tech separated the exhaust elbow from the turbo charger water flowed out of the turbo charger and the exhaust elbow. Laying there separated at the same level water continued to slowly flow out of the exhaust elbow. I was a witness and assisted with this process. The question was raised about where this water was coming from. I mentioned the cutlass bearing line. The tech removed the cutlass cooling line from the raw water cooling connection. Water was flowing back up the cutlass bearing cooling line. He pinched it shut, still disconnected, and the water stopped flowing out of the exhaust elbow. So it was determined, justifiably so that this was the source of the back flow.
So after two maintenance techs and a marine insurance adjuster with 30 years of experience agreed that this was the issue I sort of agreed with them.
The repairs included four new fuel injectors, a new turbocharger, a comment from the adjuster that the system was a bad design, he had seen it before on this similar set up, and a vented loop installed in the cutlass bearing cooling line at an elevated position. After the new installation was completed to verify that this fixed the problem we disconnected the cutlass bearing cooling line at the raw water connection and no water was flowing back now.
We also moved some weight forward out of the cockpit storage compartments to raise the boat an inch or two higher in the water. Some boats tend to be a little aft heavy with a dinghy and spare parts loaded, combined with this design and a series of unfortunate events a hard mariners lesson was learned. The vented loop resolved it all.
Thanks to all who responded and I hope this experience can keep someone else from having it.
Due to other circumstances we were unable to complete the loop, but may one day do so. The boat was listed and sold.
BB marine
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My opinion was wrong. Thank you for sharing the details of the troubleshooting and repair. In my previous post I stated that the elevation difference of 1 or 2" of the exhaust hose elevation could be the difference between water ingestion into the engine or not. In your case the water line level had raised in the aft section of the boat from extra gear and dinghy stored in aft section of the boat while making preparations for your trip. Where did the water come from the exhaust system or the Cutlass/packing gland cooling port. ( What came first the Chicken or the egg :lol: ? ) "What all of a sudden caused this issue?" The boat is a 2013 31 Ranger and it now has an engine water intrusion issue. It was not towed and the verdict was the water came in from the Cutlass/packing gland. Can't be!! After you posted the explanation I still was in denial, but anything is possible and you proofed it. Why all of a sudden did this issue happen to a boat 9 years old? I know from the inspection of my C26 that the exhaust outlet hose was mounted to low in my boat. I found this issue when I was servicing the rudder post as previously stated in my other post.
In the picture below you will see the exhaust outlet hose anchored by a couple of tie straps. When I first saw this hose it was mounted below the transom cross support shown and anchored with tie straps. A factory installation ?? I measured the elevation and found it to be to low and knew this could be a problem in the future. I was lucky it wasn't already a problem. I Cut the tie straps at several locations from the muffler to the exhaust outlet the hull fitting then lifted the hose above the transom cross support and installed two heavy grade tie straps and eventually installed 6 more heavy straps to permanently anchor the hose in place.
gallery2.php?g2_itemId=68972&g2_imageViewsIndex=1
This new elevation is still marginal but I did gain about 2". I was fully aware the entire time I owned the C26 that storing extra equipment and supplies needed to be carefully thought out and bow storage and midship storage was important. I even changed the natural (Ranger Tug/Cutwater boat list from port to starboard. This would help raise the thru hull exhaust port higher out of the water. (1" difference could be the difference of the engine taking on water). I knew that if I was to be towed the engine thru hull valve,Cutlass/packing cooling gland hose would need to be pinched off and drain the exhaust can muffler and monitor the water level in it.
When Rex Annie posted the water entered the Turbo, exhaust elbow, exhaust manifold and the cylinders from the Cutlass/packing hose I disagreed. My opinion, it came in from the exhaust. My thinking was inside the box instead of outside the box. My opinion has not completely changed but it was proven that the cause was the gland hose. The water did enter because of the marginally designed engine installation elevation and exhaust system. The cause seems to have been from the low point connection of the Cutlass/packing cooling hose. My opinion is the water was syphoned from the thru hull exhaust port to the exhaust can (muffler) up the exhaust riser outlet hose to the exhaust elbow. The water flowed from the elbow to the reverse gear cooler to the tee connection to the cutlass/packing gland connection and out the shaft log. With the water level at the riser being high enough the water entered the dry side of the exhaust elbow and allowed water to enter the turbo and exhaust manifold filling the cylinders with water.
The additional weight raised the water line elevation a few inches. The exhaust hose that I lifted and mounted higher in my C26 possibly needed to be lifted the same in this R31 to prevent this from happening. Or If Fluid Motion had installed the engine as per Volvo's requirements that may have prevented this from happening. In some engine installations it is not possible to install the engine and exhaust system at required elevations above water level. In these types of installations the vacuums breaker or vented loops are used. This is what RexAnnie explained the technicians did.
What happened to RexAnnie has happened to others too. I know it has happed to R29's, R27's, R25's, C26's ( all inboard models of course) All requiring extensive repair cost. Many were lucky enough to have good insurance picking up the cost. Some not so lucky. A few D3 and D4 Volvo owners that I have spoken to needed a complete new engine.
Many Ranger Tug and Cutwater owners do not follow this forum. When I meet a tug or cut owners I ask are you a member of Tugnuts? I would estimate about 50% of them know about TugNuts but do not follow the forum at all. How do they learn or find out some of the valuable information that is posted on this forum every day?
The information from RexAnnie's thread is what I would consider to be a must know. Fluid Motion is not the only boat manufacture that has installations that are marginal. Many boat manufactures have similar installations. It all comes down to: "We have so much area to install this engine" "It can only be mounted this high and the water line can't be moved " "It is what it is!" There are ways to make it meet requirements but they are costly. Mainship trawlers and Pilot House boats have similar issues. When the holes in the cheese line up the engine gets water in it. I adjusted my stainless steel riser to its highest elevation. It is 1" from touching the deck hatch. The elevation of the Turbo inlet is 8" above the boats water line. Searay had similar issues with many of their stern drive boats. I believe this issue to be more common in boats 40' or less in length . The smaller boats with flush deck cockpits it is a common issue. Years back boats built 30' or smaller commonly had "Doghouses in cockpits. The doghouse covered the engine. The engine elevations were not limited because of cockpit deck
In the picture below you will see the exhaust outlet hose anchored by a couple of tie straps. When I first saw this hose it was mounted below the transom cross support shown and anchored with tie straps. A factory installation ?? I measured the elevation and found it to be to low and knew this could be a problem in the future. I was lucky it wasn't already a problem. I Cut the tie straps at several locations from the muffler to the exhaust outlet the hull fitting then lifted the hose above the transom cross support and installed two heavy grade tie straps and eventually installed 6 more heavy straps to permanently anchor the hose in place.
gallery2.php?g2_itemId=68972&g2_imageViewsIndex=1
This new elevation is still marginal but I did gain about 2". I was fully aware the entire time I owned the C26 that storing extra equipment and supplies needed to be carefully thought out and bow storage and midship storage was important. I even changed the natural (Ranger Tug/Cutwater boat list from port to starboard. This would help raise the thru hull exhaust port higher out of the water. (1" difference could be the difference of the engine taking on water). I knew that if I was to be towed the engine thru hull valve,Cutlass/packing cooling gland hose would need to be pinched off and drain the exhaust can muffler and monitor the water level in it.
When Rex Annie posted the water entered the Turbo, exhaust elbow, exhaust manifold and the cylinders from the Cutlass/packing hose I disagreed. My opinion, it came in from the exhaust. My thinking was inside the box instead of outside the box. My opinion has not completely changed but it was proven that the cause was the gland hose. The water did enter because of the marginally designed engine installation elevation and exhaust system. The cause seems to have been from the low point connection of the Cutlass/packing cooling hose. My opinion is the water was syphoned from the thru hull exhaust port to the exhaust can (muffler) up the exhaust riser outlet hose to the exhaust elbow. The water flowed from the elbow to the reverse gear cooler to the tee connection to the cutlass/packing gland connection and out the shaft log. With the water level at the riser being high enough the water entered the dry side of the exhaust elbow and allowed water to enter the turbo and exhaust manifold filling the cylinders with water.
The additional weight raised the water line elevation a few inches. The exhaust hose that I lifted and mounted higher in my C26 possibly needed to be lifted the same in this R31 to prevent this from happening. Or If Fluid Motion had installed the engine as per Volvo's requirements that may have prevented this from happening. In some engine installations it is not possible to install the engine and exhaust system at required elevations above water level. In these types of installations the vacuums breaker or vented loops are used. This is what RexAnnie explained the technicians did.
What happened to RexAnnie has happened to others too. I know it has happed to R29's, R27's, R25's, C26's ( all inboard models of course) All requiring extensive repair cost. Many were lucky enough to have good insurance picking up the cost. Some not so lucky. A few D3 and D4 Volvo owners that I have spoken to needed a complete new engine.
Many Ranger Tug and Cutwater owners do not follow this forum. When I meet a tug or cut owners I ask are you a member of Tugnuts? I would estimate about 50% of them know about TugNuts but do not follow the forum at all. How do they learn or find out some of the valuable information that is posted on this forum every day?
The information from RexAnnie's thread is what I would consider to be a must know. Fluid Motion is not the only boat manufacture that has installations that are marginal. Many boat manufactures have similar installations. It all comes down to: "We have so much area to install this engine" "It can only be mounted this high and the water line can't be moved " "It is what it is!" There are ways to make it meet requirements but they are costly. Mainship trawlers and Pilot House boats have similar issues. When the holes in the cheese line up the engine gets water in it. I adjusted my stainless steel riser to its highest elevation. It is 1" from touching the deck hatch. The elevation of the Turbo inlet is 8" above the boats water line. Searay had similar issues with many of their stern drive boats. I believe this issue to be more common in boats 40' or less in length . The smaller boats with flush deck cockpits it is a common issue. Years back boats built 30' or smaller commonly had "Doghouses in cockpits. The doghouse covered the engine. The engine elevations were not limited because of cockpit deck
BB marine
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Based on the photo below the installation of the Yanmar is the same as the Volvo. Read this article posted by snydzy
I believe if you take the measurements discussed in this article you will find the installation to be marginal at best. This doesn't mean you will have an issue.
https://unitedyachts-iyba.imgix.net/ima ... lossless=1
https://cdn.yachtbroker.org/images/high ... d53_97.jpg
snydzy":28zzvqut said:
I believe if you take the measurements discussed in this article you will find the installation to be marginal at best. This doesn't mean you will have an issue.
https://unitedyachts-iyba.imgix.net/ima ... lossless=1
https://cdn.yachtbroker.org/images/high ... d53_97.jpg
doke01
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I have a Yanmar and have never had hydro-locking issues. I've only been towed once and closed the raw water intake to ensure no issues.I've looked at the exhaust installation and it is to spec, not marginal in my case. I do have any early Ranger R-25 (15 years old) with a Yanmar 4jh3-dte.
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