engine overheating/back flush help needed!!!

[rocafellagt]

1999 epic s22. Replaced impellar and started engine. old impellar was in pretty bad shape. bought the boat from a friend. Boat had been in storage for 3 years. covered and in great shape. Hooked hose up to the inlet hose on back of lexus VT300i engine. Started boat and no water was flowing out of the exhaust pipes in the back of the boat. Water only flowed down the middle of the bottom of the boat. I was told to back flush the system but i have no idea how to do this. While boat was running and no water was flowing out the back of the boat the engine temp was really high. (needle went passed the maximum line). immediately shut the engine off.  I know water was atleast flowing through the water pump bc there was a slight leak at one of the hoses at the water pump where i didnt tighten it all the way. tightened it up and still no water flowing out the back exhausts.

Any recommendations would be helpful as i am new to boating.

Please speak in laymans terms as i do not know all the boating lingo just yet. 

[ktdust]

I think the water from the centre of the boat is coming from the drain plug below the front of the engine.

Take a look at the 'engine help' post from a few days ago.

If that doesn't work update the post and someone here will help you troubleshoot.

[Wet-N-Frugal]

Is there a garden-hose attachment you are hooking water up to? Take a pic and show us how you hooked up the water to the intake. If there is a hose attachment, then water will flow back out the intake/pickup in the hull bottom... This is normal.
If there are any air leaks on the intake then the sea-water pump will not suck correctly.

[rocafellagt]

yes there is a built in garden hose-looking hook up on the back of the engine.....i have an attachment that hooks to the open end of it and then i put my own garden hose on the other end. Turn the water on and water doesnt flow out of the exhaust in the back. it flows out the bottom of the boat in the middle. This is correct? I was under the impression that water was supposed to flow out the exhaust pipes in the back. Even while the boat was on and running no water out pipes.

[ATXChris]

I second the post about air leaks causing the water pump not being able to suck.  You may want to try dropping the boat in the water and checking for leaks.  Any leaks below the water line will be immediately obvious.  Also if your raw water pump is having trouble getting primed being on the water is better than the scoup style hose attachments ( when the boat is in forward motion it actually forces water into the intake ).  Be sure to check the sea strainer for debris too.

Once the engine is running you'll want to feel the bottom hose of the raw water pump to see if it is full of cold water.  Sometimes I'll pop the lid and check this just after backing off the trailer.

[HCollado]

Check the drain ports on both sides of the engine. They should be nice and tight but be careful to not overtighten them.
Be more specific as to where is the water coming from. When you say from the bottom sounds like it's from a hose and it's making it's way to the bottom of the motor.

What does this contraption look like that you hook a hose too? Sounds like the perfect thing to cause air leaks.

With the engine off, you should be able to hear the water making it's way thru the block and into the manifolds. Eventually, if you let the water run long enough, the engine block will be full it the water caveties and start coming out of the exhaust ends.

[Wet-N-Frugal]

Ok, I have a similar garden-hose fitting I put on my X22:
http://www.epicmarine.com/forum4/index.php?topic=1300.msg11432#msg11432

With the Engine off, and the gardenhose on, the water is going to take the path of least resistance: flow out the strainer, down and out the intake port on the hull bottom. This is the water you see coming out from the middle of the boat. When the boat is actually in the water, and engine on, the cooling water is sucked into this same port.

Now when I start my engine, running off steady garden-hose pressure, the sea-pump swallows Most all the water coming from the hose... there's still a little coming out the hull bottom. Eventually the engine, heater, and exhaust manifolds fill with water and purge itself out the Exhaust ports. If you don't see water coming out the back (Exhaust ports) in under 45 seconds, there is a problem. And at an idle the water pulsates out the exhaust... like breathing.

Do you have a shower (in the trunk)? Make sure the valves are closed.
Follow the hose back (towards the stern) from the sea water pump to the hull intake. Loosen each hose clamp connection, break the hose loose and reseat it... it's rare, but the connection may be water tight, but no air tight. if there's an air leak it's probable it's between the garden hose and sea-water pump.
Here's the parts along this water path: the sea-water pump is fed by a hose from a straight metal cylinder. This is the Tranny cooler. the water flows thru the center of it. Hydraulic fluid in the outer jacket is cooled; note the hydraulic hose connections. On the stern side of the tranny cooler, the hose will attach to pipe fittings, if you have a shower or gardenhose connection. Retignten the pipe fittings into one another too. then it there is the intake filter (a clear cup with a metal screen inside). then an elbow pointing the towards the bilge. And finally the water intake/pickup in the hull.

I had a very similar problem. There were no water drips at all at any connection. yet Engine was overheating. Pulled it all apart (as described above) and put it back together. My overheating problem went away. Never found a smoking gun.

Good luck

[rocafellagt]

OK So i have fixed the problem!

Pulled the thermostat housing off and the tubes to and from it. It looks like the previous owner never flushed the system after running a freshwater boat in saltwater. There was so much crud blocking all the tubes like you would'nt believe. I actually had to remove the spring inside the therm housing and scrape away all the crap inside that was blocking the flow. no water was getting passed the housing which explains why it was all going down the middle of the hull intake. Sea water filter was clean. I felt good about running the boat out on the water after water was flowing freely out of the exhausts.

Small issue on the water was that i think the fuel lines had some old fuel in them and the boat kept sputtering whenever i tried to give it gas. when i pushed the throttle all the way down the boat didnt really react. i ran the boat up and back like 15 times trying to work out whatever was going on. after a while it started getting more responsive to the throttle and gained more and more speed but still wasnt 100%. I was directed to get some treatment for the fuel and to change out the fuel filter once again since it probly picked up any residual water inside the fuel lines.

Is this a smart move or is it not really going to do anything?

Im just really excited and grateful that nothing major was going on with the water flow issue. Hopefully the engine will work out all the kinks with me just running it regularly. Thanks or all your help. 

[ktdust]

It's a smart move. Add some marine stabil (the blue stuff). It should help you burn thru any water in the lines and any ethanol as well. Make sure you fill the fuel filter with 91 or better octane gas when changing it. These boats don't like low octane fuel or ethanol. If you have to get gas with ethanol make sure you use a fuel stabilizer (like blue stabil) to help burn ethanol. Best solution is to use chevron as it doesn't have ethanol (at least in Canada anyway).

Glad you figured out the problem.