Ex 330 overheating

[gride]

Not my boat. Seems to be an oil leak at the bottom of the engine possibly the pan. Oil/filter changed about end of march. Definitely not 50 hours yet. Was bone dry and engine temp skyrocketed. Also, oil pressure seemed perfect on both gauges.

[WakeSlayer]

Come again?

[gride]

Darnit. I tried to be specific. Heres a little story. My buddy changed his fluids and impeller around the end of march. We have probably put between 25-35 hours on it. During that time it has performed great. Yesterday, we pulled 1 rider and then went into "engine hot" limp mode. Coolant is fine. Filter is clear of debris. Checked the oil and it was bone dry. There has been oil in the bilge but since the gauges read correct numbers it's been overlooked for now. Added almost 4 qts. Checked the impeller and it was fine. It's running fine now. I cannot see oil coming from anywhere so it has to be at the bottom of the engine. Where are some of the places to look? It was fun working on this in 105 degree weather and a hot engine. It's a 2005 ex330 closed cooled.

[WakeSlayer]

FOUR quarts low? Geezuss. It sounds ridiculous, but did he put oil back in it when he did his fluids? I just don't see how 4 quarts in the bilge would not be obvious. A couple tablespoons looks huge. Did it actually display and overheat problem? Or did it just go into limp mode. I believe limp mode is activated by engine temp, AND oil pressure failures. The only way you are going to lose 4 quarts of dino is a main seal or punching a hole in your oil pan.

[gride]

It went into limp mode when the temp shot up to 200 or so and continuously flashed engine hot. Shouldnt the low oil pressure sensor kicked in?Yes he put oil in there. It's an insanely slow leak. No dealers here. Any suggestions of getting started for the mechanic?

[WakeSlayer]

Insanely slow oil leaks do not lose 4 quarts. Period.
I guess I would start by extracting what you can, and measure it. Replace oil and filter. Check impeller and check all hose clamps, too. Look at your coolant. Is there oil in there? Start it on a hose or at the dock and get to operating temp. Watch all the guages very carefully. Light the motor up real well to try and spot the leak. I just don't see how it can do that without it being obvious.
Is there more history to this boat and motor?

[CradGen2]

First I check the oil and tranny fluid before each weekend outing, so if the boat was down 4 qts and there was a known leak, well that is on the owner (i'm sure we are all thinking it). I'm not a mechanic, but sounds like you have 2 issues. A 330 takes more then 4 QTs of oil to fill, so it might not have been bone dry (better news). Also oil reduces friction which will help keep thing cool, but water or coolant is what keep the motor cool. So if the temp shot up you still might have a cooling issue. Although the new impeller look good, what did the old impeller look like. If it was missing fins they could be stuck somewhere in the cooling system. I would still go through your system.

If there is a known oil leak, we need to find it. We had this issue on an old Ski Nautique. We cleaned the bilge well and found some old netting that we suspended white paper towels until we found the leak. Ours turned out to be a whole the oil change hose and not the pan.

[gride]

Thanks. Like I said it's not my boat. It was at the high point of the full marker on dipstick with almost 4qts put in yesterday. We will clean the bilge, check hoses, and what not. I was thinking it might be the drain hose. I'll let ya know.

[IMPACT-EV1]

checking the impellar is going to do anything but keep the manifolds cool on a closed cooling system. You need to replace the T-stat and verify the water pump aka circulation pump is operating correctly.

On a closed cooling system it's like a car's other than the rwp circulates water through a heat exchanger, but if the water pump/circulation pump isn't working then the water that is in the block will not circulate within the block or the heat exchanger. The impellar of the RWP is not a part of that water flow, it draws water in from the lake then circulates it throught the heat exchanger and then out exhaust manifolds. I would check the water level of the closed system and then watch with the cap off of the heat exchanger and verify water is flowing within the exchanger.

[IMPACT-EV1]

the oil consumption is odd but it could have been burnt off with elevated tempertures of the block, but typically two seperate issues, low oil can make the engine run hotter and a hot motor will thin out the oil more and it will flow into areas that it normally wouldn't i.e. combustion chamber. But the cloosed system would be the starting point if I was checking it out and repairing the problem.

[WakeSlayer]

the oil consumption is odd but it could have been burnt off with elevated tempertures of the block

But 75-80% of it? Seems crazy. I am making the broad assumption that they watch the guages.

If the closed cooling created the problem, wouldn't the cooling system have a bunch of oil in it? Never had one in a boat, so not 100% clear.

[gride]

Looking at the coolant it seems to be just dex. It sucks bc neither of us are great mechanics and it's virtually impossible to see any drips even with locker panels out and head down in there.

[IMPACT-EV1]

But 75-80% of it? Seems crazy. I am making the broad assumption that they watch the guages.

If the closed cooling created the problem, wouldn't the cooling system have a bunch of oil in it? Never had one in a boat, so not 100% clear.

I wouldn't say the closed system created the problem or consumed the oil, the engine and the extra heat consumed the oil in the combustion chambers possibly. It also could be that there wasn't enough oil in it to start with or it has a blow by problem consuming the oil. Again two seperate issues. If there are signs of oil in the closed cooling system then the head gasket or intake is gone.

Two problems here over heating and oil consumption. One can contribute to the other but burning up oil isn't going to make it run hot.

It should look like dex cool because it is most likely is, the point is you have to verify that the water pump is doing it's job circulating the water in the block, So I would remove the cap on the heat exchanger, start the boat on a fake a lake and get it hot, verify that you can see movement and a lot of movement of the water within the heat exchanger, this will tell you if there is water flowing within the block, the rwp dumps out the exhaust pipe on the transom.

If the RWP is out then the exhaust manifolds and heat exchanger will get very hot pretty quickly so use your calibrated palm on the the engine's intake, exhaust manifolds and the exchanger or get one of those IR temp reading devices/gun if you have one.

the RWP will keep the exchanger somewhat cool even if the circulation pump is out or the T-stat is stuck closed and why you have to watch for water flow within the exchanger.

Fix the temperature issue first then find the cause of the oil consumption, just be sure there is enough oil in the block before you start working on tracking down the over heating issue.

possible cooling issue, T-stat is stuck closed, the circulation pump is out, the block is clogged and not allowing water flow or a hose is restricting water flow. Don't rule out bad sensors/sending units either that is why you need to feel the temp with your hand or a temperature reading device.

[IMPACT-EV1]

Looking at the coolant it seems to be just dex. It sucks bc neither of us are great mechanics and it's virtually impossible to see any drips even with locker panels out and head down in there.

you don't need to be concerned with finding the oil leak now focus on the temp issue first then deal with the oil leak, you do know what flowing water looks like correct? remove the cap to the heat exchanger, fire up the boat and watch for movement withing the exchanger, if there isn't any movement in the water then you have to try and decide which one is the problem, the circulation pump or the thermostat, I would replace the T-stat first then move to the circulation pump after that, Ignor the raw water pump at this time you have all ready inspected that and if that is the problem then the exhaust manifolds will be smoking hot in addition to the heat exchanger.

[gride]

Thanks. That's some solid info. I'll check the heat exchanger tomorrow and try using a mirror or something to look at the pan. The manifolds were hot as crap, but the engine over heated so I expected that. Would the impeller not be shredded if the pump was bad after alot of use, bc it spanking new