Freeze Plug Blowout in Summer

[Nautique226]

Hey folks, new to my Nautique and new to this forum. Also admittedly not a great mechanic. I have a 2005 Nautique 226. What I have going on...

Took the boat out this weekend and heard a squeaking coming from the engine when in gear. Opened the hatch and had water coming in; freeze plugs were blown out on each side of the front of the block. Immediately turned around and got it back on the lift. When trying to assess the situation I also checked the oil in the gearbox just in front of the block and saw that it was milky (strawberry milk).

Previous time out I drove the boat pretty hard tubing (I know I should be wakeboarding/surfing) and skiiing with my young son and all his buddies. The analog gauges work off and on and I'm planning on getting new gauges asap. However the digital gauges work and I thought I was checking the heat gauge enough. I'm pretty sure never beeped from overheating. All that said, wouldn't overheating be a potential cause of my issues?

The guy that sold me the boat indicated he replaced the impeller a couple years ago.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance guys.

Joe

[NautiqueJeff]

It is likely that your gateway is failing, not your gauges. Don't spend money replacing the existing gauges. Just do a gateway bypass.

Your engine issue may be from an overheat condition. How's the engine oil look? If that's watery too, you likely blew a head gasket, too.

Impellers should be replaced every year. They are a royal pain to replace on a 226, so I would suggest having someone else do it, but it needs to be done yearly.

[Nautique226]

Thank you very much for this. I'll look into it.