boat died

vipergg · **Joined:** Tue Jun 12, 2012 8:24 pm **Posts:** 29

Don't know what to make of this . Was heading out last weekend on 1999 180 4.3 Volvo Penta horizon and we are about a mile out and suddenly the boat starts severely missing or not getting gas .Tried to turn around and head back but only made it about 200 yards and it completely died like it wasn't getting gas. I go to try and restart it and all I get is a clunk from the starter like the motor was seized, wouldn't even crank over. Tried a couple more times same thing then decided I better get towed in risk damaging the engine if it got hydrolocked somehow. Get towed to the ramp and pull the boat and take it to authorized Volvo DEALER. For the first couple of tries they saw the same thing where it wouldn't even turn over then like the 4 try they said it started right up and its been fine since so they don't know what to do with it . The fact that 2 separate things happened at the same , where the boat died which seemed like a fuel starvation issue as I was just cruising along on a dead calm day at about 2600 rpm . Then it dies and then you have this other issue where it seemed like the engine was seized and would not even turn over happen at the same time. I thought hydrolock somehow but they checked and found no evidence of water in the engine . So they had it all week and don't know what to do with it . Guess these guys dont know how to work on non computerized carburated engines now. I'm certainly learing of going back out now . I don't know what to make of these 2 different issues happening at the same time. I would speculate that maybe I got bad gas but I run Startron in every fillup so I wouldn't think that would be the issue specially if the dealer has seen no issue with there checking, any speculations or ideas welcome. :?:

St. Louis Dave · **Posted:** Fri Aug 03, 2012 8:26 pm

I have a snowmobile that did the same thing. Locked up tight 100 miles from home in REMOTE northern Canada. Let it sit for a while and think about plan B. Few minutes later, I pulled the rope and it started and ran better than ever. No clue why, how, or anything. Still have it and it runs great.

Gremlins. A sign from above. Stars aligned. or something else. Run it and enjoy the second life of it.

Sometimes there are not any answers.

vipergg · **Joined:** Tue Jun 12, 2012 8:24 pm **Posts:** 29

Well had it out all day and saw no issues after filling with non ethanol gas.Seems my. Bilge pump may have bit the dust,had all this water in the ski locker,tried bilging but nothing happens,get a slight whine from the pump but nothing happens.Getting at it looks like pia!!

ric · **Posted:** Thu Aug 16, 2012 10:56 pm

sounds like you overheated it

TX H210SS · **Joined:** Thu May 27, 2010 9:10 am **Posts:** 1488

Was thinking same thing.....did you here any valve clatter before it died? Possible that something obstructed the water intake, stuck Therm or something. Did you take note of engine temp when this happened. If so may be worth swapping impeller and Therm and oil,,....routine stuff anyway.

LouC · **Posted:** Fri Aug 17, 2012 8:51 am

Do some logic based troubleshooting. First look at the ignition system, check the plugs, dist cap n rotor and wires. Cap in rotor for cracks and burning, wires for high resistance, plugs for fouling/wear etc. If that's all good, turn to the fuel system. Take off the water separating fuel filter and carefully dump it out into a large glass jar. Let it set for a while. Then look and see if you see a layer of water on the bottom or other debris, if so then you need to look in the carb as well. The symptoms you report could be a stuck carb float, if it stuck up the engine would die from flooding if down it would die from no gas. Could be a spec of dirt or rust on the seat for the float. If this turns out to be a chronic issue, then you should remove the gas tank sending unit and look down in the tank, if you see a layer of crud down there its time to get it cleaned out. A '99 boat, does it have an aluminum tank or an plastic one?

It not cranking, well lucky you did not hydrolock, that could be an unrelated problem, rusty starter solenoid, rusty cables, etc.

Oh and one last thing, keep in mind that in an I/O power train, the driveshaft and upper gears in the drive turn all the time the engine is running. If the drive was low on oil and starting to lock up, it can and will stall the engine, or make it not crank over. Do check the drive oil/condition just to be on the safe side.

ric · **Posted:** Fri Aug 17, 2012 9:12 am

In my day of owning old trans ams and such, I was forced to drive home without any coolant 10 miles. (late sunday night, no AAA, etc). It was a carb'd 350 and it did and will in fact "lock up" and run like uber crap when it's too hot. Once cooled down, started fine, drive a few miles and stop. Fixed the leak and stuff, didn't blow a headgasket but... it just never quite ran the same but lasted 2 more years.

Everything you're describing is an overheat situation. Out running, starts running really bad... locks up.. cools down after a while...runs again. You really need to pay attention to the gauges because it would have been nice to know what they were reading when this all happened.

pet575 · **Posted:** Fri Aug 17, 2012 9:20 am

If you're certain the engine did not overheat, I think Lou's theory might carry the most weight. I've had an outdrive go bad on me in service that shut everything down. Engine would not turn over-nothing. Let it sit for awhile and then started and ran like a champ. Then it did it again after a little while of running it. Couldn't figure it out until the mechanic pulled the outdrive and it was burned up.

vipergg · **Joined:** Tue Jun 12, 2012 8:24 pm **Posts:** 29

Almost positive it was not an overheating issue, no alarms and I look at the guages all the time and it was sitting right in the middle . I dont think it was even running long enough to overheat I was maybe at most a mile from the dock.The waterpump impeller was changed last spring so its a little over a year old . Guage stays in the middle even at idle.Plugs were changed in the spring.The gas tank is plastic . Boat is run in clean fresh water . Got the boat back from the dealer and filled it with non ethanol gas . They had run it out on the water for at least 30 minutes without issues. Checked for water in the plug area, nothing found. I use startron in every tank also . I ran it probably 10-15 miles this past thursday without any issues. I did notice when I had it in the back yard that the kill lanyard wasnt seated completely don't know if that could do anything if it was right on the edge, wouldn't explain it not turning over after it died though . I also put it on the flushers in the yard and it started right up so at a loss right now. Probably have to run it some more and see what happens. Ran perfect a couple of days ago. Labor day is generally the last day we boat anyway . One of the bad things about living in northern NY. Water is getting really low at this point due to no rain. I will check the drive fluid levels the next time we are at the cottage.

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boat died

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