Is blowing the water out of the water boxes a cause for broken timing chains?

[bumpy]

I thought I read a few threads on broken timing chains being related to blowing out the water boxes with a quick blast of the throttle when on the trailer with the hose off. I told my buddy that he should stop doing it, and to research on both forums, but now I can't find the threads. Did I give false/wrong advice?

 

[2nazt]

Blowing water out should cause no harm as no load is on engine. You are doing a rev to a 3-5k rpms a few times. Most threads I read where while on the water getting air born revving out engines then coming back to the water and the drastic load hitting impellers at high rpms caused issue. That is the big concern but blowing out after leaving water not an issue. At least to my knowledge.

 

[Ryan Cassidy]

Agreed.... The issue isn't while out of the water on a trailer or a lift blowing out the water at 3-5k... it's going at 6/7k coming out of the water and the immediate load on the impeller/engine etc when coming back in the water. I've been doing the blow out trick every time I put my boat on the lift for 6 years and I have never had any issues at all with the boat/motors/impellers etc.

 

[bumpy]

Thanks for the replies, I will definitely tell my bud that I was wrong, and forward your answers. I am encouraging him strongly to join this forum; between this forum and the other the knowledge base is phenomenal!

 

[Ronnie]

I believe it is Jeff @Cobra Jet Steering LLC who advocates not reving the engines up while they are on a hose or out of the water. I still turn the engines on and rev them after a day on the water once the boat is in on the trailer but I don't think reving is needed to clear the engines since they are self draining and water in the water boxes should not hurt anything. Still, I don't Rev the engines as high as i used to now that this potential timing chain issue had comes up.

 

[swatski]

Did I give false/wrong advice?

No, you did not. Here is something from @Cobra Jet Steering LLC , few know these engines better than he does.
To me, this is the important part (relevant to your question) "revving the engine out of the water can get a valve to float and do the same thing" (i.e. stuck valve).

From: https://jetboaters.net/threads/blown-engine-need-some-advice.9935/page-2#post-170895, post #34.

This is probably a good time to pass along some pointers that I always follow, In no way am I implying that these caused the issue with this engine but any one of them could cause one for you.
Here are some things to think about with any 4 stroke engine used in a boat.
Always start the engines before you launch, run them a few seconds and then turn them off.
Always follow a strict warm up procedure.
After idling for about a minute I gradually increase my rpm's so that I get on plane and stay there at a moderate speed for another few minutes before increasing the speed of the boat.
After that I usually take care to kick it in the butt and ride hard all damn day.
After the boat is on the trailer, start the engines and let them run for 40 to 60 seconds. Do not rev the engines out of the water, nothing good can come of it .
When the first 1800 engines were put on the market I was informed that people were revving the engines out of the water and causing the flywheels to come loose from the crank shaft.
This created a major recall, just an example of what can occur with no load on the engines.
Fore stroke engines are a lot more complex than 2 stroke engines, remember the exhaust system has water in it, when the engine is off some of the exhaust valves are OPEN this allows for water vapor from the exhaust system to rise up the exhaust system and condense in the combustion chambers, Rust or corrosion can follow so starting the engine and warming it up slowly can save you from a stuck valve, if just one valve sticks open and the piston strikes it you have a major issue.
Also revving the engine out of the water can get a valve to float and do the same thing. I put over 650 hard hours on a 2010 supercharged 1800 engine with only one trip to the dealer for a new heat sensor, I have 315 hours on two 2014 1800 engines now with no issues so far. It works for me so I stick with it. It will probably work for you also.

 

[Zeus2013]

IMHO, I would be more concerned with stressing the chain. Meaning, going WOT from a stand still or from a slower speed, or going from high RPMs to low quickly. I always gradually increase/decrease speed.

 

[jcyamaharider]

A quick blast out of the water will not hurt anything, been doing this myself for years. Just do not redline the engine. These engines are almost the exact same engines that are in a sport bike and when revved in neutral it represents the same situation. valve float is possible but that is possible in every engine.

 

[haknslash]

I have always blasted water out from my jet skis and now my boat (quick blasts of 3k or so RPM). It's also stated in the owners manual to give them a blast when pulling the boat out of the water for the day.

 

[Ancient canoe]

What is the point of revving the engines out of water? Are you getting more out that wouldn't naturally drain out?

 

[jcyamaharider]

What is the point of revving the engines out of water? Are you getting more out that wouldn't naturally drain out?

Yes, more water out of the water boxes.

 

[AZDANSX230HO]

Yes, more water out of the water boxes.

Especially important to clear out as much water before winterizing as well. I have done this with my Yamaha Boats & Jet Ski's for 10+years, never had an issue, a couple blips of the throttle and shut them off.

 

[OperationROL]

I blow the water out of the water box when pulling her out of the water. However, I do not think it is absolutely necessary, as we have "self draining" engines. Before winter storage is more important but the water box has chambers that naturally make it hard for water freeze and expand issues. I still do it though and see no problems revving the engines to blow them out. In or out of the water, the timing chain is subject to the same load. Btw......the timing chain issue that was rampant was not in the boats, it was in the jetskis. There have been a few boat related ones, but nothing routine and regular. Don't overthink this one. Enjoy your boat.

 

[swatski]

Well, let's not forget Yamaha changed timing chain parts in 1.8 BOATS, mid 2015 (2016 MY). Probably for a reason.

That said, I have to confess... I do rev them up out of the water . But ever since reading Jeff's comments, I just use very gentle, tiny-little, itty-bitty, puny-bitsy, baby rev ups.

And one more thing. No matter how hard you blow, rev them up, there is always more water left inside; when you leave it out, start it again after a while there is more water coming out. It always sloshes around in the water boxes, no matter what you do. I took mine out once, and still didn't get them dry.

--

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

To each their own but honestly you will never get all the water out of the water boxes by hammering the throttle when it's out of the water, meaning water in the exhaust system will evaporate travel up to the engine , find an open exhaust valve and condense inside the combustion chambers.
That is actually my theory of why the number 3 plugs rust and break off, I never have that problem, Any way it's your boat but on my engines I put a lot of hard hours on them my 2 year old 1800 engines are at over 300 each already.
I start the engines and let them idle a bit on the trailer but I never run them up and blow out the water it does no good and risks damaging the engines Just my opinion of course and what happens anyway when you get home you rinse out the engines on the hose so you just put water back in the water boxes hmmmm.
But what now rap the throttles once again ? it still has water in there so why bother?
I also remove my plugs before I ever use a brand new engine and never seize the threads , place dielectric grease on the plug boots, I also coat everything with white lithium grease including all the hose clamps, plus I add zinc anodes to the pumps. I pull the intake grates and weld in a weed deflector to reduce the amount of weeds that can be pulled into the pump also I add steering naturally, everything gets handled BEFORE it ever HITS THE WATER for the FIRTS time. it is just my ritual and it works for me but like I said to each their own.

 

[bumpy]

Wow, thanks again for all the replies and info. Just proves that the wealth of information here is enormous!

 

[ToddW850]

Great intel here! Never considered some of these options or potential issues.

 

[Ancient canoe]

I am somewhat ignorant on the issue, but I don't understand what clearing out some extra water from the water box prevents? I get the potential freezing issue prior to winterization, but as a routine thing when pulling your boat out?

 

[swatski]

I am somewhat ignorant on the issue, but I don't understand what clearing out some extra water from the water box prevents? I get the potential freezing issue prior to winterization, but as a routine thing when pulling your boat out?

I don't think clearing out some extra water from the water box prevents much of anything; from what I see here, at least some owners would seem to agree. Freezing is also not an issue with waterboxes as their volume is vast and they are never full of water anyway.

 

[AZDANSX230HO]

Out here in Arizona most of the lakes have Quagga Muscles, the State of Arizona recommends you flush and drain all water from the boat.

https://www.azgfd.com/PortalImages/...onProtocols2014(McMahon-Dahlberg) Feb2014.pdf