big leak yesterday

[squiter-T]

Had a great day @ Saguaro yesterday, but had a little scare! I was haulin a$$ and all of the sudden one of the fittings on the T for the watergate came off, produced a big spray. I almost thought I had a place diverter! Boat took on a $hit load of water,but got it back on the trailer soon enough. Come to find out that the T is a copper fitting 1/2" in dia. Is this an apppropiate/sufficient fitting for a boat. An suggestion is appreciated!! Oh yeah, Retightented the fitting and enjoyed the rest of the day, & she ran fine!

[Jungle Boy]

It sounds as though you are running a lot of block pressure which can result in a head gasket problem too. Your motor can only run a certain amount of water though it. What I have in my boats is a 5 psi pop valve (rex marine, I think) coming off the main water line between the pump and motor. Install a thru hull fitting and bleed off the excess pressure. This ensures that your block pressure does not excede 5 psi. It will save hoses, fitting and head gaskets. I only use high quality fittings and hose on all water lines and steel braided lines for oil coolers. The cost of one motor repair will pay for this and looks good too. Spend a few hundred bucks for the safety factor.

[skeepwerkzaz]

I live in PHX aswell. I have alot of AN fittings and lines. Maybe I can help you out.
Skeep

[Hallett of a Dream]

You must not have very good head gaskets if you can blow them with more than 5psi. A closed system (radiator w/ thermostat) runs about 12psi with a cap that vents at 14-16psi. Not a bad idea to have a pop valve,. but you should be able to handle more than that.

[froggystyle]

What he is getting at, is there are rumors abounding that a pump at WOT can produce 50-60 lbs of pressure in the motor. Little exit, lots of pressure from the pump. If you install a pop off valve, it limits the pressure to a 5lb max. More than enough to cool the engine, but will never blow a gasket.

[phillyray]

Wanting to run such low (5psi) in a jet block, would there be issues with steam and hot pockets? After all when ya shut down a jet motor the water drain's out some.

[Jungle Boy]

I have never had hot spots in my motors. We drill and tap water drains in the back of the intake manifold and vent water out the back of the boat. I don't run a water pump and believe that when the pump comes out of the water and there is nothing to stop water from surging. If you have even ran a pressure gauge watching your intake pressure, you would be supprised at how much pressure there is (80 - 100 psi). The guys that I know with high HP race motors are all running this same system and they never had a over heating issue.

[phillyray]

I'am with ya on venting water out the back of the intake.You would be suprised how many people dont know about that...Ya tell em and they say why would
i want water coming out of my intake! What are ya crazy. As far as psi build up in a lake pump boat...well since I went to L.V's set up and checking with a guage, psi has never gone above 15 psi and that would enclude a spike in pressure,unloading then loading the pump.

[Hallett of a Dream]

Fill me in a little on this venting out the intake deal. How? Where does the vented water go? Can I somehow use the blocked off ports that would normally be used for a heater core and run a line through the transom?

[Jungle Boy]

Hallet, I have 2 - 3/8" holes tapped into the back of the intake manifold (1 on either side). You can drill smaller holes or use ported end caps on the thru hulls to keep heat in your motor if it is running to cool. Or play with thermostats. Make sure you drill/tap into a water passage. I then have two through hull fittings directly out the back of the transom, facing up at about 60°(my boat is aluminum so it is easy to do). I don't have a water pump and use a dual stack termostat housing and river water to cool the motor. I would not use the heater outlets, cause the idea is to exit the water from the back of the block, so you know that there is water flowing throught the complete block. With just a glance over the shoulder you can see the water spraying through both fittings. This is hard for me to explain. If I could figure out how to put a picture on this site I would and that would help. If I get time after I get home from the jungle I will try again. Let me know if that will help.

[Hallett of a Dream]

I sure would, I am interested in how this works. Nothing like being sure everything works.

[phillyray]

Jungle B. I've seen some boaters use the small mechanical oil pressure type line for that purpose, nice clean look.

[FastDave]

Would the water coming off the boat look something like this?
http://www.dpgdigital.com/LaborDay2/Im000103.jpg
Oh, wait... That is water coming *onto* the boat. Do you have a picture of your back-pressure water flow in action? Someone might think you're just dragging a couple Yamaha jetskis under your boat if they saw the dual water sprays. ;-)
FasssssssstDave...