Volvo Penta I/O – run without cooling?

My wife has a sun n fun Four Winns with a Volvo Penta I/O 4.3L. I have done most of the maintenance myself over the years, 15+, never had any issues. I had never changed the water pump impeller, cuz it always pumped water, never had a heating issue. Well, had a mechanic put the scare into me and last year when she paid to have it winterized at a marina, she had them replace the impeller as well. The old one, including the o-ring were in very good condition, but at least it took the scare away.

Well, dropped it in the lake last weekend for the first time this year, let it run on the trailer first to check everything out. Started and ran fine, so dumped her in. By the time I drove around to the cabin, she was at the dock already, saying it squealed real loud and was smoking. I took a look, and did not see anything obvious. I figured the mechanic may have grabbed the belt, or spilled something on a belt, so that is slipped and caused the squeal and smoke. So I took it out for a short drive, watching all the gauges. First I noticed the temp went up to 200, odd, but then the temp alarm went off. Opened the engine compartment, and it was smoking hot. Got it back to the boat lift, and looked more at it, the engine was obviously not getting cooling. So called the dealer, he said bring it right in. So towed it over to the launch, hand cranked it on the trailer, and headed to the marina. He put his muffs on it, and noticed there was a slight leak by the water pump, but I had not seen any leak on the lake. Anyway, he said he would take a look at it right away.

Well, water pump has 2 nipples for water, inlet and outlet. The mechanic installed them backwards, so the pump was pumping water away from the engine. DAMN!!!!!! He is covering all costs for a new water pump, but is struggling to find the plastic mounting base, because it melted/warped being to hot. But he says the engine did not run long enough to get any damage.

My question is, how long can an engine run without damage with NO cooling? It ran for a couple of minutes total, was shut off as soon as the temp alarm went off. The engine temp gauge was at about 220, but not sure that is accurate with no water in it?! Just wondering if I am going to have any residual damage that shows up later? And whether he will cover it? Sucks!

It doesnt take long to do damage from an overheat situation, the first thing I would be looking for is a cracked cylinder head or blown head gasket from the cylinder head warping.
the next thing that can occur is oil consumption from the rings having the temper taken out them from excess heat, piston scuffing is another issue that can happen.
As far as the gauge reading, for it to be accurate the sensor has to be immersed in water to read correctly, if you were seeing 220 on the gauge most likely the temps were closer to 260 +.

I would get it in writing that all repairs and costs associated with them will be covered for an X number of hours of tach time no exceptions.
The 4.3 is a tough motor but like anything else when extreme heat is encountered they dont live long.

I have seen this on several occasions when a water pump fails or when an owner beached the boat in shallow water in sandy conditions plugging the water pump or grinding the impeller into oblivion and they tried to get back to shore because it was only a “short” way back.
I am hoping for you that you wont have any problems and that you got lucky this time!!

again, get something in writing, any reputable business will have commercial insurance to cover these kinds of things.

Do exactly what iowaboy1 says above. Issues might not show up right away.
I would want something in writing for at LEAST 50 hours or more.

I’d ask them to give the motor a refresh over the winter…..likely a pretty inexpensive rebuild and they should mag check the heads and deck them to ensure they are straight.

Stuff happens….hopefully they cover you for any potential issues.

Get EVERYTHING in writing.

I quick phone call from him telling you he’s covering the associated costs doesn’t do you any good if that motor pops in a day, a month or a year.

You’re “probably fine,” but if not, it should be his ass on the line, not yours.

Funny how that works, I called the marina, talked to the owner, and indicated I wanted a documented warranty coverage for the engine and associated parts that could be affected by overheating due to their negligence on installing the water pump impeller properly. Dead silence, have not heard from him since. Hopefully this works out for the best, but……

I would call your boat insurance company and discuss it with them, if the marina owner is unwilling to give you coverage in writing. Once they are onboard then you can tell the marina that you can deal with me or deal with my insurance provider. That will usually get their attention, because deep pockets win and your insurance provider trumps the marina in that arena.