SoCal Jet Boats
Tech Talk => Engine Mechanical / Electrical => Topic started by: JetBoat650 on November 25, 2015, 07:12:20 PM
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I am new to boats and really don't know a whole lot. I bought a jet boat with a 454. I just had the oil changed as well as replaced the header gaskets due to an exhaust leak. I took the boat out today and noticed white smoke coming from only the right header. The other header did not smoke once, as if it wasn't running. As I idled out my oil pressure was at 60. Once I started getting on it, I heard a ticking as if there was still an exhaust leak. There was still white smoke coming from only the right header. As I turned around to head back I could hear a slight whistle when letting off the throttle. I noticed my oil pressure was down to 15 once the motor was hot and I idled back.
I am wondering if those are normal oil pressure numbers. Can an exhaust leak cause low oil pressure? And why is only one header smoking and not the other? Thanks in advance.
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The exhaust if your headers are water injected they will look like they are smoking but it's actually steam. The reason you could only be seeing it out of one header could be the one header is getting more water than the other. I had the same thing happen in mine and one of the fittings going to the water injection had a larger opening than the other did. The loss of oil pressure could be something in the bottom end. My main bearings were bad in mine causing low oil pressure.
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Header/exhaust leaks have very little to do with oil pressure.
Let's go one at a time.
Steam from one header, likely blocked injector lines. Pull apart and clean.
Exhaust leaks, what headers and what did you use for a gasket?
Oil pressure, what oil did you use and any idea of the temperature. How big is the oil pan and how much oil is in it?
What was the water temperature and is the oil still clear? Water?
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Hmm, I never thought about steam. How long would it take to start steaming? I felt like there was white smoke as soon as I started it up, but it easily could have been steam. They are Bassett headers. I believe the gaskets were Felpro, some sort of brass or something. Not positive on the oil pan but I think there is 7 quarts of Kendall 50 wt in it. Is there a chance this is all completely normal? I wasn't sure what normal oil pressure was supposed to be. When I saw the smoke/steam only exiting from one pipe I got worried.
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That's steam and it should not do it at idle, only above 1,500 rpm out thereabouts.
Pull the Bassett tee apart and check is condition, there is a stainless steel spring and s ball in there. Make sure everything is clean and free of pitting.
Pull the injector lines apart and clean the small tubes. I normally use MIG welding wire (because it's all over the place lol). Don't forget to check the nozzles in the header.
Got any answers to the other questions?
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I am not positive about how much oil is in there but I believe 7 quarts. I will probably wait until the mechanic is back from vacation before I start pulling anything apart due to the fact I wouldn't know where to start. My main question is basically, is it a bad idea to drive this boat around? It's going to be hard to wait to have it checked out. Will I ruin the motor? I have a picture of my gauges when I headed out and another one when I came back in after 10 mins. I really want to take the boat out but Im not sure if I'm ruining my motor. Thanks again for the help.
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I am not positive about how much oil is in there but I believe 7 quarts. I will probably wait until the mechanic is back from vacation before I start pulling anything apart due to the fact I wouldn't know where to start. My main question is basically, is it a bad idea to drive this boat around? It's going to be hard to wait to have it checked out. Will I ruin the motor? I have a picture of my gauges when I headed out and another one when I came back in after 10 mins. I really want to take the boat out but Im not sure if I'm ruining my motor. Thanks again for the help.
There's a buttload of speculation here, but having any water in the headers at idle could do some damage, like reversion (water in oil through the cylinders) and potentially drop an exhaust valve due to cold shock.
The oil pressure at idle does not concern me too much as long as there was no water in the oil.
The 50 weight is hard to pump when cold then once it warms up, makes less pressure at idle.
One concern is that if the oil level is too high and you have poor windage control, it can whip the oil into foam.
Without an oil temperature, again, it's just speculation and a wild ass guess (WAG).
The setup sounds really close to be honest.
In not sure what pan would hold 7 quarts that would fit in a jetboat. Not saying they don't exist, just saying nothing comes to mind.
I personally would not run it without addressing the header water issue. You could simply shut that water off, but there is a good chance it will blue the primary header tubes.
Take it FWIW.
GT
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Hi Gt didn't want to hijack this thread but I have a question. Should you run 50 wt oil even in a stock 454? I'm running straight 30 wt.
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Hi Gt didn't want to hijack this thread but I have a question. Should you run 50 wt oil even in a stock 454? I'm running straight 30 wt.
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. I would say most of us run 50 wt. stock or modified a jet boat motor has to work much harder then a car motor. Boat motors live at 3500 to 4500 rpm most of there life.
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Hi Gt didn't want to hijack this thread but I have a question. Should you run 50 wt oil even in a stock 454? I'm running straight 30 wt.
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I think you will find that 30 wt is pretty light, especially given the potential oil temps when run hard for any length of time.
You may be ok with 30, but I always recommend 40 minimum.
When a jet boat engine is built properly, the clearances are opened up a bit. The takes the engine out of the passenger car classification.
Like jimpen stated, a jetboat rarely runs under 3,500rpm.
GT
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Ok time to change the oil before next season vr 50 it is. Thanks for the replies much appreciated. 🤘🏻🤘🏻
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