very expensive design mistake on my tige v-drive

[lethalwillie]

here is a pic of the engine with all doors removed, ready to take out. i posted this on another thread, thought i would add here. what you can't see in the pic is the arrestor is positioned just at the top of the forward sloping wall of the transom, serving as a funnel for a big splash.

zr6, 22v, 370hp. great motor. easy on gas. i highly recommend a big motor on a wakeboard boat.

[chadster2]

I see what your saying. It looks like a 1 in 1,000 chance something like that could ever happen and you were the 999 + 1. Until it happens to you, and the odds are long, who cares! Thanks for hanging in there and letting us see your problem (with a solution.) Most everybody on here has had a big problem, or two, that with the right attention could have been avoided.
I'd make a video of it going wrong, but I've got too much free time.

[dogbert]

As I mentioned in my previous post, it doesn't take much water for the fan belt to start spraying water all over the place.

That has to be the dumbest place for a flame arrestor. Not sure it's a Tige issue tho as much as it is a PCM issue. Looks like the engine wasn't intended for use on a V-Drive.

[FIC]

All 6.0l intakes were of that design , It would still take a large ammout of water to ingest enough to hydralock the motor, the reason that hasnt been more cases of this problem is that most boats were equiped with the 5.7l . I would still go back and see what the root cause was of the problem . Questions what type water sports were you doing when this took place , when was the last time you looked under the cover to inspect the bildge, where did the ammount of water necessary to cause the damage come from, and then when these questions are answered you can fix the problem. I dont see where it is a pcm issue or tige issue, you cant operate a boat with large ammounts of water in the bildge. We have severe amounts of rain here in fla. causeing flooded streets , why does every time the streets are flooded people drive through it at speed and ingest water? Is it a desigh flaw to have there intake duct at bumper level, no they are trying to get cold air off the grille for better performance. Im sorry for your grief but you need to find out where the water is comeing from and work on that issue.

[lethalwillie]

to be fair, the pic may be a little deceiving. it is prolly 24 in. from the intake to the bottom of the bilge. it would take the combo of the surge forward of the boat and the splash up the wall to get to it. but it goes back to murphy's law for me- what can happen will happen, and in this case did. this is simple to prevent and i will definitely do so when i get my boat back.

i would be willing to bet any boat set up like this is occasionally ingesting a little water yet running it on through with no more than a little sputter. not a problem but certainly playing with fire.

[dogbert]

to be fair, the pic may be a little deceiving. it is prolly 24 in. from the intake to the bottom of the bilge. it would take the combo of the surge forward of the boat and the splash up the wall to get to it. but it goes back to murphy's law for me- what can happen will happen, and in this case did. this is simple to prevent and i will definitely do so when i get my boat back.

i would be willing to bet any boat set up like this is occasionally ingesting a little water yet running it on through with no more than a little sputter. not a problem but certainly playing with fire.

Like I said, it doesn't take much to have water spraying all over the engine from your fan belt. Not sure if your blower vent looks like mine, but if it does, I could see how you'd have water in your bilge.

I had a 2nd battery go bad on me because I inadvertently left the battery cover off the battery box and it filled up with water. Even with it on, it would fill up, which tells me water was definitely spraying upwards. That's why I moved my bilge pump to the back.

Also, if you surf the dark side, I bet you're getting water in through the bilge pump thru hull

[brody66]

I had a baja with a 454 in it and the flaps in the exhaust got broken causing water to get back into the engine and it got hydro locked and that was when it was running and it never hurt the motor a bit, just drained the water and changed the oil, got the flaps fixed and that was it, i dont understand what happened to your motor, did it bend a rod or what is the problem?

[lethalwillie]

I had a baja with a 454 in it and the flaps in the exhaust got broken causing water to get back into the engine and it got hydro locked and that was when it was running and it never hurt the motor a bit, just drained the water and changed the oil, got the flaps fixed and that was it, i dont understand what happened to your motor, did it bend a rod or what is the problem?

most likely. idles but with a knock. will know soon.

[EZ-DZ]

Lethal is Right

Lethal,

You are RIGHT -- it's a design flaw, but not by Tige, just by PCM. No way, no how should that air intake be anywhere near water. You've heard from a lot of guys that you shouldn't have that amount of water in your bilge -- wow ! Anyone care to define what an acceptable amount of water is and what isn't ??? That's nuts. It's a boat run in the water and with water sloshing back and forth in the bilge someone at the engine maker should have enough sense to see this problem coming. Even if it only happens 1 in 1,000 it's too many times.

Sure is interesting that engines made by Indmar and Merc have a huge shroud over the top so this can't happen. No question in my mind that's a pure design flaw and PCM oughta be sending every owner a shroud to make sure no one else has to ruin their engine like you did. Ever hear of a CLASS ACTION RECALL ???

[SPBFAN]

Lethal,

You are RIGHT -- it's a design flaw, but not by Tige, just by PCM. No way, no how should that air intake be anywhere near water. You've heard from a lot of guys that you shouldn't have that amount of water in your bilge -- wow ! Anyone care to define what an acceptable amount of water is and what isn't ??? That's nuts. It's a boat run in the water and with water sloshing back and forth in the bilge someone at the engine maker should have enough sense to see this problem coming. Even if it only happens 1 in 1,000 it's too many times.

Sure is interesting that engines made by Indmar and Merc have a huge shroud over the top so this can't happen. No question in my mind that's a pure design flaw and PCM oughta be sending every owner a shroud to make sure no one else has to ruin their engine like you did. Ever hear of a CLASS ACTION RECALL ???

This thread is very old. Why did you bring it back to life. Are you and Attorney trying to drum up business?

I have a PCM engine and have no issues. the air intakes are right at the back of my boat. Just like his. You do have to have some sense when driving. Ever hear that there are people who do not belong owning or running a boat because they are a hazard to them selves, Other, and the boat.

[TJRiver]

It's almost Halloween, it must be time for the zombie threads.......








Actually, upon seeing the pictures, the rigging of the motor air intake and venting scheme does look like trouble waiting to happen. Tige buys the engines from PCM complete w/ the air intakes in place. Perhaps a special order PCM engine with the air intake facing forward would have saved this guy's day.......