Engine overheat!

[GaryC]

My father took our Catalina 30' out over the weekend, and called me after he had been motoring for 20 minutes or so. He *thought* he had ran out of gas, because the engine shut off on its own.The problem: He never opened the valve to allow sea water to get to the water pump. It had been running without any water flowing through it to cool it down. I'm assuming that that is the reason the engine quit.My question: The engine still fires up and seems to have *most* of its power. However, it's almost making a subtle grinding noise. Is there anything quick I should check on my engine...or anything I should do or don't do to it?Thanks for your help!Gary

 

[Rob]

What kind of engine, Gary?

I had a similar experience, but on an Atomic 4. If you have an Atomic, you might be okay, as a broken impellar has caused two overheats (to the point of shutdown) on my engine. The PO caused one, and I caused the other (PO didn't tell me that the engine temp gauge was faulty - fixed that one quick!).The grinding sounds bad however. I am pretty sure that your impellar (unless designed to run dry) is probably shot. That is where I would start first - get water going back into the engine again. Check your oil religiously too - it's probably cooked, and you also want to make sure that water has not entered.After that - I'd recruit a mechanic quickly. If something is actually grinding away inside, the more you run it, the more damage you are going to do. Rob

 

[cole]

oil change???

Have you changed the oil since then? The heat will break down the oil and not lube the engine. so change it and the impellor

 

[Peter]

overheat

While you're at it, check for new oil leaks. I'd be surprised if the overheating hasn't ruined a gasket. But i too, would strongly recommend have a mechanic come and check it.

 

[GaryC]

Thanks for the input!

It's a Yanmar 11hp diesel (YSE).Thank you for all your input! I'll definately get the oil changed, and check the impeller. Water is still coming out the back...so I know it is circulating.I'll have a mechanic look at it ASAP!Again, thank you all for your input.Gary