Attention Gear Heads. Hydrolock

[akorcovelos]

Let's hope they didn't just replace the manifolds/risers and call it a day. I would like to see compression numbers on the locked cylinders, that's a great way to bend a rod or trash a bearing. To properly address a hydrolock the head has to come off, that's a pretty major tear down to get done in 4 days assuming they are on a 7 day work week in preparation for the holiday. Maybe I'm just being paranoid, but if not properly repaired you could see some serious issues down the road that may not be covered by warranty.

[tgrace98]

So they already fixed it under warranty?

Something sounds fishy. Lets assume they found two cylinders hydrolocked on Friday. That's not an easy every day issue where they just have the parts laying on the shelf. It's also a ton of labor to get to the parts potentially impacted.

Having it torn apart, inspected, new parts ordered and installed and put back together by Tuesday would be amazing.

I'm glad I am not the only one here. Hydro lock would be a complete motor tear down. If not replacement. To have Cobalt/Volvo approve that and have it swapped that fast is nothing short of a miracle.

[Big Block Power]

Congrats to getting her back on the water. I would like to see the repair invoice. Please share it with us on what they did. This is me thinking out loud. They said its locked up wires burning smell and so on. So they pull 2 rear plugs and turn her over and get the water out. Throw the plugs back in and fire it up and call it good. So did they even change the oil? Curious minds want to know

[NautiGirl]

Congrats to getting her back on the water. I would like to see the repair invoice. Please share it with us on what they did. This is me thinking out loud. They said its locked up wires burning smell and so on. So they pull 2 rear plugs and turn her over and get the water out. Throw the plugs back in and fire it up and call it good. So did they even change the oil? Curious minds want to know

They changed the oil and while they were in there also swapped out the connecting rod that looked like a pretzel.

220px-Bent_connecting_rod_2.jpg

[NautiGirl]

So they already fixed it under warranty?

Something sounds fishy. Lets assume they found two cylinders hydrolocked on Friday. That's not an easy every day issue where they just have the parts laying on the shelf. It's also a ton of labor to get to the parts potentially impacted.

Having it torn apart, inspected, new parts ordered and installed and put back together by Tuesday would be amazing.

I'm glad I am not the only one here. Hydro lock would be a complete motor tear down. If not replacement. To have Cobalt/Volvo approve that and have it swapped that fast is nothing short of a miracle.

Second miracle of the day, first was hydrolocking an engine w/o bending or breaking anything.

[Big Block Power]

Nice one Katie!! Your learning

[Ytmsn]

Agreed. I would be highly suspicious if they immediately accused me of operator error, then fixed a motor with water in two cylinders in that amount of time the week of opening season.
It's like "Yep, it was hydro locked. Let's get the water out and see if it'll run. Yes? Good. Now call get him back on the water, then he'll sing us praises for how amazing we are" And down the road, a week after the warranty has expired?
Boom

I would take it back in after the weekend and get serious with them.

[Basketballtitan]

I have a 2019 R5 with the Volvo Penta 380hp and I was told ours is Hydrolocked as well. I too was asked how we were driving the boat. Our boat worked fine until we put back in the water off the lift and went to start the motor. Same metal clanging noise and smoke out the back of the motor. I was told their fix is going to be sparkplugs and starter only. What are everyone else's thoughts?

[Big Block Power]

Some how I'm guessing its from giving it a good throttle bump and turning the engine off right away. I would let it isms some before turning it off. This is not a good sign. I know on mine the exhaust rider was supposed to be 14 inches above the waterline. Now picture going on a trailer and the transom goes down you can now be below that point. So I wonder if that's when it's happening?

[Basketballtitan]

I am not sure, I know in our case though when we enter the no wake zone it is quite a distance from there to our boat slip and we just idle to get to the other side of our dock and are going extremely slow and not bumping The throttle we are going well below no wake speed I am just not sure how replacing the spark plugs and the starter is going to fix the hydrolock problem from happening again. Does anyone else think it would be a good idea to require them to do a compression test on each cylinder?

[Big Block Power]

I am not sure, I know in our case though when we enter the no wake zone it is quite a distance from there to our boat slip and we just idle to get to the other side of our dock and are going extremely slow and not bumping The throttle we are going well below no wake speed I am just not sure how replacing the spark plugs and the starter is going to fix the hydrolock problem from happening again. Does anyone else think it would be a good idea to require them to do a compression test on each cylinder?

Yea that's not a good sign forsure then. Did you back off of it pretty hard before the no wake zone? That could have caused the reversion. Not sure your going to lose compression unless there's more damage. I can't believe these are not bending rods or anything else. We have totaled out cars for a hydrolock condition. Any water in the oil? Unless you kept and kept trying to turn over the engine the starter shouldn't be fried. Could you smell it like the other member did?

[Basketballtitan]

From what I could tell no water in the oil as it was not milky. As the motor was trying to start the clanging sounded like metal no metal. Approx 3 times every time I tried to turn the motor over. Then would not turn over at all. This is when the mechanic said it hydro locked.

[AsLan7]

I am not sure, I know in our case though when we enter the no wake zone it is quite a distance from there to our boat slip and we just idle to get to the other side of our dock and are going extremely slow and not bumping The throttle we are going well below no wake speed I am just not sure how replacing the spark plugs and the starter is going to fix the hydrolock problem from happening again. Does anyone else think it would be a good idea to require them to do a compression test on each cylinder?

.
Hey BBT. Welcome to the Cobaltchat forum. So glad you found us!

So sorry to hear about your hydro lock situation. Seems like a trend may be occurring with this Cobalt setup. Sounds like you did nothing wrong. The dealer should make this right.

In the previous case they replaced the starter and plugs after an oil change. I’m not sure that would fly in my world after purchasing a new Cobalt. I would want a motor tear down or replacement.

Will be interested to hear what your Cobalt dealer says.

In the meantime we will give you an official welcome aboard. Please post a pic when you can.

.

[Basketballtitan]

Thank you and will do and will let you know what happens

[Krob1114]

I am not sure, I know in our case though when we enter the no wake zone it is quite a distance from there to our boat slip and we just idle to get to the other side of our dock and are going extremely slow and not bumping The throttle we are going well below no wake speed I am just not sure how replacing the spark plugs and the starter is going to fix the hydrolock problem from happening again. Does anyone else think it would be a good idea to require them to do a compression test on each cylinder?

Yea that's not a good sign forsure then. Did you back off of it pretty hard before the no wake zone? That could have caused the reversion. Not sure your going to lose compression unless there's more damage. I can't believe these are not bending rods or anything else. We have totaled out cars for a hydrolock condition. Any water in the oil? Unless you kept and kept trying to turn over the engine the starter shouldn't be fried. Could you smell it like the other member did?

Is backing off pretty hard before the no wake zone a bad thing? I've been doing it for years without any knowledge. Enquiring minds want to know.