I hear a trickling of water in my engine bay

massimofinance

Chief Petty Officer
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Oct 30, 2004
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497
2000 Sea Ray Sundeck 210. Mercruiser inboard. Last July, I used the boat once (I dry sail it). I got a trickle of water in the engine bay, but the bilge pump kept up. In the spring, I checked all the little blue plugs- I have all 5 in and tightened them. Yesterday, I used the boat (first time this year) and again heard the trickling. This time, the bilge fuse went, and I raced the boat back into port and pulled it out. I let a lot of water out of the bilge. The water came up pretty high in the engine bay, maybe a 5-6 inches below the fuel filter. I replaced the fuse but need to fix this leaking problem.

1) Can anyone tell me why you think the bilge fuse would pop? I cleaned it out but looked fine.

2) Can anyone help me diagnose this? What could this trickle be? I checked the bellows (rubber boats on the out drive and they all look fine).

Thank you!
 

littlerayray

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Feb 17, 2013
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1,456
Best bet is go over the hull with a fine toothed comb and if you see no possible holes go over the i/o possibly change the drain plug due to bad seal
 

biggjimm

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Jul 15, 2015
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403
Have you checked to make sure it's not coming from your engine? Maybe a blown gasket or worse, a crack or warpage on block/head or manifold/riser. ?? Any water lines/rubber hoses on the engine that could be bad or loose?? Just trying to think of other things to check out too. Good luck. I know that's not a good feeling when the water is on the wrong side of the hull. Jim.
 

Bt Doctur

Supreme Mariner
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Aug 29, 2004
Messages
19,093
main bellow, shift cable bellow, rotted exaust pipe, loose hose, drain plug, etc on engine, cracked power steering cooler.
 

Grandad

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Jun 7, 2011
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The fuse could be just barely big enough to do the job. Regular repeated use of the bilge pump will cause premature pump failure and will keep the fuse and fuseholder from cooling between uses. A warm fuse will blow sooner on slight overload conditions such as worn/dry pump bearings. As for the trickle, it could be a soft transom that no longer seals tightly to your I/O. That's what initiated my rebuild. - Grandad
 

flyman219

Seaman
Joined
Jun 2, 2010
Messages
55
If the boat is on a trailer start it up with the muffs. Make sure the bilge is dry and lay some paper towels or newspaper under the motor. Watch for a wet spot as soon as the motor starts. Keep watching until the motor reaches running temps. Soon as you see the wet spot on the paper look above it

If you don't see any water start to explore the hull, transom and outdrive.

Mike​
 

massimofinance

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 30, 2004
Messages
497
This is all great, great advice. Thank you. I will perform a more thorough check this weekend (Flyman, I like the paper towel idea!). To be honest, I think it must be something loose on the motor but it is so incredibly difficult to get my head in there, I cant see a thing. I will have to get a mirror I suppose. More this weekend I hope.
 

wahlejim

Master Chief Petty Officer
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Jul 23, 2015
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I had a similar situation and it ended up being the bellows. Small cracks that increased in size over time. Is the problem worse this year?
 

massimofinance

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Oct 30, 2004
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Wahlejim- thank you for the response. I would not say it got worse, tough to call though since the pump died. Can I ask- I assume those bellows are those rubber "boots" I see through the outboard drive going into the hull- correct? If so, from what I see, they look fine.
 

massimofinance

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Oct 30, 2004
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Something else just occurred to me. The trickle happens when the motor is not running as well. Does that narrow this down at all?
 

bigbob_FTW

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May 10, 2007
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290
how old are the bellows, they can look fine and leak like a sieve. I'm in the middle of replacing mine now.
 

massimofinance

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Oct 30, 2004
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497
The bellows are at least 5 years old. I bought the bought in 2010 and they replaced the Gimbel bearing then- not sure they replaced the bellows as well. If the boat is not running when leaking, it could be the bellows I assume? Anything else? I assume a loose tube or bad exhaust shouldn't be the culprit? Are bellows easy to replace? Thanks.
 

gm280

Supreme Mariner
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Jun 26, 2011
Messages
14,585
If you don't have a Gremlin onboard taking a pee, then yes you have to find out where it is coming in from. The fact that you can hear it should make it easier to locate. I mean if it gets loud in certain areas, then it obviously has to be coming from that area. You could even use a mechanics stethoscope to locate the leak. Or even a small piece of garden hose as a stethoscope would help out... JMHO!
 

wahlejim

Master Chief Petty Officer
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Jul 23, 2015
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Yes, the bellows can leak without the boat running. Those should be replaced every 5 years for preventative maintenance. It sounds like if you don't have any water leaks from the engine itself, it is somewhere around the transom. It could be a seal or the bellows. Either way, it sounds like that drive is coming off.
 

crazy charlie

Vice Admiral
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May 22, 2003
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5,352
A few ideas.To check bellows while you hear the trickling,turn the steering wheel slowly from one side to the other.Listen to hear if the trickling slows or peeks.Also change the angle of the drive slowly and listen for any changes in the trickling.This can assist in narrowing it down.If no progress then you need to have it floating while it is dark out and get your head down in there with a flashlight.This will make it much much easier to isolate an area and actually see where the trickle is.I once traced a trickle to a leaking pipe fitting in the head under the manifold gasket.The "in the dark flashlight method" is a very effective way to isolate a leak.Charlie
 

philbullet

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Aug 14, 2014
Messages
241
I had a leak on a 1981 set up, never could find the leak until it got bad.Had to start getting down to business. With the boat out of water , I knew it was come from transom area, had my father spray with a water hose on out drive side starting from down working his way upward and bingo, started coming into boat from gimbal housing.
well long story short ended up having to removing eng., outdrive, etc..gimbal housing was corroded with a hole and needed replacing.
Ended updoing a complete eng. Change from a 470 to a v6 also redone transome.
 
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