Whoa! Taking on water

[Brandon5778]

Yesterday I changed my plugs and today I went to see how it was running on the water, well I didn't even leave the dock when I noticed a steady stream of water entering the bilge!! Engine was off, I couldn't really see or feel the exact place it was coming from but the stream comes somewhere right below where the engine is attached to the out drive.

Some info, I know my bellows aren't in great shape, exhaust boot is pretty much gone, but I've had the boat on the lake about 3 times this year, and before I was taking on water, but hardly any at all. Like not even enough to even be deep enough for my bilge pump to pump anything after 6 hours on the lake. That was my longest outing, which was Monday.

Now my question I guess is do you guys think one of my other two boots just like tore open?? Keep in mind on Monday I was out for 6 hours taking on hardly any water at all, and now I can't even leave the dock it's so bad. Or do I have bigger problems maybe??

75 mercruiser 5.0

 

[SeaDooSam]

Sounds like a bad bellow of sorts. Get it out of the water fast. If you knew ther bellows were bad you should have changed them. Not good to play chicken. With a Mercury outdrive you will sink eventually

 

[Brandon5778]

Sounds like a bad bellow of sorts. Get it out of the water fast. If you knew ther bellows were bad you should have changed them. Not good to play chicken. With a Mercury outdrive you will sink eventually

I didn't realize I was playing chicken.. I knew bellows needed to be relaced upon a visual inspection of the exhaust bellow, and it is on my list of things to do, but since it was hardly taking on water I just hadn't gotten to it yet, it wasn't that high of a priority. We were just trying to get her running again..

Can the bellows really go from taking on barely any water at all (and it was very windy so some of that water came up over the back when I was reversing out of the dock) to a steady stream? My dad's boat needed new bellows few years ago and I remember it slowly getting worse and worse, until we fixed it.

 

[GA_Boater]

Was the plug in?

 

[Brandon5778]

Was the plug in?

Funny you mentioned that.. Because for the first time ever today I did forget to put the plug in when I backed it in.. They say it happens to everyone least once right? Well anyway I saw THAT soon as I got in the boat and opened engine hatch, and I pulled her out right quick. I let it drain and put the plug in nice and tight and then after that is when I noticed I was still taking on water

 

[GA_Boater]

It was worth a shot and half right. :smile:

The trouble with damaged bellows is the chances of tearing more increases dramatically with use. Every time you trim or tilt, any cracks are stressed and there is a high likelihood of going from a trickle to a flood in a heartbeat.

The exhaust bellows can't sink a boat, but the drive bellows can.

 

[G_Hipster]

Can the bellows really go from taking on barely any water at all (and it was very windy so some of that water came up over the back when I was reversing out of the dock) to a steady stream? My dad's boat needed new bellows few years ago and I remember it slowly getting worse and worse, until we fixed it.

Yep, they'll split wide open, and you already had warning signs.

 

[Brandon5778]

It was worth a shot and half right. :smile:

The trouble with damaged bellows is the chances of tearing more increases dramatically with use. Every time you trim or tilt, any cracks are stressed and there is a high likelihood of going from a trickle to a flood in a heartbeat.

The exhaust bellows can't sink a boat, but the drive bellows can.

Yeah haha, half right. I didn't realize the bellows could get so extreme so quickly like that. Well, the outdrive did come up and down quite a few times between Monday and today.. I guess I'll order the kit and try to change them soon.. We're running out of time honestly though, this week's lows will be in the 40s.

I knew not to worry about the exhaust bellow. I'll post if it takes care of it

Thanks GA :smile:

 

[SeaDooSam]

It was worth a shot and half right. :smile:

The trouble with damaged bellows is the chances of tearing more increases dramatically with use. Every time you trim or tilt, any cracks are stressed and there is a high likelihood of going from a trickle to a flood in a heartbeat.

The exhaust bellows can't sink a boat, but the drive bellows can.

Well said. I didn't know therewas two types of bellows. You learn something everyday!

 

[boatman37]

from a 'sinking' standpoint you don't even need an exhaust bellow. when i sea-trialed my boat it was actually disconnected from the outdrive.

 

[Rick Stephens]

The other thing that can give you a sudden stream of water is a hole on the bottom of the Y pipe. If there, you won't see any stream above the Y pipe, just below it.

Rick

 

[boatguya1]

Check shift cable bellows, easy to look at, kind of cone shaped with ribs/has cable sticking out of it, next to u-joint bellows can't miss it. If cable has never been changed (lower shift) do it with the bellows.

 

[Brandon5778]

Hey guys, is this the right kit for my boat? I think its one of those MR or R or whatever. I thought it was the mc-1 drive
http://www.iboats.com/Sierra-18-820...5733426--session_id.034253066--view_id.187683

 

[Brandon5778]

Hey guys, is this the right kit for my boat?

Bump :smile:

 

[Brandon5778]

Got the bellows kit installed + a new shift cable and a tap to convert it to the new style. Dipped her in the water for a minute and I'm not taking on a drop of water.

She's ready for the next season!!

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Nice work. I hear those things can be a pain in the bass. I'll replace mine while I have the motor out during my restore.

 

[harleyman1975]

Glad to hear! thanks for "finishing the story"!