Water leaking into engine bay

nrod828

Recruit
Joined
Jun 19, 2012
Messages
1
-Bear with me as this is my first post on this board and im still getting the hang of this site.

I recently just purchased a 2000 Sea Ray 180BR with the 3.0 Merc I/O and have been very happy with the boat. Has run like a champ since purchase at the beginning of this year. Last weekend at the lake i noticed some water collecting in the engine bay ONLY when the engine is turned off and anchored. While cruising around i had no problems and the bilge never came on. When anchoring The bilge comes on every 20 minutes or so and pumps the water right out with no problem. I replaced the outer plug housing and plug to hopefully resolve the issue but that didn't fix it. I took the boat to a local mechanic and he said the water pump was leaking and had that fixed even-though i didn't expect that to fix the issue. This weekend the boat again started leaking (only when anchored and engine off). I began to mess with the trim and steering wheel to notice any change in leak quantity. The boat DOES NOT leak when the trim is all the way down and steering wheel is turned all the way to the right. What could be the issue? Trim up and steering wheel centered and left it leaks like crazy. Im thinking its some sort of outer gasket on my out drive? The mechanic said my bellows looked in fine shape when i took it in so that shouldn't be the issue. Thank you for any advice and suggestions.
 

HT32BSX115

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Dec 8, 2005
Messages
10,083
Re: Water leaking into engine bay

Howdy,


Welcome Aboard!


Well, transom leaks are something you must find by looking closely with a flashlight and maybe even a mirror.

If the leak is different or changes when turning or tilting the drive, it sure points to the bellows or maybe the hydraulic manifold assy on the bottom of the gimbal housing.

Otherwise, if you can actually see water leaking where the gimbal is attached to the transom, the transom plate may be loose and/or you have a rotten transom. If that's the case, it's not going to be pretty. I wouldn't think rotten transoms are all that common on a 12 year old boat but it's not impossible.

You or your mechanic should get in there with the boat in the water and flashlight & mirror in hand and look closely while the other turns the steering wheel and/or operates the tilt etc.


Regards,


Rick
 

achris

More fish than mountain goat
Joined
May 19, 2004
Messages
27,468
Re: Water leaking into engine bay

The shift cable bellows in on the right hand side... With the wheel over to right the bellows are compressed, but with the wheel left or trim up slightly, the bellows open up a little. With the boat on the trailer, leg trimmed up and turned to port, get in and have a look at the shift cable bellows... There are 3 bellows in the gimbal housing, the biggest being the uni joint bellows, right in the middle, the slightly smaller one below that is the exhaust bellows, and to the right of them is a small (about 1" at the widest, tapering down and about 3" long) bellows with a cable coming out of the forward end, the shift cable bellows.... That's the first place I would be looking...

Chris.........
 

tpenfield

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jul 18, 2011
Messages
17,621
Re: Water leaking into engine bay

+ 1 for bellows . . . either shift cable or u-joint.
 
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