Drain plug leaking? Old pipes? Water in the bilge….

Fiat4Fun

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Sep 14, 2009
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Howdy, I have a old 1986 Chris Craft, and looking for where the water is coming in.

So, I filled the bilge with water, put the plug in and turn of the bilge pump.
I saw a drip around the outer area of the drain plug. Not sure if water is getting there?
Also, the rubber for risers to exhaust are original, so maybe they have shrank and are leaking slowly?

Don't see water coming in anywhere else, and my bellows are all new, and now water coming there.
Not a ton of water in the bilge, but I think water is getting in somewhere…..

Any thoughts?
 

southkogs

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Have ya' tried a different drain plug? I had been using the snap type, and had problems. Put one of the screw types in, and it's been no problem.
 

redmen62

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Aug 7, 2011
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I'd check the shift bellows again. I bought a boat this past spring that had just had the outdrive rebuilt and all bellows for last spring (this would have been year 2 on all new stuff) and the shift bellows had a hole in it and was leaking. At the end of the day, it was my fault for not checking them better, but he had the paperwork from the shop and they all looked good when I poked around a little bit, but I'll be damned of it didn't leak first trip out. I guess the guy that did them last crimpped the cable side too far out which added a lot of additional stress when the outdrive was in the up position... Like it was all winter. All in all, it was a good learning experience for me to learn how to replace them all and adjust and instal a shift cable. And I still made $1800 of the boat when I sold it haha
 

Fiat4Fun

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Howdy, my current plug is a screw in type, and it looks like it is seeping around the outer part that takes the plug.

I will check my bellows again, but I have not seen any water coming in when the boat is the water. Where would water come in through the shift bellows?

Thanks
Bob
 

jayhanig

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Jun 27, 2010
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I use one of these drain plugs. You can slide it into the drain with the latch open and then rotate it until it becomes snug. Flipping the lever locks it in place. You can adjust these things quite a bit; enough so that a 10 second drain has become a dry drain for me.
 
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jayhanig

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The software here still has a few kinks in it. No matter what I did,, the above post refused to display the proper picture with it. Here's a photo of the type of drain I was discussing:
 

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Fiat4Fun

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The rear area seems solid, but it is hard to tell, might pull it out and either reseal or replace. I noticed that the plug has to go in further then it use to!
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
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pull the garboard plug assembly, probe the wood to see if its wet and then re-bed with 3M 5200.

you may have a moist transom and that would not be a good thing.
 

Grub54891

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I do not like the flip style plug. They can snag weeds or debris and open up. Seen it happen. They make the same plug with a screw tight "t" handle that is much better.
 

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UncleWillie

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... I guess the guy that did them last crimped the cable side too far out which added a lot of additional stress when the outdrive was in the up position... Like it was all winter...

Placing the drive in the UP Position always puts a lot of stress on the bellows.
The Up position will not allow the prop to drain out the Rain, Snow, or Ice!

Unless you are actually trailering the boat down the road; The drive should be DOWN at all times.
 

BF

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That outer brass portion that the brass drain plug screws into can get loosened, particularly if you have been repeatedly over-tightening the drain plug. On both of my boats it's held by 3 small brass screws... do as Scott Danforth suggests... but when you re-install it, rotate it a bit so that you install the screws in a fresh place (not the existing holes)... of course the old screw holes and screws themselves should be sealed as well as the whole thing... hopefully the wood around it is not a soggy mess. And don't over-tighten the plug!! (it helps to keep a short stubby 4" box end wrench dedicated for that purpose, not a 12" crescent wrench). Good luck.
 

Fiat4Fun

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I got the old plug out, and wood looks ok. Not mushy at all. I will run a fan and heater to make sure everything is dry prior to reinstall.
Looks like the old one was installed with with silicon, but should I use 3M 5200? Will that make it impossible to fix down the road? The screw are stainless, and
seem to have good bite to them, so do I need to rotate the holes on the new install?

I inspected all my bellows with a flashlight and all looks good.

I am going to check all my hoses, I suspect there might be leakage on the inlet pipe to the power steering cooler. It is in an area I can't see well, and might be a loose hose clamp. All the other hoses look ok.

Thanks
 

BF

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That's good news! Hopefully some seepage from that around that brass piece was your only issue. 5200 is supposed to be the best for below waterline and I wouldn't hesitate to use it... but on the other hand, I've used "marine goop" for sealing transducer mountings etc and found it to be fine. It drys clear and looks like silicone, so maybe that (or something similar) is what was there before. As for re-using the holes, sure if it feels fine then no prob... I just expected it to be like one of my shared boats (where BIL thinks plug needs to go in gorilla tight), and the torquing of those screws side to side eventually caused the screws to loosen allowing the and whole thing to loosen and leak....
 
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