Boat Leaking Help Please!

13crazyhorse

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I bought an 86 4 wins 245 Vista last year and did extensive work to it over the winter including a new motor. I had the outdrive off changed the gear oil and impeller and reinstalled it with a new gasket. The bellows all look good. I also installed new water flappers in the upper y pipe. I just tried to launch the boat for the first time and water is pouring in through the transom area. I cannot see where it's coming in but I can hear it and my large bilge pump barely keeps up. It seems to be coming in low. I pulled the boat out and poured as much water as I dared to in the bilge with the plug in and there is a fast drip out of one of the lower exhaust holes. Does it mean the y pipe has a bad seal? I never had one of those out how do you repair it? Thanks for any and all input I'm getting quite discouraged.
 

Bondo

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Re: Boat Leaking Help Please!

I bought an 86 4 wins 245 Vista last year and did extensive work to it over the winter including a new motor. I had the outdrive off changed the gear oil and impeller and reinstalled it with a new gasket. The bellows all look good. I also installed new water flappers in the upper y pipe. I just tried to launch the boat for the first time and water is pouring in through the transom area. I cannot see where it's coming in but I can hear it and my large bilge pump barely keeps up. It seems to be coming in low. I pulled the boat out and poured as much water as I dared to in the bilge with the plug in and there is a fast drip out of one of the lower exhaust holes. Does it mean the y pipe has a bad seal? I never had one of those out how do you repair it? Thanks for any and all input I'm getting quite discouraged.

Ayuh,.... It could be the y-pipe, or a rotten transom...

Didn't ya Check everything over when ya had the motor out,..??

Btw,... What motor,..?? What drive,..??
 

Don S

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Re: Boat Leaking Help Please!

I cannot see where it's coming in but I can hear it and my large bilge pump barely keeps up.

Stick a digital camera in the bilge and snap some pictuers in the area of the sound, and see if you then "See" where the water is coming in. That much just about has to be a rotten transom.

Even if it was a bellows, it wouldn't leak so much a big bilge pump would have problems keeping up.
 

13crazyhorse

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Re: Boat Leaking Help Please!

Bond-0 thanks for the reply the motor is a 5.7with an alpha outdrive. I painted the entire bilge area when the motor was out and nothing jumped out as being bad. What would be the way to go about diagnosing this?
 

rbh

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Re: Boat Leaking Help Please!

I guess you have to determine if the issue is inside or outside of the hull.
Now that you have the boat out of the water put the hose on it, fire it up and see if the water issue is with the motor running and out of the lake, if no issue then the problems on the outside.
 

13crazyhorse

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Re: Boat Leaking Help Please!

I've had the motor running a few times on a hose with no issues. The outside of the boat looks fine with no visible problems.
 

Bondo

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Re: Boat Leaking Help Please!

I've had the motor running a few times on a hose with no issues. The outside of the boat looks fine with no visible problems.

Ayuh,... Then back it into the water, 'n take pictures like Don says,....

Digital cameras, 'n phonecams have made findin' these problems, relatively Easy...
 

rbh

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Re: Boat Leaking Help Please!

I've had the motor running a few times on a hose with no issues. The outside of the boat looks fine with no visible problems.

Well then the issues gotta be outside of the boat.
If the engine ran with no water leaking into the hull the problems lake/river water preasure pushing past something, recheck that the bellows are firmly seated, did you use the sealing compound (glue stuff) ?

Wouldn't be the first time there was a small tear in the bellows do to the dried out rubber flexing.
 

MarkSee

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Re: Boat Leaking Help Please!

If backing the boat into the water may be challenging at the moment, and you did mention you poured some water in the bilge, but the way the shop found my garboard plug to be compromised was to jack the front of the trailer up fairly high then using a garden hose,
fill slowly and watch where water may be exiting without the motor running.

Mark
 

13crazyhorse

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Re: Boat Leaking Help Please!

I'm a little wary about backing the boat in the water cause it comes in pretty fast but it may be the only way to find it. I had it on land and put as much water as I dared to without getting the starter wet and with the front end jacked up the only water that came out was the dripping out of the lower exhaust hole certainly nothing like what was going in. I don't see how that much would go in the transom if that was bad with no outside visible damage? The bellows idea makes sense, I looked at the upper driveshaft bellows and it looked fine but I didn't give it a real close inspection. I need to do that tomorrow I think. It sounded like it was coming in below that and I thought I would be able to see it if that was it but maybe not. I'll take some mirrors back with me tomorrow too. I was kinda stressed today and may have missed something. When the boat runs on the hose I don't see anything out of the ordinary water was coming out of the exhaust ports as it should but that's all I was paying attention to. I think I would have noticed it there was that much going in the bilge and it wouldn't be coming out of the right spots like it was. The boats like 70 miles away but I'll go back tomorrow for further inspection I'll like to get it fixed without towing it back home if possible. Maybe ease it back in the water too. Thanks for your input guys.
 

Bondo

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Re: Boat Leaking Help Please!

I'm a little wary about backing the boat in the water cause it comes in pretty fast but it may be the only way to find it. Maybe ease it back in the water too. Thanks for your input guys.

Ayuh,.... What's the Worry,... It'll never leave the wagon,....

Back it in, Look, take pictures, then pull it out, pull the garboard plug, 'n drain it...
 

crabby captain john

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Re: Boat Leaking Help Please!

As much water as implied almost indicates it was being pumped in. If that is not true it would seem water run in the bilge by hose would find it's way out. UNLESS -- one of the holes in the hull is no longer sealed, thru-hull transducer and etc????
 

13crazyhorse

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Re: Boat Leaking Help Please!

It's not being pumped in cause it does it when the boats not running. Bond-o is right the best way is to stick the back end back in the water and have another look. I'll take my mirror and a good light and hopefully will be able to see what's going on. I'll try the picture thing but my phone is small and I can't see it too good anyway. I'm going down today so I'll post my findings tonight.
 

Friscoboater

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Re: Boat Leaking Help Please!

Am I correct in reading that you had the engine out? Did you replace the transom seal and seal it with 3M 4200?
 

rivermouse

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Re: Boat Leaking Help Please!

Why not put 5 or 10 gallons of water in the bilge while it is on the trailer and add some food coloring and see what you can see from the outside.
 

13crazyhorse

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Re: Boat Leaking Help Please!

Well we just got back from the marina. I did a real thorough inspection of the boats bellows, hoses, cables and everything else inside and out and could find nothing. So as Bond-o correctly suggested back in the water she went. I kept backing it in a little farther until the water started coming in. I guess it wasn't pouring in quite as bad as I had suspected the first time but still pretty good. I looked all over with a light and mirrors and could see water running down the back of the transom above the plug. It wasn't coming from anything up in the outdrive. After pulling the boat out I left the plug in and water came out of the lower exhaust holes. I'm pretty sure now it's that seal on the y pipe or horn as they call it. I just have to do some research and see if I need to pull the motor to get this out. It's tight but I'm thinking I can get it out. Thanks for your helpful suggestions.
 

Don S

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Re: Boat Leaking Help Please!

Yes, you need to pull the drive, then the engine, then you can get to the Y pipe.
Sure it wasn't coming in around the bottom of the transom shield? It would look the same.
If you took the seal out completely, it wouldn't leak as much as you are saying. Something is broke or corroded through, or the transom is rotten. Have you tried to tighten the lower bolts on the transom shield, do they even get tight or start spinning. They are aluminum and corrode away inside the transom and you can't see it.

Many times I have pulled the engine, put the drive back on and backed boats in the water to find what the problem was.
 

13crazyhorse

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Re: Boat Leaking Help Please!

Don, It's almost impossible to see up in there good enough to see exactly where it's coming from. I see what you're saying . If the water is coming back out of the exhaust holes when I remove the boat from the water wouldn't it be getting in the y pipe? Possible corrosion or hole in it, I can't really see one though. Maybe the only way to tell for sure is pull the drive and motor and go from there.
 

Bondo

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Re: Boat Leaking Help Please!

After pulling the boat out I left the plug in and water came out of the lower exhaust holes. I'm pretty sure now it's that seal on the y pipe or horn as they call it. I just have to do some research and see if I need to pull the motor to get this out. It's tight but I'm thinking I can get it out. Thanks for your helpful suggestions.

Ayuh,.... The motor's Gotta come out, No other way 'bout it....

Over the years on this forum, I've seen a y-pipe get a hole in it from burnt up shutter parts, wearin' through it....
'n I've see y-pipes rotted right off,...

The Odds would run towards rotten transom wood....

Probably oughta just pull the motor, 'n Look.... Good Luck...
 

13crazyhorse

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Re: Boat Leaking Help Please!

I guess I'm missing something. Seems to me if the transom is rotten and water was running into the bilge when the boat was in the water then with the boat out of the water and the bilge full of water, wouldn't it run back out of the transom?
 
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