Took on water, do these pics give a clue why?

IGeeky1 · Jul 22, 2013

So after struggling to get the starter to work and then the engine to idle everything seemed happy on the muff so I put the boat in the water. Yes, I had the drain plug in

Was pulling the boys around on the tube for about an hour and then all the sudden the engine started sputtering an died. I went back to look at the engine and saw a water up to the starter. I flipped the bilge pump on but it could not keep up. got a tow to shore.

Pulled boat out figuring somehow the drain plug had release itself. No, it was still in tact but water was coming out from the stern drive area. I'm guessing somebody on here already know without the pics what happened but I'll include pics anyway.

One from left side prior to pulling drain plug, one from right after pulling drain plug.

ktbarrentine · Jul 22, 2013

Re: Took on water, do these pics give a clue why?

That water appears to be coming out of your exhaust idle relief ports. I'm speculating you have a "Y" pipe failure. This sometimes occurs when your exhaust shutter(s) fail, drop to the bottom of the Y pipe, then wear a hole in the pipe. Take a look underneath the motor/coupling and Y pipe area and take pics with good lighting. Just my guess at this point.

Bt Doctur · Jul 22, 2013

Re: Took on water, do these pics give a clue why?

you have just learned the value of a automatic switch and a audible alarm(horn)
2nd the Y pipe

IGeeky1 · Jul 22, 2013

Re: Took on water, do these pics give a clue why?

Bt Doctur said:
you have just learned the value of a automatic switch and a audible alarm(horn)
2nd the Y pipe

You are referring to something for the bilge pump, yes? To automatically turn it on and an alarm to warn me that I'm taking on water?

Bt Doctur · Jul 22, 2013

Re: Took on water, do these pics give a clue why?

correct,a motorcycle horn ,car horn, backup alarm, anything that makes a lot of noise. On my boat i had a car horn wired to the float switch.Imagine breaking a hose while your in the berth. most of the larger boats have an automatic switch for the bilge and another switch just above it wired to a high water alarm, allows the pump to run in auto without an alarm mode. should the pump stop working the alarm sounds when the second float switch trips.

IGeeky1 · Jul 22, 2013

Re: Took on water, do these pics give a clue why?

A related question. Boat took on enough water that the oil pan was pretty much immersed. Now in my mind if I wasn't leaking oil, I shouldn't have water in the pan otoh for the price of an oil change...do it.

Is there anything else I should be doing immediately to prevent possible damage?

Fun Times · Jul 22, 2013

Re: Took on water, do these pics give a clue why?

Be aware that if you do have an exhaust Y pipe failure, the engine will usually need to come out of the boat to repair or replace it with a new one depending on problem.

Bondo · Jul 23, 2013

Re: Took on water, do these pics give a clue why?

IGeeky1 said:
A related question. Boat took on enough water that the oil pan was pretty much immersed. Now in my mind if I wasn't leaking oil, I shouldn't have water in the pan otoh for the price of an oil change...do it.

Is there anything else I should be doing immediately to prevent possible damage?

Ayuh,.... Simple, Check the oil Level,... If it ain't gone Up, there ain't no water in it,....

But,... If the water was that High,....
Yer in need of a New Starter,....

They Don't like goin' Swimmin',...

Scott Danforth · Jul 23, 2013

Re: Took on water, do these pics give a clue why?

if you were in fresh water, pull the starter out, pull it apart, clean it with electrical contact cleaner to dissipate the moisture. then oil everything up and put back together.

if you were in salt water, you may not be able to save the starter.

spdracr39 · Jul 23, 2013

Re: Took on water, do these pics give a clue why?

If the water was that high did it get into the bellows also ?

IGeeky1 · Jul 23, 2013

Re: Took on water, do these pics give a clue why?

OK, I'll yank the starter and pop it open.
I've no idea if it got into the bellows...other than pulling the stern drive off is there another way to check?

ktbarrentine · Jul 23, 2013

Re: Took on water, do these pics give a clue why?

I'd have the drive off already.....Would also give you and "inside" look into the exhaust pipe to see if you can see any holes and any shutter pieces (although not as conclusive as looking up from under the Y pipe).

IGeeky1 · Jul 23, 2013

Re: Took on water, do these pics give a clue why?

good stern comes off.

This is the part breakdown for my engine, a 1989 MCM (GM) 3.0 with alpha one gen 1 drive
Mercruiser Schematic Part Diagrams

I'm guessing a y pipe is for a v6 or v8 not an inline 4 like mine, sorry simply not familiar with the term and wanted to verify I was on the right track at looking at the lower exhaust pipe Mercruiser Schematic Part Diagrams

ktbarrentine · Jul 23, 2013

Re: Took on water, do these pics give a clue why?

yep...Lower exhaust pipe... commonly called the Y pipe, but correct, it is only a straight pipe on an inline motor.

IGeeky1 · Jul 23, 2013

Re: Took on water, do these pics give a clue why?

Thanks for the confirmation!

Sorry about the links, I didn't notice until later that they were not going to the specific pages I wanted them to

IGeeky1 · Jul 24, 2013

Re: Took on water, do these pics give a clue why?

I got a better look at stuff tonight.

Looks like there was definitely a stern drive installation error. When I pulled the stern drive the large rubber gasket/o-ring was found inside the bellows not prior to them where it belongs. Main gasket also looks water logged and trashed, the previous ones never looked like this (back to quicksilver I go).

The big question is...would this have caused me to take on water and for it to leave boat in areas shown in previous pics?

Lower pipe looked good to me, now that I know about the shutters i may disassemble a bit to have a look at them and make certain they are behaving and in place.

Assuming this o-ring out of place did cause me to take on the water, that would certainly mean my gimbal bearing was exposed to water. If I choose to wait until after the season (which is quickly coming to a close) to change out the gimbal, am I taking a risk of damaging anything else?

Anything else I should be concerned about?

Bt Doctur · Jul 24, 2013

Re: Took on water, do these pics give a clue why?

This isnt daylight, is it?

Bt Doctur · Jul 24, 2013

Re: Took on water, do these pics give a clue why?

That rubber ring is supposed to be glued in place

IGeeky1 · Jul 24, 2013

Re: Took on water, do these pics give a clue why?

Bt Doctur said:
This isnt daylight, is it?

It appears to be, but isnt' it showing through beside pieces rather than through them?

These are shot from the bottom of the boat looking upward and out into daylight. I will certainly double check this though...

IGeeky1 · Jul 24, 2013

Re: Took on water, do these pics give a clue why?

Bt Doctur said:
That rubber ring is supposed to be glued in place

My manual says nothing about gluing it, but I can sure see why it would be a good idea to at least put a bit of gasket sealer on it. What do you use? Permatex Black?

So would that rubber gasket being out of place have caused my issue or is it just icing on the cake?

Took on water, do these pics give a clue why?

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