Pinhole leak in shift or trim cable

I am new to boating and I have a pinhole leak in a hose that goes from the motor to the side console. I assume it is a hydraulic line. The leak squirts out pretty fast Is there a way to temporarily patch by cutting it and using a push connector? The hose appears to be 1/4 to 3/8ths inch plastic. Is there a type of tape that I can use temporarily? I would like to get the boat through the rest of the season.(Mid October). I am replacing the floor over the winter and probably would replace the offending hose at that time.

The boat I purchased recently is a

1988 Sea Nymph 16 ft fish and ski
70 HP Johnson

The VRO is dissconnected

Thanks for your help,

Jeff

Re: Pinhole leak in shift or trim cable

Welcome to iboats gumby.

When does "it" squirt out?
What is squirting out? Water? oil?

A boat and motor of that size, should not have hydraulic steering.
And the tilt n trim unit is contained to the motor.


My guess is that it is either a pressure line which runs to a water pressure gauge, if you have one, which will leak when the engine is running.

Or its a pressure line that runs to the speedometer, which will leak when under way, increasing as you go faster..

If it is hydraulic, you have a problem.
If it is a water line, patch it in any way you like.

Re: Pinhole leak in shift or trim cable

Have had some luck with hydrolic lines using a piece of leather and a hose clamp.

Re: Pinhole leak in shift or trim cable

if (I HIGHLY doubt it) it's a hydraulic line there are compression fittings specifically for plastic lines but if it's a water line as above you can do about anything because it is low pressure and non critical....

Re: Pinhole leak in shift or trim cable

Sounds like a speedometer line............ it will squirt water if it is cracked. Replace the entire line. http://www.iboats.com/MARINE-SPEEDO...2210304--session_id.000266390--view_id.926923

Re: Pinhole leak in shift or trim cable

Bob_VT said:

Sounds like a speedometer line............ it will squirt water if it is cracked. Replace the entire line. MARINE SPEEDOMETER PITOT KIT - Seachoice 15391 - iboats

Click to expand...

My previous replies aren't posting for some reason. It makes total sense that it is a speedometer or water pressure line. The fluid did seem like water.

Thanks for all the replies.

Jeff

Re: Pinhole leak in shift or trim cable

Where is the leak exactly? Unless you have hydraulic steering I doubt its anything other then water. Trace the line towards the dashboard and that will tell

Re: Pinhole leak in shift or trim cable

I am glad it isn't a priority. It definately would be the speedometer cable or water pressure cable. I am guessing the water pressure cable because I thing it was leaking at idle. I want to get it out a few more times before I start to work on it. I have to replace the floor on the boat and I am going to do this over the winter. I will probably start a thread when I do that. Besides that I have to fix my neighbors motor that I borrowed last year and didn't run the gas out of it before I was done using it. It only runs on choke and I assume the lower jet is clogged in the carb from what I have read on the posts. It is a 1978 Mercury 4.5 hp. If I need help with it I will start a new thread.

I am looking forward to the challenge of replacing the floor and adding some storage. Hopefully it will be some bonding time with my 13 year old son.

Again thanks for all of the replies.

Jeff