2012 Q5 ....water in bilge

[BoatDrinksQ5]

Well seems like after a few hours on the water fishing/cruisin I have water in the bilge, a gallon or so maybe (no watersports) After reading peoples "DRY" comments in the recent "Water in boat Poll"... makes me wonder more.

First couple outtings didn't think much of it (thought it was a livewell drain to bilge thing) but last time out that was plugged and still had some water. I have been so rushed/busy out in the new boat the past couple outings to dig into it or run engine with hatch open to watch/feel things.

Curious if any newer Tahoe owners have similar issues or are dry...

My concerns/suspects are:
a.) what appear to be metal drain holes on side of boat (letting splash in...)
b.) loose cooling system tubing
c.) transom penetration for depth finder cable (has a black cover over penetration with silicone it appears)
d.) splash into rear air vents? seems VERY unlikely due to calm water and moderate decelerations.
e.) rub rail area?

I have been very diligent to drain while on ramp until just a drip (ramps have been very not-busy which is good) and sponging out underfloor locker and under motor and leaving things open to make sure it is dry ASAP.

 

[tfiedler]

Re: 2012 Q5 ....water in bilge

I think it is hit or miss. My 2011 Q5i never has any appreciable amount of water in it, not even after pulling a tube or board around for hours. The Bayliner I had before the Q5i seemed to collect five gallons of it at a time.

Good luck tracking it down.

 

[BoatDrinksQ5]

Re: 2012 Q5 ....water in bilge

My plan at the moment is to get some food coloring and use it to spray in a few locations that are suspect...and see what color what is in the bilge after.

Also marine silicone the crap out of my transducer cable inlet.

My guess is that both of the external above water drains are letting water splashes in. Since I would bet water will flow backwards through the bilge pump if splashed into the tube. I think i will put a drop or two of coloring into the outside portion of tube...and see if i find that color in bilge water.

 

[BiggerDee]

Re: 2012 Q5 ....water in bilge

I had a waater problem as well and it turned out to be a relatively simple fix. The storage containers drain to a tube that exits out fo the transom via a chrome exterior fitting. When sitting at rest, this fitting is under the water line. The chrome fitting is glued into the transom, and the plastic tube has a threaded pipe in the end of it. This threaded pipe is then glued into the back of that fitting in the transom, in the engine compartment. It's threaded because there's a plastic ring that screws titght to help hold it against the transom wall. The threaded pipe was glued in on the driver's side, but was just pushed in on the passenger's side. I discovered this on the water one day, and did a temporary fix/test by plugging up the passenger's side chrome fitting on the external side of the transom. I never noticed the leak in the engine compartment because the view of this fitting is obstructed by the ven/fan pipes (I have a 2011 Q7i, BTW). I tried to glue it in myself with some 3M 4200, but it wasn't completely watertight. I told my dealer about it at my first scheduled service appointment, and they fixed it perfectly, under warranty of course. I also bought 5/8" plugs for the compartments under my front seats (I use these for drinks) since they drain directly into the hull. The external fitting in question was piped to the compartment under the jump seat, and when I stopped, it always got water in it since that pipe was under the water line. I bought a 1" plug for this compartment to keep it watertight. Now, the only time that I get water in the hull and have to run the bilge is when I have a lot of folks in and out of the water, and the floor drains drain the water away and into the hull. Check both of those pipe in your transom, from the engine bay side, and make sure that they are both glued in! Hope this helps!

 

[marcoalza]

Re: 2012 Q5 ....water in bilge

I thought it was normal to get water in the bilge. Maybe not this much though.
If I run my pump every 20 minutes around 2 gallons will come out.

I've tried resealing the rub strip but never thought that it may be the coolant leaking out.

Too hot here to investigate now.

 

[PrinceValium]

Re: 2012 Q5 ....water in bilge

I almost never have to run the bilge pump...the only water that I can se accumulating is either from gear that is wet being stowed back in the boat or from the ice that melts from the cooler. Personally I have no clue why one of the compartments has a hose that goes to the back side of the boat and allows a certain amount of water to stay in that compartment from the outside. What is the reason of that???!!! I just plugged the hole to keep the water from coming into it.

 

[marcoalza]

Re: 2012 Q5 ....water in bilge

I just plugged the hole to keep the water from coming into it.

What hole is that then?
The only holes I have are bilge on the SB rear corner and the live well holes on the transom.

All the other holes I have are above the rub line. I think.

 

[BoatDrinksQ5]

Re: 2012 Q5 ....water in bilge

Well have some downtime for getting to the lake....so figured it was a good time to bring the boat to my near by dealer for them to take a look at the problem. They are going to fill her up with water it sounds like and look for leaks...

Definitely not normal the manager said should be an easy fix.

They also needed to look at a power trim fluid leak at pump and possible sonar issues so a good time to have things look at.

My 2012 Q5 has a common drain out the bottom transom (shiny metal drain) by livewell intake (black plastic threaded) that has the livewell drain, swim-platform compartment drain, cooler drain all tied together (possibly more). Has the bilge drain on rear port side above water line. Also a drain up front on starboard side (shiny metal drain)(NOT SURE WHAT THIS IS FOR???)

Also has a normal plastic bilge drain that you keep closed while in water and oil drain brass plug/bolt.

I thought the bilge pump was letting splashes in the above water hole and it was back feeding through pump....but on a calm night at the dock....it still leaked a few gallons. (first night docked ever, scary!)

 

[PrinceValium]

Re: 2012 Q5 ....water in bilge

What hole is that then?
The only holes I have are bilge on the SB rear corner and the live well holes on the transom.

All the other holes I have are above the rub line. I think.

Ok it is the compartment to the right of the cooler that has the walk through with the cushion. It is a little compartment that we thought was a mini cooler but the drain for it goes out to the back of the boat. We were using it for trash one day and realized there was water in it! I was like WTF?? My boat does not have a live well so it is perplexing as to why it is there. I will have to ask the dealer if they know when I take it in for it's 20 hr servicing. I am also going to put on a digital hour meter on the spark plugs to start recording hours since the fine people at Tracker did not think it was a necessary item to add to the boat!

 

[BiggerDee]

Re: 2012 Q5 ....water in bilge

I believe that that compartment is intended for the live well of the fish/ski boats. I had the same issue. It's because the drain hole (the one on the left as you stand behind the boat) is below the waterline when you are sitting still, so water backfills into that compartment. Weird design, and I still don't understand it fully, but I guess that if it was above the water line, then it would never drain at all. But a 1" boat plug and plug it from the inside and you will have a dry compartment. Where the pipe for that compartment connects to the transom is where my water leak was. The pipe wasn't glued/epoxied/whatever into the thru-transom fitting.

Marcoalza, since my water leak fix, my bilge hasn't seen a drop of water, other than when I have a lot of swimmers in and out of the boat. The floor drains drain directly into the hull, the under seat rear cooler drains directly into the hull, and the coolers/storage areas under the front seats drain directly into the hull. I use the areas under my front seats for my coolers since they require FAR less ice than the under seat cooler, and keep it cold much longer. I bought 5/8" plugs (the metal ones with the brass handle) and adjusted the washer a bit to make them fit tightly when closed and locked. That way, I can dump the ice, take the drinks out, pull the plugs, and all of the water will go through the hull and out the main lower transom plug on the way home.

The Tahoe has odd sized drains, but you can adjust the metal type plugs to compress more, and thus fit the odd size openings better.

 

[marcoalza]

Re: 2012 Q5 ....water in bilge

Ok it is the compartment to the right of the cooler that has the walk through with the cushion. It is a little compartment that we thought was a mini cooler but the drain for it goes out to the back of the boat.

Marcoalza, The floor drains drain directly into the hull, the under seat rear cooler drains directly into the hull, and the coolers/storage areas under the front seats drain directly into the hull.

Aaaah, That's why our holes are different. My boat is a 2007 Q4 Ski/Fish and I don't have the same set up as you guys with the flashy boats....walk throughs and built in coolers. I have a live well though but that is always bone dry.

I really should find where this water is coming in as we are planning a night camp soon and really would like the boat to be above water in the morning.

 

[BoatDrinksQ5]

Re: 2012 Q5 ....water in bilge

Well got my boat back very quick, before the weekend!

They identified the leak as the bilge drain fitting at the outside of the boat. (missing sealant) THey removed it and sealed it.

There was already water in the boat when i brought it out on saturday plus we did some watersports so we have yet to see if that was truely the fix. I sponged her out so we shall see next time we get to the lake.

 

[BiggerDee]

Re: 2012 Q5 ....water in bilge

Yes! Missing sealant! EXACTLY the problem that I had, only mine was missing from the port side transom drain. That's fantastic, I hope that you won't have any more water issues! Have fun!

 

[Covert_Ops]

2006 q4sf

2006 q4sf

Okay all... I am having a similar problem which is making me crazy... I have spent some good money having a couple of shops try to figure this out and still to no answers. I have filled the bilge with water twice, two different years.

I get enough water in the bilge that after about 4-5 days in the slip the water will be over the floor deck toward the rear seats.

Both shops said my bellows were good etc. When I filled it up the last time i did note some water (very samll amount) coming in the live well drain. I tighted the hose clamps on this system... no luck.

I bought the boat used from the Tahoe dealer... told them abou the issue at the time was only about a couple of gallons of water back in 07, 09, 10, 11 it has gotten a bit worse, and now it is above the floor after about 5-7 days.

Any ideas?

I probably should install a float swith for the bilge... Are there any good resources for installation of this on the web? Handy enought that I think I can do this mod.)

My next steps...
Try and tighten external bellows hose clamps
Put plugs in all live well hull through puts (2)
Take out all through puts and re-seal (looks like a lot of work)
Take off lower unit and have re-sealed

Sound like the way to go?

This is seriously driving me crazy!

 

[Zigo]

Re: 2012 Q5 ....water in bilge

Ours dumps out a weird amount of water also. Dad and I fished on calm water all day and the bilge still dumped a lot out.

On second thought that was the first time I used the livewell, I drained it a few times.

 

[BiggerDee]

Re: 2012 Q5 ....water in bilge

Hate that you're having the problem. I had a water leak issue and I know how frustrating that it can be. If the dealer can't/won't fix it under warranty, I have a suggestion, although it may sound weird.

You could always leave your boat on the trailer (in your yeard, presumably), put the plug in, and then use a garden hose to out in as much water as you have seen when it was at its highest. As you're filling it up, put in some of the UV reactive dye that mechanics use to check for leaks in AC systems on cars. If I remember correctly, it's colorless, so won't leave stains. If you do this at night, you can use a UV light and inspect your hull, after the boat has set for a few hours. Presumably, whever the water comes in, it should go out as well. It may just pinpoint the location. I know this sounds a bit out there, but if you're at the end of your rope with the issue, it may be worthy of consideration. Good luck finding out what's going on!