Boat leaking salt water - steering pin?

[jase34242]

Fun times. Put the boat in and ran her for a few days with a perfectly dry bilge.. 5 days later she's got water in the bilge and no rain. Have narrowed it down to this location:





I believe this is the part under the steering pin..



Going to get back down there and look some more.. this boat is supposed to stay in the water for 4 - 6 months and then come back out again.. anyone want a rinker 2004 270 for cheap?

 

[Scott06]

Fun times. Put the boat in and ran her for a few days with a perfectly dry bilge.. 5 days later she's got water in the bilge and no rain. Have narrowed it down to this location:

View attachment 403930

View attachment 403931

I believe this is the part under the steering pin..

View attachment 403932

Going to get back down there and look some more.. this boat is supposed to stay in the water for 4 - 6 months and then come back out again.. anyone want a rinker 2004 270 for cheap?

Common place for them to leak there are kits to jet the pin out from the outside so engine doesn’t have to come out

 

[alldodge]

Is the upper pin section of the drive under water while at rest?

Many times the steering pin isn't under

 

[jase34242]

Common place for them to leak there are kits to jet the pin out from the outside so engine doesn’t have to come out

Thanks posting some more pictures. I'm wondering if I can ride out 6 months and then deal with it. With the leak a the current rate, it might take a month or two for it to even get enough to kick the bilge pump on. I have a dry bilge system that would take 30 seconds a week to pump out anything it leaked in. I know this is not the "right" way to run a boat, but this is half of my get away apartment on the weekends and I'm in the FL Keys where almost no one knows how to work on these boats forget about changing out a steering pin and I dont have the time to devote to doing it, let alone not wanting to have to hack it up in a boat yard charging 600 a month while paying a slip fee of 750 a month at the same time. Anywho here come the pics.

 

[alldodge]

If it's the pin then it's not an issue to let it leak

 

[jase34242]

I assume this is all we really have to see.

Is the upper pin section of the drive under water while at rest?

Many times the steering pin isn't under

Obviously this has been leaking for a while, I must have just not noticed it?



This picture worries me.



The weird part is I cant catch it dripping, even leaving a security camera down there. The yellow fluid is crc 656 that I spray all over the place...

 

[jase34242]

If it's the pin then it's not an issue to let it leak

Yeah? Fix it in 6 months when it's out for the summer? I have nightmares of it getting worse while I'm out on the water enjoying a day or something..

 

[Lou C]

Salt water is brutal on corrosion. One small leak will cause a real mess in your engine compartment

 

[cyclops222]

All that salt build up ????
At least 10 years from a motor cooling part or hose when running. A driver of the boat. And you looking at all parts of the engine for a spray / mist when running. NOT very fast is required.

 

[jase34242]

All that salt build up ????
At least 10 years from a motor cooling part or hose when running. A driver of the boat. And you looking at all parts of the engine for a spray / mist when running. NOT very fast is required.

Not 10 years. Motor, transom assembly and out drive were replaced with 100% brand new in 2019 (20k bill). 250 hours running since then. Gotta love Mercruiser quality I guess. It's in a 28 ft boat, it's a 383 stroker fresh water cooled. No expense was spared here.. Multiple mechanics have missed whatever is going on.. maybe mercury could have designed something that didnt fail after 5 years? I dunno.. I'm not mad but it seems a little silly. This boat has been lightly used to go to the sand bar less than 2 miles and back maybe 10 times a year.

 

[Bt Doctur]

looking at that much corrosion I think your in danger of a seriously leaking outer housing

 

[alldodge]

Ya know Bt brings up a good point. You said it was new in 2019 and if so then that much corrosion should not have taken place that short of time.

Wonder if it was replaced or just cleaned up

 

[jase34242]

looking at that much corrosion I think your in danger of a seriously leaking outer housing

Yes. This part of one of the above pictures has me the most worried about riding out the season..

 

[jase34242]

Ya know Bt brings up a good point. You said it was new in 2019 and if so then that much corrosion should not have taken place that short of time.

Wonder if it was replaced or just cleaned up

I watched the marina replace it.. have photos of it installed brand new.. the crazy thing to me is that this is the first time I ever noticed a leak.. all last season there was zero water in the bilge.. we go for a long time here with no rain so when I mean zero I mean NOTHING.

 

[cyclops222]

You are right about that not being rain.
But a loose hose clamp. Or a forgotten clamp ? Problem is ALL that white looking sediment.
No known saltwater. Right ?
Then your fresh water is very loaded with whitish sediment. That is spraying all over.

 

[Lou C]

I thought the OP was in a salt water area, with a small cooling leak you could have that…

 

[Scott06]

You are right about that not being rain.
But a loose hose clamp. Or a forgotten clamp ? Problem is ALL that white looking sediment.
No known saltwater. Right ?
Then your fresh water is very loaded with whitish sediment. That is spraying all over.

OP stated he was in the FL keys … clearly saltwater

 

[Lou C]

On my boat I'm obssessive about making sure there are no coolant leaks and also everything, engine & inner transom, steering system, etc gets sprayed with Corrosion X every year. Still running the original 36 year old oil pan and timing cover, both are known to rust out if not treated often. It works, just like smearing marine grease and spraying Corrosion X on the trailer leaf springs and ubolts/nuts, etc
And also why the engine & exhaust get filled with the best AF I can find after winterizing.
It all seems to help, or else I wouldn't be still running this old salty boat.

 

[alldodge]

Folks your going off it a lot of different directions. Some from not reading what has been posted and others for adding other issues that were not part of the discussion.

Please stay on what was requested or I'll start deleting your post

 

[Lou C]

For there to be that much alu corrosion in that time frame, there's likely to be a loose hose clamp on one of the raw water intake hoses or the fitting for them on the inner transom mount. Just a spray of salt water mist + sitting in salty air, can do that.