Bravo 3 leaking water into bilge

[Tunabass]

I always seem to have water in the bilge after a day in the water so I decided to do a little exploring. I put the boat in the water and took the below video. It’s not great but hopefully you all can tell what your looking at better than me. I did t have a lot of time so I did not experiment to see if the leak changed if the outdrive was trimmed up or turned left or right. It did not change with the engine running or not. Video is taken from the starboard side looking at the transom. Exhaust bellows were replaced in July of 2015. In August if 2013 the upper and lower drive seals were resealed, new driveshaft housing seal kit, new gear housing seal kit, new shift cable, and new shift belows. Any ideas what needs fixing based on my limited video, and lack of further experimentation with drive orientation? I’ll be away from the boat for 5 days so I can experiment further if need be on Wednesday afternoon. Thank you.

https://youtu.be/zNEZAusPGqQ

 

[wellcraft-classic210]

I would probably start with a good bellows inspection. -- They normally last 5 years before the recommended replacement but that does not account for any damage that may occur from animals chewing etc.

 

[Bt Doctur]

had to turn my screen upside down but it appears you have the leak at the bottom of the housing . That can be a leaking power trim manifold or gasket or a rotted transom or if you had a very hard bottom strike ,broken anode bolts and have broken the transom seal gasket.or the Y pipe connection

 

[alldodge]

That doesn't look like a Bravo transom plate, Don't see the lower bolts, but does look like the transom is leaking

 

[Bt Doctur]

your right, could it be a volvo housing

 

[Tunabass]

Are the Volvo and Mercs interchangeable? It’s definetly a bravo 3 drive. I’ve had the boat two years and I’ve never hit anything but that’s not to say the previous owner didn’t. I’ll get a better look Wednesday hopefully. Should I run a bead of silicone where the drive meets the transom on the outside and try that. That would be along the lines of start with the easy stuff and work up from there if it does not work.

 

[Bt Doctur]

post a pic of the rear of the boat and some upright pics of the rear of the motor and inside transom

 

[alldodge]

Should I run a bead of silicone where the drive meets the transom on the outside and try that

No

Need to find the leak, silicone if it did stop the leak, it wouldn't hold for long, and all the water is still getting to the wood

 

[Tunabass]

Super busy at work and home but this weekend I’ll try to get the pics requested and a better video of the leak while in the water.

 

[rickasbury]

Well, finally something I'm an "expert" on....that is a heck of a leak from the bottom of the transom plate. I'm going through the same, pulled the motor and the transom assembly and now putting back together. Inspected the transom by drilling some holes around the key hole and thankfully good. New to this 100%. What I noticed on the gimbal seal was it had totally flattened out and I would say flush to the gimbal. Water had leaked behind it and around it as I had some corrosion on the back side of the seal as well as around the transom side of the gimbal. Also, the inner transom plate has some corrosion as well. The new seal is round and spungy- not a great design in my humble opinion plus the nuts that hold the transom assy together are only 25 ft. lbs. So, would not seem like over much time that seal flattens out and probably no longer sits flush and allows water to start to leak. My boat is 10 years old. So, have rebuilt and starting to put back together this weekend!

Good luck, you sure have to find the source and inspect that transom, especially since it is a new to you boat. I think my problems started when I replaced my bellows and had a heck of a time knocking the gimbal bearing out- knocked around enough to break the seal loose which apparently did not take much from the looks of it.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Try passing a business card between the housing and the hull, you should NOT be able to do that.

 

[rickasbury]

now you could run that bead around the gimbal on the outside to confirm that is where the leak is, that is what I did.

 

[Bt Doctur]

were not even sure what kind of transom housing it is,

 

[Tunabass]

https://youtu.be/YC4xtpNo6VA

sems to be coming from above. Maybe by the two wires/tubes

 

[Tunabass]

[No message]

 

[Bt Doctur]

Going to go with a leaking Mercathode or the wires going thru the transom.

 

[alldodge]

Well that's a Merc housing but were no closer to finding where its leaking. From the lower bolts its an older one like a R or MR. If the upper portion of the gimbal ring is below the water then it may be the pivot pin

 

[Tunabass]

For what it’s worth the leak is no better or worse if the outdrive is trimmed up or down or turned port or starboard, running or not. Are there any tests I can do to try to rule some things out or should I just pull the drive and bring it to the shop?

 

[alldodge]

For what it’s worth the leak is no better or worse if the outdrive is trimmed up or down or turned port or starboard, running or not. Are there any tests I can do to try to rule some things out or should I just pull the drive and bring it to the shop?

I would say with that I would be worried that the transom is soft

 

[Tunabass]

Why?