Transom leak near exhaust

[chapmethis]

Hi Guys,


I finally got my 97 Chapparal in the water this morning. Everything ran great. As I was at my dock setting lines for the season I hear my bilge blow out a bit more water then normal.

Upon opening the compartment, I noticed water gradually filling.

Prior to this:

I took off drive and replaced all bellows, sender/limit wires, and gear hose and seals. I did not replace exhaust bellow.

The boat is 3 weeks new to me.

Now- as I'm looking at the transom from engine compartment I see water literally flowing in right next to the exhaust manifold at the transom. See the uploaded video and pics. Where the exhaust goes through the transom there is water streaming in at a pretty decent rate. Maybe a gallon every 5 minutes.

What I know from previous owner-

Motor was replaced 3 years ago with new manifold and risers. Bravo 3 is original. 900 hrs on boat.

My question is:

How could water come in from this location? And quite a bit of it? What connection could be compromised?The bellow technically does not keep water out. Right?

The pics are taking from port side looking at transom. The video is hard to see, but if you focus on the transom opening, left of that crusty bolt and right of the manifold you can just get a glimpse. To the lower right, that is water parading down after the fact.

 

[alldodge]

What I think you have is a soft transom. Once the transom gets soft it has to be replaced.

If it's not the transom it could be the exhaust Y pipe but the motor needs to be pulled to get in close enough to inspect. Might get a bore scope phone attachment so you can get in closer, but still think the motor has to come out

 

[ScottinAZ]

What I think you have is a soft transom. Once the transom gets soft it has to be replaced.

If it's not the transom it could be the exhaust Y pipe but the motor needs to be pulled to get in close enough to inspect. Might get a bore scope phone attachment so you can get in closer, but still think the motor has to come out

thats what crossed my mind first..... y-pipe or transom seal......

 

[chapmethis]

What I think you have is a soft transom. Once the transom gets soft it has to be replaced.

If it's not the transom it could be the exhaust Y pipe but the motor needs to be pulled to get in close enough to inspect. Might get a bore scope phone attachment so you can get in closer, but still think the motor has to come out

I think the transom is okay. I notice it was a little soft on the 2 bottom round corners. So I scraped, sanded and cleaned around the assembly and put a nice bead of 4200 on there. Besides that, there's no movement when weight is applied on the back.

Put it back in the water to test and still leaking.

From the outside looking in, the y-pipe connection looks really solid and tight.

The amount of water coming in is pretty substantial. If I could see it, it should be clear as day. But, no line of sight.

What I'm thinking now after many hours of troubleshooting is it could be leaking in through the idle relief port. It's the only other "hole" in that area of concern. I got my fingers on the end of the port side hose, and it felt clamped on there pretty good. I haven't found any good information/threads with people having this problem with idle relief port internal leaking.

Do you think that's possible? Everything is dry above this area of the transom. U-joint bellow is dry as a bone. I removed and re-attached cable bellow with a good coating of glue, bought the snake dive bit to make sure I had the clamp super tight.

I really need to get this fixed up, driving me absolutely crazy.

I've had 4 water tests now. This boat is not the easiest thing to pop in and out. Now my winch is all jacked up and needs replacing.


Thanks in advance.

 

[dubs283]

Based on the photos, video and things you've sealed up I'd say it's time to pull the motor and remove the transom assembly

Probably gonna find a lot of rot in the lower portion of the transom hole and most likely corrosion at the lower mounting studs

 

[nola mike]

I think the transom is okay. I notice it was a little soft on the 2 bottom round corners.

Corners of what? That doesn't sound good

 

[airshot]

When a transom gets soft from rot, the wood around the mounts collapses and causes water leaks. If you tighten the bolts, it collapses the transom wood even more, causing a bigger leak. Pull engine and outdrive and replace transom with solid wood. Hate to give you the bad news...

 

[JASinIL2006]

Have you drill tested the transom around the keyhole from the inside? It sure sounds like a punky transom.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Time to look here

How To's and Other Great Information

Disclaimer iBoats has no control over external links contained in stickies and to be aware that links are fluid and may or may not work. 1. Coast Guard Safety Standards for Backyard Boat Builders Verified 2. Fiberglass Information Verified 3. Pouring Foam in's and out's Verified 4A. Basic...

forums.iboats.com

Read links 14, 15, 17, 18, 2, 3, 4a and 4b

Remove the drive
Remove the motor
Remove the interior
Pull the cap
Start the restoration

 

[Bondo]

What I'm thinking now after many hours of troubleshooting is it could be leaking in through the idle relief port. It's the only other "hole" in that area of concern. I got my fingers on the end of the port side hose, and it felt clamped on there pretty good. I haven't found any good information/threads with people having this problem with idle relief port internal leaking.

Do you think that's possible? Everything is dry above this area of the transom. U-joint bellow is dry as a bone. I removed and re-attached cable bellow with a good coating of glue, bought the snake dive bit to make sure I had the clamp super tight.

I really need to get this fixed up, driving me absolutely crazy.

I've had 4 water tests now. This boat is not the easiest thing to pop in and out. Now my winch is all jacked up and needs replacing.


Thanks in advance.

Nope,.... Not possible,.... The idle relief ports are where the y-pipe bolts on, which you say is tight,.....
Only 2 possibilities I can think of,....
1,.... The transom is rotten as others are sayin',....
Or,..... The shutters failed, 'n the bits fell into the y-pipe, 'n wore a hole through it,.....