Water in Bilge? Where can it come from.......

[Fiat4Fun]

Howdy,
So, I am trying to get an understanding about water getting in to the bilge on a Alpha one, G1.

I know the basics, The plug housing can leak, Water can come in from the the u-joint and shift cable bellows, and not the exhaust bellows. I assume the sender wire seal can allow water in, along with a leak in the hull.

So where else? I also assume that the gimbal housing seal can allow water in, along with bad gimbal housing bolts.

My local Mercruiser dealer is no help, they don't work on old boats ( this is 1986, they don't work on anything older than 2000--- What' up with that?)
Another Mercruiser dealer said just enjoy the boat and don't worry about it.
I can spend three to four hours on the water and I get a bit of water, not enough for the bilge pump to come on in the auto setting, but I can turn on the pump and it pumps out some water.

The boat use to be bone dry, and just want to get it addressed at some point. Looking for another Mercruiser expert in the Northwest that works on old boats. Is there a forum that deals with repair companies?

Any other advice is appreciated. I would think the water is coming in from the drive..... I don't see any hull damage. It does not leak water in when I run on the garden hose. I think the next step is to put water in the bilge at home and see if it leaks any water out.

Thanks

 

[alldodge]

Only way to find is to look, and you already know where it can come from. Only other place is the exhaust pipe might have a pin hole or leak

Dry it out, put in the water and stand on your head (so to speak) until you can see where its coming from

Do understand not working on old boats. Guy comes in saying I have this little problem and the little problem turns into a full rebuild. Guys not happy and tells everyone what they did.

 

[Paintman1960]

Would'nt be easier to back boat in on trailer and watch for water coming in bilge?

 

[Bszakaly97]

Howdy,
So, I am trying to get an understanding about water getting in to the bilge on a Alpha one, G1.

I know the basics, The plug housing can leak, Water can come in from the the u-joint and shift cable bellows, and not the exhaust bellows. I assume the sender wire seal can allow water in, along with a leak in the hull.

So where else? I also assume that the gimbal housing seal can allow water in, along with bad gimbal housing bolts.

My local Mercruiser dealer is no help, they don't work on old boats ( this is 1986, they don't work on anything older than 2000--- What' up with that?)
Another Mercruiser dealer said just enjoy the boat and don't worry about it.
I can spend three to four hours on the water and I get a bit of water, not enough for the bilge pump to come on in the auto setting, but I can turn on the pump and it pumps out some water.

The boat use to be bone dry, and just want to get it addressed at some point. Looking for another Mercruiser expert in the Northwest that works on old boats. Is there a forum that deals with repair companies?

Any other advice is appreciated. I would think the water is coming in from the drive..... I don't see any hull damage. It does not leak water in when I run on the garden hose. I think the next step is to put water in the bilge at home and see if

Howdy,
So, I am trying to get an understanding about water getting in to the bilge on a Alpha one, G1.

I know the basics, The plug housing can leak, Water can come in from the the u-joint and shift cable bellows, and not the exhaust bellows. I assume the sender wire seal can allow water in, along with a leak in the hull.

So where else? I also assume that the gimbal housing seal can allow water in, along with bad gimbal housing bolts.

My local Mercruiser dealer is no help, they don't work on old boats ( this is 1986, they don't work on anything older than 2000--- What' up with that?)
Another Mercruiser dealer said just enjoy the boat and don't worry about it.
I can spend three to four hours on the water and I get a bit of water, not enough for the bilge pump to come on in the auto setting, but I can turn on the pump and it pumps out some water.

The boat use to be bone dry, and just want to get it addressed at some point. Looking for another Mercruiser expert in the Northwest that works on old boats. Is there a forum that deals with repair companies?

Any other advice is appreciated. I would think the water is coming in from the drive..... I don't see any hull damage. It does not leak water in when I run on the garden hose. I think the next step is to put water in the bilge at home and see if it leaks any water out.

Thanks

If it’s not leaking at home on the trailer with muffs.. I highly doubt it’s your exaust pipe. Out of water out your outdrive all the way up and try your best to look at all of the bellows. They tend to rot. You could have a hole in your u joint bellow allowing water to enter through gimbal housing and really can enter through any of them. Would put money on it needing new bellows and if you replace 1 I’d do em all.

 

[Fiat4Fun]

Thanks for the replies. I am on my second set of OEM bellows, and did the trim senders too. I have looked around the engine bay with the boat in the water with a scope, my eyes and paid a dealer to stick it in their tank. They thought it was the plug, so they replaced that and it still has the same issue. They thought maybe the transom seal. I know the motor needs to come out to do that job, but was hoping I could see it come in. They check the boat transom and thought it was good, no signs of rot. I looked at all the screws for the mounting of the speedo and fish finder too. Thought maybe the trim ram manifold could be another thing, but I don't see where the hoses come through the transom. I assume that would be another place?

 

[Bszakaly97]

Thanks for the replies. I am on my second set of OEM bellows, and did the trim senders too. I have looked around the engine bay with the boat in the water with a scope, my eyes and paid a dealer to stick it in their tank. They thought it was the plug, so they replaced that and it still has the same issue. They thought maybe the transom seal. I know the motor needs to come out to do that job, but was hoping I could see it come in. They check the boat transom and thought it was good, no signs of rot. I looked at all the screws for the mounting of the speedo and fish finder too. Thought maybe the trim ram manifold could be another thing, but I don't see where the hoses come through the transom. I assume that would be another place?

If I were you I’d take the rear interior out of your boat if is any, put er in the water and put ya head down there... if can’t see it visually take a video w your phone w your light on.. should be fairly easy to find it. Have you had your outdrive off recently?

 

[alldodge]

If it’s not leaking at home on the trailer with muffs.. I highly doubt it’s your exaust pipe.

Need to think about water pressure a bit more for a hose and in the water

If the top of the gimbal ring sits at or under the water line then can also be the steering pin

 

[Pruno]

Tackled similar issue when I first purchased my boat. Found 4 different contributors. I could tell the PO was battle same issue based on the amount of caulk they smeared all over every thing.
For me it was part 28 in the picture (only thing that caused finically hardship. I think it was $5, and they sent me a bag of them, so I have a few extra ; -)
The hose on the inside of the transom wasn’t square on to part 27, straighten that up and snugged the clamp
One of the exhaust boots on the y pipe was dripping down the back side of the y pipe, very difficult to detect. Only found that after clearing up the other 2 and found warm water in the bilge. Cleaned up the onnection and no issues.
Had a bunch of swimmers on the swim platform, and bouncing up and down in the waves I figured I got some water from the bilge outlet bobbing below water level. So that’s just the price to play.

I’m sure you’ll find it.

 

[Bszakaly97]

Need to think about water pressure a bit more for a hose and in the water

If the top of the gimbal ring sits at or under the water line then can also be the steering pin

True.. could be any number of different things but should be a fairly easy diag if you give yourself the room to get down there and check or even take a video.

 

[Fiat4Fun]

I have stuck my head back there, used a scope, and had a "pro" at the dealer try to locate it. I would "hope" that I would notice water coming in at the steering pin, as the boat does sit low in the water with a swim deck. The exhaust system has never been touched, so maybe the pressure is great enough in the water to leak?
So that part number 28 is put in from the motor side or the transom side?
I am sure that's original.... 35 year old boat......

 

[Bszakaly97]

I have stuck my head back there, used a scope, and had a "pro" at the dealer try to locate it. I would "hope" that I would notice water coming in at the steering pin, as the boat does sit low in the water with a swim deck. The exhaust system has never been touched, so maybe the pressure is great enough in the water to leak?
So that part number 28 is put in from the motor side or the transom side?
I am sure that's original.... 35 year old boat......

Very strange....maybe put her in the water and don’t run the motor at all.. see if she leaks with the boat not running compared to the engine running with water circulating

I have stuck my head back there, used a scope, and had a "pro" at the dealer try to locate it. I would "hope" that I would notice water coming in at the steering pin, as the boat does sit low in the water with a swim deck. The exhaust system has never been touched, so maybe the pressure is great enough in the water to leak?
So that part number 28 is put in from the motor side or the transom side?
I am sure that's original.... 35 year old boat......

hmm that’s strange... maybe try this, load the boat in and dock it or put her on shore(whatever your situation is at loading ramp, and don’t start it at all. Let her sit for a few and see if it still leaks without it circulating water, that should help atleast narrow the problem down... good luck man.

 

[Rake722]

Checked shift cable bellows ?

 

[tpenfield]

- Exhaust tubes where they connect to the Y-pipe
- All of your intake hoses, starting at the transom fitting and working your way forward.

An inspection camera may be a good thing to have in order to 'see' all the various places you need to look.

 

[KJM]

I had a similar problem, turned out to be the rubber pipe that lets the hot water and exhaust go from the engine to the outdrive. It had a small crack in it. I wrapped duct tape around it and it held for years until i got rid of the motor.

 

[Pruno]

So that part number 28 is put in from the motor side or the transom side?

Yup, there's a cover plate that squashes the rubber to create the seal. Follow your cooling hose to the inner transom plate.

 

[JHinMT]

Mine was a hole in the y-pipe caused by a shed water shutters. Found it sticking my cell phone down underneath things while the boat was in water but not running.

 

[tank1949]

Howdy,
So, I am trying to get an understanding about water getting in to the bilge on a Alpha one, G1.

I know the basics, The plug housing can leak, Water can come in from the the u-joint and shift cable bellows, and not the exhaust bellows. I assume the sender wire seal can allow water in, along with a leak in the hull.

So where else? I also assume that the gimbal housing seal can allow water in, along with bad gimbal housing bolts.

My local Mercruiser dealer is no help, they don't work on old boats ( this is 1986, they don't work on anything older than 2000--- What' up with that?)
Another Mercruiser dealer said just enjoy the boat and don't worry about it.
I can spend three to four hours on the water and I get a bit of water, not enough for the bilge pump to come on in the auto setting, but I can turn on the pump and it pumps out some water.

The boat use to be bone dry, and just want to get it addressed at some point. Looking for another Mercruiser expert in the Northwest that works on old boats. Is there a forum that deals with repair companies?

Any other advice is appreciated. I would think the water is coming in from the drive..... I don't see any hull damage. It does not leak water in when I run on the garden hose. I think the next step is to put water in the bilge at home and see if it leaks any water out.

Thanks

ROTTEN TRANSOM!

 

[vandentr]

I had a similar issue, but the rate of incoming water was steadily increasing. I looked at everything I could get to on my 34 year old boat, but could not actually see or hear the source, the water just kinda showed up.

It wound up being around the bottom of the transom plate due to a rotten transom and grossly corroded retaining bolts, pretty much all the way around the plate.

With the engine out and the Y-pipe removed I could push a screwdriver through the bowling pin hole into the transom "wood" all the way down to the fiberglass hull, it was like dense wet cardboard.

You can see in the first pic, after the firberglass skin was removed, that about 80% of the transom was compromised. The second pic shows the fiberglass of the transom after the wood had been removed (a lot of it collected in the bilge area) and before grinding began.

It's been a three year project to get her back in business...

 

[Fiat4Fun]

Ok, thanks for the feedback,
So this got me thinking, it's a 35 year boat, and the best way to find out what's going on is to have the motor pulled and look at the transom and other parts and pieces. I assume a boat with 1000 hrs on it would need some work. IF I got the motor pulled, I can see if the transom was bad. IF not, I could get the transom plate seal replaced, along with all the other seals and bellows and start fresh. I guest the motor could get a valve adjust, replace fuel pump, alternator and starter. Do the basic tune up stuff, hoses, etc.
IF the transom is bad, then I would need to get that work done, along with sealing stuff up.....as listed above.

Finding someone that is qualified to do this work could be adventure, so I will start to look around for that. Wonder what the cost would be?

This weekend, I pulled the exhaust couplers off one side of the motor since the Y pipe had a little bit of white residue on it, as you can see in the pictures. The flapper has not been changed ever, either have the rubber connectors or clamps. How often should those be replaced? They are not rock hard and look ok. But the comment about pressure running on a garden hose vs being the water got me thinking that this "could" be a source of water, but not likely. Seem easy enough to check out. Should I just replace them since I have it apart? I have new flappers since I was thinking about that a few years ago.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks again for the input.

 

[tank1949]

Ok, thanks for the feedback,
So this got me thinking, it's a 35 year boat, and the best way to find out what's going on is to have the motor pulled and look at the transom and other parts and pieces. I assume a boat with 1000 hrs on it would need some work. IF I got the motor pulled, I can see if the transom was bad. IF not, I could get the transom plate seal replaced, along with all the other seals and bellows and start fresh. I guest the motor could get a valve adjust, replace fuel pump, alternator and starter. Do the basic tune up stuff, hoses, etc.
IF the transom is bad, then I would need to get that work done, along with sealing stuff up.....as listed above.

Finding someone that is qualified to do this work could be adventure, so I will start to look around for that. Wonder what the cost would be?

This weekend, I pulled the exhaust couplers off one side of the motor since the Y pipe had a little bit of white residue on it, as you can see in the pictures. The flapper has not been changed ever, either have the rubber connectors or clamps. How often should those be replaced? They are not rock hard and look ok. But the comment about pressure running on a garden hose vs being the water got me thinking that this "could" be a source of water, but not likely. Seem easy enough to check out. Should I just replace them since I have it apart? I have new flappers since I was thinking about that a few years ago.

Any advice is appreciated. Thanks again for the input.

I feel your pain!!!!!!! Just take a 1/4" drill bit and drill a couple of small holes on the inside near where motor bolts up. If black/brown crud or water comes out, expect to pay 4-6 grand to REPLACE transom or get ready to work your butt off to replace it yourself. IT IS A JOB!