Water in the bilge on my OMC 4.3

[4Winns2]

Just splashed her Friday night. She sat on the mooring overnight, or roughly 20 hours, and pumped like 6 gallons out of the bilge the following day. She was dry as a bone the last two seasons and now I'm not sure where the leak is. It appears not to be engine related since it was just sitting there while it gathered all of this water. Pulled her out of the water and put 4 or 5 gallons of water in the bilge with the garden hose while on the trailer to see where she might be leaking. I haven't had a chance to look closely at her tonight so we'll see if this strategy gives me a leak location tomorrow.

The only related things I did to it before splashing was a new impeller and put a new speedometer sensor on the hull- -sealed the screws with silicone but those three holes couldn't let that amount in on 20 hours.

Went through my OMC service manual to see where the failure points (e.g. transom assembly) are and I'm still at a loss. Looked around other forums and this one (which I think is the best) but can't seemed to pinpoint what failure points should be examined. Any help or suggestions are greatly appreciated.

 

[JoChek219]

Re: Water in the bilge on my OMC 4.3

bellows? not sure if OMC has bellows or the Boot for the drive...I'm sure some of the OMC guys will chime in and help you out

 

[4Winns2]

Re: Water in the bilge on my OMC 4.3

bellows?

JoChek219:

Thanks for the reply. Hmmm, are there other points of leak failure other than the bellows I could look for?

Auburn, NY!! I was just there today looking for a gas filter for my father's MercCruiser. Didn't know that the Merc dealer on the river there went out of business. We're over in Mandana on Skaneateles- -small world on the net somedays.

 

[LTP]

Re: Water in the bilge on my OMC 4.3

make sure you check all your hoses and hose connectors cause sometimes a bad hose or a leak will trickle and collect over time like that,

but i think probably check the boot, make sure all the sealant is good, it might be time for a new boat and/or sealer but wait to see what the experts say before you do anything

 

[4Winns2]

Re: Water in the bilge on my OMC 4.3

make sure you check all your hoses and hose connectors cause sometimes a bad hose or a leak will trickle and collect over time like that,

but i think probably check the boot, make sure all the sealant is good, it might be time for a new boat and/or sealer but wait to see what the experts say before you do anything

Thanks, I'll give the hoses a once over. However, the boat was put on the mooring for 20 hour(roughly a third of a gallon per hour leaking in) and over that time is when the water came in- -no engine, no circulation pressure to push through hoses.

As I mentioned, I filled the bilge with 4 or 5 gallons of water after I put her back on the trailer so I can, hopefully, see where the leak is.

New boat? Nah, this 90' 4 Winns is paid for and a lot of sweat equity in as well. I'd love a new boat though, just have to forget about nooky from the wife for a couple of years LOL.

 

[LTP]

Re: Water in the bilge on my OMC 4.3

good point about the hoses, that was stupid of me haha,
unless there is a leak in the hull which i would doubt i would guess the boot has to be the cause or the sealant is going bad.

 

[JoChek219]

Re: Water in the bilge on my OMC 4.3

make sure you bilge works if you leave it in the water, but I'd fix it before mooring it again

 

[4Winns2]

Re: Water in the bilge on my OMC 4.3

good point about the hoses, that was stupid of me haha,
unless there is a leak in the hull which i would doubt i would guess the boot has to be the cause or the sealant is going bad.

Leak in the hull? I pulled out some Marine bondo and did a little patching below the water line towards the bow but I'm pretty sure it's around the transom since nothing is wet up front in the boat. I also inspected the entire hull when I took her out last season and again before the splash Friday. The hull is in great shape for a 17 year old boat. Thanks for the input. It seems those contributing so far are going for a boot problem. I'm just hoping it will be simple (yeah, not my luck!) so I don't have to pull the drive and transom assembly- ouch that would be.

 

[4Winns2]

Re: Water in the bilge on my OMC 4.3

make sure you bilge works if you leave it in the water, but I'd fix it before mooring it again

Thanks. I don't have an auto bilge and if I did it would drain the batt to nothing in about 6 hours at the rate water is coming in the boat. She's safe on the trailer (and I'll sleep tonight at home in Syracuse) and it won't see Skaneateles again until it is fixed. Fortunately, I've got my backup- -13' Duranautic with a 99' Johnson 15hhp- -until she is fixed. Thanks brother.

 

[LTP]

Re: Water in the bilge on my OMC 4.3

i replaced my boot just the other day, your boat is newer than mine but i beleive it is pretty much the same, your going to have to pull the whole outdrive off, at least thats what the shop manual says for it,
to pull the outboard you have to undo the trunnion bolts but you need to label them so you now which side is the top and right and left, i would order a shop manual before you do any of this

once the outdrive is off you unscrew the screws and then you must pry the boot off because of the sealant, then you have to clean the area with aceytone and then reinstall the new boot

as i said order a shop manual or find someone that has done it before that you can talk to alot and when you need help

 

[4Winns2]

Re: Water in the bilge on my OMC 4.3

i replaced my boot just the other day, your boat is newer than mine but i beleive it is pretty much the same, your going to have to pull the whole outdrive off, at least thats what the shop manual says for it,
to pull the outboard you have to undo the trunnion bolts but you need to label them so you now which side is the top and right and left, i would order a shop manual before you do any of this

once the outdrive is off you unscrew the screws and then you must pry the boot off because of the sealant, then you have to clean the area with aceytone and then reinstall the new boot

as i said order a shop manual or find someone that has done it before that you can talk to alot and when you need help

Good stuff LTP. I assume that it fixed your problem and the problem was similiar to mine. I've got the Seloc manual for OMC (not OMC but pretty decent manual) and I've already looked over the process for pulling the drive. I've done it with my father's MercCruiser Alpha One a couple of times years ago and it wasn't too bad.

I'm hoping that by filling the bilge with water a little, we'll be able to see the orgin of the leak; and, I would assume if it's the boot (which looks pretty new, for whatever that's worth) I'll be able to see at least a drip coming out.

If it turns out that it (the outdrive) needs to be pulled, I may just have the local marina do it and bite the labor cost. I don't know what the projected time needed to do this is but it's a lot less than me doing it. I'm guessing a pro can have it off, replace boot and back on within an hour to an hour and a half- -plus, they have the right tools. Thanks for contributing.

 

[LTP]

Re: Water in the bilge on my OMC 4.3

well mine had an obvious rip in it, and i used a selco manual to do it,
it took me and my dad like an hour or two to get it off and something like 4 to 5 hours reinstalling it including installing the boot, but i had my drive completely torn apart so it is probably only 2 hours,
filling the bilge is a good idea.

 

[4Winns2]

Re: Water in the bilge on my OMC 4.3

well mine had an obvious rip in it, and i used a selco manual to do it,
it took me and my dad like an hour or two to get it off and something like 4 to 5 hours reinstalling it including installing the boot, but i had my drive completely torn apart so it is probably only 2 hours,
filling the bilge is a good idea.

I love "obvious" problems: less troubleshooting stress, right? It sounds as though you did more work to the drive when you had it off other than just the goal of replacing the boot. I remember what a pain it was lining that MercCruiser up for installation but it wasn't 4-5 hours; although, it felt like it since we had to make quite a few runs at the line with the spline.

I'm going to call around tomorrow and get some estimates on this type of work. Got to believe those pros can knock out such a job in just over an hour- -they do it most everyday after all.

 

[LTP]

Re: Water in the bilge on my OMC 4.3

yea i put a whole new upper unit in it,
and those hours include greasing stuff up, adding oil, running to the store to get more oil cause you didn't get enough the first time, etc
i think if you have a dealer close and the $$$$ go for it, cause unless you have an extra person to grab tools, hold stuff, etc it would be a pain.
well good luck i hope that fixes the problem

 

[4Winns2]

Re: Water in the bilge on my OMC 4.3

yea i put a whole new upper unit in it,
and those hours include greasing stuff up, adding oil, running to the store to get more oil cause you didn't get enough the first time, etc
i think if you have a dealer close and the $$$$ go for it, cause unless you have an extra person to grab tools, hold stuff, etc it would be a pain.
well good luck i hope that fixes the problem

Thanks man. I'll see what the estimated $$ numbers are on the work before I decide to do it myself or pay for it. Don't know for sure that this is the problem so I'm hoping my fill the bilge test will reveal something good. You're right, it is at least a two man job. Now, where did I leave that chain fall last?

 

[Lyndy]

Re: Water in the bilge on my OMC 4.3

Let us know the time quoted. After replacing mine by the Manual, my guess is 2-3 hours soup to nuts

 

[Lyndy]

Re: Water in the bilge on my OMC 4.3

Also, when checking that boot, move and stretch it best you can. The boot is rather thick and has some deep nooks and crevices.

There is a huge hose clamp the holds the boot to the Intermediate Casing. Since you mentioned that it looked new so maybe it was improperly tightened. Hopefully you will be able to look at from inside the boat.

 

[4Winns2]

Re: Water in the bilge on my OMC 4.3

Also, when checking that boot, move and stretch it best you can. The boot is rather thick and has some deep nooks and crevices.

There is a huge hose clamp the holds the boot to the Intermediate Casing. Since you mentioned that it looked new so maybe it was improperly tightened. Hopefully you will be able to look at from inside the boat.

I'm going to call a few local marinas and get those estimates today. I'll post them once I've made the calls.

I'll take your advice on the inspection of the boot. I'm just hoping that I can pinpoint the spot by the water leaking back out of the boat via my fill the bilge test on the trailer.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Water in the bilge on my OMC 4.3

If thats a 1990 model boat then it is probably a Cobra drive and does not have the rubber boot!
Most leaks come from the u-joint bellows or shift cable bellows.
If you have not changed them or don't know how old they are its probably needed anyway.
Pull the drive and see if you have water in the u-joint bellows. If it does you will need to replace the u-joints too.

 

[4Winns2]

Re: Water in the bilge on my OMC 4.3

If thats a 1990 model boat then it is probably a Cobra drive and does not have the rubber boot!
Most leaks come from the u-joint bellows or shift cable bellows.
If you have not changed them or don't know how old they are its probably needed anyway.
Pull the drive and see if you have water in the u-joint bellows. If it does you will need to replace the u-joints too.

Thanks Gary. You're right on the Cobra drive (4.3 litre) on this 90' model Four Winns. Can the work you mention on the u-joint bellows or shift cable bellows, or both, be done by just taking off the drive and these parts will be accessible? Yeah, if I'm going to change bellow(s) while the drive is off then I'm going to replace the u-joints too since they've gotten an H2O bath.