Water in the Bilge

[rocklydockly]

I have a 1995 5.7L I/O Rinker 232 BR with Bravo III outdrive. I was out on Lake Mead yesterday and noticed the automatic bilge pumping water out while my son and I were being towed on the tube. The kids and friends had been doing a fair amount of swimming from the boat, jumping off the sunpad, etc. So I initially thought it was runoff from the activities. I watched it carefully and it seemed that each time we were underway we would get water in the bilge. I started manually flipping the switch and pumping it out each time we would stop. We didn't seem to take on any water at rest. The water was lake temperature (84 deg.) not engine temperature (130 to 140 on the gauge). I looked it over while idling and could not see any obvious leaks. Operating temp seemed lower than normal, but I don't trust my memory on normal necessarily.

What are the likely things to look for? I'm thinking seawater pump or bellows? If bellows, I would think it would be more catastrophic. Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[rocklydockly]

Re: Water in the Bilge

Additional information if helpful:

ENGINE SER. # OF287508
TRANSOM SER. # OF513273
OUTDRIVE SER. # OF224039

BRAVO III RATIO 2.20

QUICKSILVER PROPS
48-823667 A6 26P
48-823668 A6 26P

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Water in the Bilge

You will have to get in there with a flashlight & look.....
If the bellows are full of water it can get past the input shaft pretty quickly......
Inspect your bellows for anything obvious.....​

 

[thrasher]

Re: Water in the Bilge

I second Haut Medoc, the bellows are the most likely place for any water to get into the bilge..

Gary

 

[etbill52]

Re: Water in the Bilge

Don't know what outside unit you have, This may not help any, but my boat did the same thing. when the outside unit was up any, water would come in, with it down it wasn't bad, got home and the shift cable had a rubber boot on it and it had come a part letting water in. This was on a Stern Drive Mercury mercuiser.

 

[Zackman]

Re: Water in the Bilge

What caught my attention in your post was the statement about only taking on water while underway. I had a similar problem and it turned out to be a thru hull transducer. It was installed years ago using only silicon and over the years the silicone broke down... Anyway, besides the bellows that you and others mentioned, you may want to check thru hulls like transducers and trim tabs.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Water in the Bilge

If you're not using the drive speedometer pitot and it's not capped, it will pee water into the bilge.


regards,


Rick

 

[Maj Easy 1]

Re: Water in the Bilge

just bought a 1992 four winns horizon, 200hp 5.0L ford cobra, holley carbs, omc stern drive.

i've used it only 2 times, 2 hours each time.

first time on the water, after 2 hours of use and while on the launching ramp i removed the transom plug and had to drain the bilge for about ten minutes!!

second time used, same thing, only this time i brought a gallon jug and found out i was taking on water at the rate of about 20 gallons an hour..... LOL

i'll be replacing all the bellows and then checking for leaks before taking it out on the lake again.....

don't believe some dealers when they say a used boat is "lake ready" and that everything has been thoroughly checked out...

BTW, my bilge pump's capacity would not be sufficent to keep my boat from sinking.... i'll be replacing the bilge pump or at lest cleaning it's screen filters...

 

[thrasher]

Re: Water in the Bilge

If it's any comfort. my bellows had 2 splits about 1/2 inch long and I was taking on water at about 10 to 15 gallons an hour. I replaced the bellows 3 weeks ago and have now taken the boat out 3 times, each time for 3 hours and when I removed the bilge drain NO water came out!! I skinned my knuckles several times changing the bellows, but it was worth it.. I have an alpha 1 gen 2 drive and the worst part was fitting the metal ring that holds the rear of the main drive bellow in place. If your drive has this ring I would recommend getting the proper tool to insert the ring. You will also need the tool to remove the bell housing pivot bolts and do check the gimbal bearing. If water has been coming in through the bellows it will have probably wrecked the gimbal bearing. Also check the bearings in the coupler.

Gary

 

[hal2814]

Re: Water in the Bilge

It might not be your bellows. I was taking on buckets of water and was very afraid of what I'd have to change out on the outdrive. It was the same situation as yours where the leak didn't happen while underway. I yanked the drive off and the bellows were as dry as could be. The next day, I noticed water gushing into the boat whenever someone was standing on the starboard side of the intergrated swim platform. Turns out there was a leak at the rubrail. When the very edge of the platform was submerged, it took on water. I confirmed it by spraying down the rub rail with a water hose and watching the water pour in. A hour or so with some 3M 4200 sealant at the rub rail and no more issues. I'd take a water hose to your rub rail and any other leak prone areas before yanking the drive to check the bellows. You can also put in the plug, fill the bilge area with water, and look for leaks. If it got in one way, it can probably get out that same way.

 

[Maj Easy 1]

Re: Water in the Bilge

It might not be your bellows. I was taking on buckets of water and was very afraid of what I'd have to change out on the outdrive. It was the same situation as yours where the leak didn't happen while underway. I yanked the drive off and the bellows were as dry as could be. The next day, I noticed water gushing into the boat whenever someone was standing on the starboard side of the intergrated swim platform. Turns out there was a leak at the rubrail. When the very edge of the platform was submerged, it took on water. I confirmed it by spraying down the rub rail with a water hose and watching the water pour in. A hour or so with some 3M 4200 sealant at the rub rail and no more issues. I'd take a water hose to your rub rail and any other leak prone areas before yanking the drive to check the bellows. You can also put in the plug, fill the bilge area with water, and look for leaks. If it got in one way, it can probably get out that same way.

THANKS!!!!!

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Water in the Bilge

It might not be your bellows. I was taking on buckets of water and was very afraid of what I'd have to change out on the outdrive. It was the same situation as yours where the leak didn't happen while underway. I yanked the drive off and the bellows were as dry as could be. The next day, I noticed water gushing into the boat whenever someone was standing on the starboard side of the intergrated swim platform. Turns out there was a leak at the rubrail. When the very edge of the platform was submerged, it took on water. I confirmed it by spraying down the rub rail with a water hose and watching the water pour in. A hour or so with some 3M 4200 sealant at the rub rail and no more issues. I'd take a water hose to your rub rail and any other leak prone areas before yanking the drive to check the bellows. You can also put in the plug, fill the bilge area with water, and look for leaks. If it got in one way, it can probably get out that same way.

This I would not do......
Unless it is the hull leaking, you would have to fill the engine compatment up to the coupler, that would submerge your starter.....
Not reccomended.....
But the rest of his advice is good.....
You will just have to get in there with a flashlight & look.....
It may require removing the back seats, but that will be nothing compared to what damage could be done......

 

[hal2814]

Re: Water in the Bilge

This I would not do......
Unless it is the hull leaking, you would have to fill the engine compatment up to the coupler, that would submerge your starter.....
Not reccomended.....
But the rest of his advice is good.....
You will just have to get in there with a flashlight & look.....
It may require removing the back seats, but that will be nothing compared to what damage could be done......

Whoa.... by bilge area I just meant the area where the bilge water collects. I did not mean to fill up to the engine. I have a speedo cable, depth finder and drain plug that lie below that water line. If one of those are leaking, filling up ONLY THE AREA THAT YOU CAN SAFELY ALLOW BILGE WATER would've found it. Sorry if I misled anyone.

 

[Maj Easy 1]

Re: Water in the Bilge

another thread on replacing the shift tube bellows

with the bellows replacement guide