1994 Four Winns Freedom 170 leaking from outdrive

[jkatzman]

Hi All,
First time poster here, so be gentle. I have been lurking the forums for a bit and would like to say this site is amazing and is truly a wealth of knowledge.

I recently purchased a 94 Four Winns Freedom 170, that had been sitting a in garage for ~2years. After lots of messing with the carbs and replacement of just about every hose (they were all rotted), we got the boat to fire up. It has the 3.0L Volvo w/Cobra SX outdrive. Motor is running like a top we decide to float test and everything looked good or so we thought. The first run out we blew the recirc pump on the front of the motor and had to replace that, total of about 10min on the water. Decided it was time to repair all the pieces to make sure we did not damage the motor.

New: Impeller, Thermostat, Thermostat housing, hoses, trim sender, shift cable.

Once out the second time out, we were going on a plane, for about 20min and the boat was performing well, then started to porpoise badly out of no where. Open the engine hatch to find A LOT of water in the bilge. The float valve had not turned the bilge on, even though we tested this in the driveway before hand. Anyhow, kick the bilge on manually and we get the water out. Leave the hatch open and watch, to see more water coming in, we decided it was time to abort mission and head back to the dock. It was later and the sun was going down, so we decided that we would test another day on the trailer and see if the motor was leaking or the boat was leaking, Needless to say, I've found the leak and it's coming from the bearing plate (i believe), the v-shaped plate at the bottom of the transom, inside the hull.

I am not new to boats, but I am new to I/O boats, I've only owned O/B's. Any help/guidance would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers,
John

https://photos.app.goo.gl/J3YwJ8J6Auc32YrX8 - Video of the leak in action

 

[tpenfield]

Transom assembly . . . Looks 'interesting' in that the leak is coming through a hole in the assembly, just below one of the mounting studs.

Some possibilities are:

1) Leaking outer seal on the transom assembly

2) Rotting transom

You could drill a couple of small (1/4") test holes into the transom (about 1/2" deep) around the area where it is leaking to see what you get in terms of drill shavings. See picture below

If the shavings are wet, or mush, or you get water out of the test holes, then you probably have a rotting transom. If not, then maybe it is the seal. The engine would have to come out so you can get at the transom assembly and take that apart.

Anywhere else that it is leaking? that does not seem like a very large leak that would fill the bilge in a short time. If there are other areas of leakage post those. Sometimes it can be a tear in the bellow, which will leak through the transom assembly, but those are usually around the drive shaft, not at the outer edge of the transom cut-out.

Post more pics/video if you got them.

 

[jkatzman]

Thanks for the reply tpenfield!

I haven't gotten to take the boat out and film at the same time, but I believe it leaks much faster when moving. It took less than 5min to fill the bilge enough to kick the float switch up. The bilge pump can easily handle the leak, but that is far besides the point.

I have the local marina who changed the shift cable and trim sender looking in the reason. I specifically let them know I thought there was a leak and they said they didn't see one on a lake test. I didn't have the video at the time, but figured they would easily see it (I guess not). Either way, they checked the entire boat when I brought it in, I wanted it ran through and they checked the engine and hull. They said nothing about rot and were working in that area the whole time. I truly believe that it's not rotten, but you never know.

There was a small gap near the bottom of the drive, I checked with a business card. I think the previous owner may have hit something, the prop is scored, it may have damaged the seal. I do not have anymore photos yet.

John

 

[jkatzman]

Update: Drilled he holes and they were dry!

I began to check the transom bolts which were extremely loose, as in requiring zero effort to tighten. This immediately began to close the gap (checked with paper). I can only see 4 nuts accessible to tighten. Man that port side lower (under the exhaust is wicked hard to get too!), but I got it tightened the best I can by hand.

The leak has all but stopped, I do see a tiny trickle every now and then. Is there any suggestions besides maybe attempting to tighten a bit more or 3M 5200 the outside?