78 Aristocraft 19teen transom leaking...... oh boy....

[kanada]

At the end of last season noticed more and more water gathers in the bilge... So I was on the quest to find out the source. Engine in the boat is the infamous 470. I replaced the heat 3" heat exchanger (internal leak) with 4" used unit, but that is another story....

Seemed that water gathers only while running, not fishing in one spot.
I put the plug in and ran the engine on muffs - no internal leaks no cracked exhaust pipes.....
So today we took the boat to the river ramp 5 mins from the house, put the trailer in the water until the water was above the transom assembly. Looked really long - no leaks anywhere....

So just for kicks I started the engine... and with engine vibrating the transom - we see water. Not we have found the leak, but it is in the transom. Stuck my hand in there and snapped couple cell phone pics:
Port

Starboard

I will be pulling out the engine this weekend to gain access. Can the only cause be rotten wood? Looks like a bolt is leaking where a stud should be....

 

[Bondo]

Re: 78 Aristocraft 19teen transom leaking...... oh boy....

I will be pulling out the engine this weekend to gain access. Can the only cause be rotten wood? Looks like a bolt is leaking where a stud should be....

Ayuh,.... That's My guess, but you'll know this weekend....

 

[kanada]

Re: 78 Aristocraft 19teen transom leaking...... oh boy....

Weekend planned engine removal did not happen.
Went drift fishing instead. The whole trip came together in 30 minutes drinking beer friday night with a friend.
We had a blast drifting down Chattahoochee river in an inflatable 2 man raft/boat thingy.

Best fishing trip so far

 

[kanada]

Re: 78 Aristocraft 19teen transom leaking...... oh boy....

Today I had couple hours and pulled the engine out. Took a bunch of pics to remember how some of things are hooked together.... The bigest challenge was clearing the gunnel.... had to let air out of the trailer tires to gain the last inch.

First step to take of MC1 outdrive:

take out the seats:

then disconnect all the wiring, water input hose, fuel line and loosen the clamps on the exhaust elbow to riser tube.

 

[kanada]

Re: 78 Aristocraft 19teen transom leaking...... oh boy....

ready to come out

hoist in place

 

[kanada]

Re: 78 Aristocraft 19teen transom leaking...... oh boy....

One ich too looooowwwwww

no air in tires magic....

 

[kanada]

Re: 78 Aristocraft 19teen transom leaking...... oh boy....

Exhaust elbos has no flappers of course....

Hydrolic oil is leaking from the trim system through the transom seam.....

Do these disconnect in there somehow?

Ski locker has a drain with 4" galvanized metal pipe inside.... it is not sealed up at the ski locker end properly

Will epoxy stick to it? I need to create a water tight seam here....

 

[kanada]

Re: 78 Aristocraft 19teen transom leaking...... oh boy....

Engine is leaking oil in the area towards the back of the lifter cover or the intake manifold.....
Will need to take a etter look in the daylight....

Is this a common place for 470 to leak?

 

[kanada]

Re: 78 Aristocraft 19teen transom leaking...... oh boy....

And the last item I noticed today - Front engine mount looks shot

Is there a rubber insert inside?

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 78 Aristocraft 19teen transom leaking...... oh boy....

kanada - That drain in the ski locker isn't a drain. It's part of the bilge ventilation. If I remember the 4" hose comes up behind the battery to starboard.

Also some good news - the transom is 100% fiberglass, absolutely no wood. 9teens have no wood except the seats and one small piece in the bow. Now that's not saying you don't have some glass to repair but I think the problem is sealing to the stern in nature. Or a bad hose. You are going to have tear down some more, same as doing a bellows repair.

The pic where you asked "Do these disconnect in there somehow?" shows the trim hoses. The connect from the trim pump to a manifold that feeds the four hoses to the trim cylinders. You need a manual showing the parts breakdown. I don't remember how they attach. I'm working from memory from like 10 years ago when I had a 9teen with a 120 GM motor. Basically from the transom shield to the prop are the same, not exactly but basically. The guys like Bond-o know way more than I do.

Hope this helps you some.

 

[kanada]

Re: 78 Aristocraft 19teen transom leaking...... oh boy....

There are two 4" "holes" to the ski locker.
One for ventilation, where blower sucks air by the battery - is is curved and ends on the side of the ski locker.

This one is a strait shot from the back of ski locker to the bilge. somebody did some repairs and put in this galvanized pipe in place.
My fist choice would ha been a pvc pipe..... Originally it was a fabric hose with steel wire, as it is in the other curved hole to the blower.

I will probably fill that curved hole with foam and gall is both ends. Blower can suck air from the bilge area, since the other 4" hole connects the ski to the ski locker there....

Maybe somebody will chime in if poly or epoxy will stick to galvanized HD chimney pipe

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: 78 Aristocraft 19teen transom leaking...... oh boy....

Your ski locker sounds like it might different than mine was. I had one vent hose and the bow end had a drain. A PO used a small rubber sink stopper for a plug.

Looking back at the pic again it looks like the second vent/drain is a PO add-on.

 

[Oldrod 47]

Re: 78 Aristocraft 19teen transom leaking...... oh boy....

will you be freshening the 470? or repowering? Will be following this thread. Know of at least one 470 replaced with I6 250

Oldrod 47

Ziggy-where are you?

 

[kanada]

Re: 78 Aristocraft 19teen transom leaking...... oh boy....

Will be plugging up some oil leaks on this 470. It already has rebuilt carb, rebuild mechanical pump, rebuilt starter, rebuilt trim pump, new senders for oil and temp, new gauges, new used 4" exchanger..... you get the picture....

Will freshen up some gaskets and such and engine will be good as new. It is running strong so no point in changing..... We joke that the strator and coil are the only untouched electrical parts that had not failed yet in the ear we owning her.

Now just need to find couple more hours to take off the transom assembly and probably just replace some gaskets there.....
Tried to poke at the transom - solid as should be.....
Any rubber piece I touch is brittle and dried up... grommets over electrical connections just fall apart when touched....

She is 35 years old so no surprise there.

 

[kanada]

Re: 78 Aristocraft 19teen transom leaking...... oh boy....

Went out and killed it today. Removed the transom assembly..... and found this:

bottom bolds have just a little rust... second bottom row - more then half of the meat is rusted out....

 

[kanada]

Re: 78 Aristocraft 19teen transom leaking...... oh boy....

gasket is non existent....

Need some advise on how to fix this.

Here is the problemo:

transom is curved, on the inside I see this:

transom curve starts above blue line.
wet is below red line

I am thinking to cut at the blue line and replace the bottom portion of the wood if the upper portion is not rotted.
If it is... some creative woodworking will be needed....

How much of epoxy and fiberglass I would need if I cut at the blue line down?

 

[Oldrod 47]

Re: 78 Aristocraft 19teen transom leaking...... oh boy....

Bummer!!!!!

Keep up the great pictures and narrative. Intensly interested-been looking at a A19 with a similar problem. Looks like the gasket failure was the cause--????? Appears to be fixable

 

[kanada]

How to lay up the material on transom

How to lay up the material on transom

Hey there transom replacement gurus!
I am calculating material needs fro transom replacement and need some info on how to laminate in new transom wood.

to replace transom I am planing on doing this:

- outer skin
- peanut butter mix
- ( plywood : 2 sheets glued together and completely covered in epoxy )
- 1708 over wood and transom

is this enough or do I need another layer of 1708 on the inside?

Planing on using epoxy since area is small I will need to plug a buch of other small holes with peanut butter and want good bond to existing fiberglass and aluminum (some drainage piping by PO).

 

[kanada]

Re: How to lay up the material on transom

Re: How to lay up the material on transom

So no advice on the layup of the transom?

here is what I found once the skin was peeled off:

Looks like some attempted repairs here allready. I do not think this is factory original job. There is a second fiberglass skin underneath thin layer of plywood. At the bottom there is fiberglass layup over the gellcote that is peeling off....

 

[GA_Boater]

Re: How to lay up the material on transom

Re: How to lay up the material on transom

kanada - I think you should replace all the ply in the transom. Half won't cut it, I fear. If the lower part is rotted, capillary action has drawn water up to the top of the wood. So the best bet is total plywood replacement. You've gone this far so all the way isn't much more. Hopefully some of the more knowledgeable folks will weigh in. How thick is the outer glass at the keyhole?

EDIT - The reason I ask about the thickness is because the Mercruiser has a min/max transom thickness requirement.