Boat taking on water FAST. Fried transom?

[md-lucky]

I got the boat back in the water yesterday, and it is taking on water. Fast.

From what I can tell, it is coming in at the back of the engine, where the drive bolts up to the transmon. I stuck my hands back as far as I could and tried to feel around, but I can barely get my fingers to touch where it is leaking in.

When I pulled it out of the water, it looked like it was leaking out at the very bottom of the outdrive where it bolts up to the transom.

My plan is to fill the bildge with water and check it over as best I can now that it is out of the water and on the trailer.

My fear: the transom is shot, the drive has punched a hole through it, and the water is leaking through the hole/stress crack.

Assuming that is the worse case scenario, what else can I check in the mean time? If the transom is shot, I will need to pull both the drive and the engine to really see what I'm up against. I'm assuming I would need to cut out the old stuff, repair the fiberglass, install new wood, re-seal, and put it all back together. The work doesn't conern me, but I have no place to do that type of a rebuild.

Any suggestions on where to start before I rip the engine and drive out? Any other simple ideas that come up from time to time?

 

[Five O'Clock]

Re: Boat taking on water FAST. Fried transom?

sometimes the simple things are overlooked and can do the trick: did you put ALL drain plugs back in?

 

[Adjuster]

Re: Boat taking on water FAST. Fried transom?

First thing is to check your outdrive bellows. You also have a large rubber seal in the outer transom plate.

 

[md-lucky]

Re: Boat taking on water FAST. Fried transom?

All plus are good. I checked and double checked all plugs.

The large rubber seal in the outer transom plate sounds very promising from what I'm seeing. I'm assuming this is a seal that allows you to bolt the outdrive to the engine, pressing that seal against the fiberglass? I was not sure if there was a seal there.. Now that I know, it sounds much more promising.

The leak looks like it is a thin line, rather than a hole. The way the water comes in, it is more like a 2" space than a round spurt of water coming through a hole. Make sense?

The bildge pump moves water out faster than it comes in, but I'm going to have to figure something out. I don't like how fast it does fill up.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Boat taking on water FAST. Fried transom?

if it is a bellows, it will get worse and the bilge pump will not keep up. get the boat out of the water.

 

[md-lucky]

Re: Boat taking on water FAST. Fried transom?

Bellows replaced by pulling the outdrive?

I've got 2 manuals on the way

 

[Lou C]

Re: Boat taking on water FAST. Fried transom?

I'd go to the crowley marine site I gave you on the other thread. It has the procedure from the OMC shop manual for pulling the drive. Then look in the drivehsaft bellows to see if there is water in there. If so you must replace the bellows, but still that's the easiest outcome here. The transom seal that was mentioned is not the seal where the drive bolts to the pivot mount, that's just a thin paper gasket. The transom seal goes inside the transom mount and requires an engine pull to replace. More likely to be a bellows.