Help with my H2O leak please!!!!!!

[Bhamil]

Re: Help with my H2O leak please!!!!!!

No doubt that's a hole, and from appearances, the hole was created from the inside out. No matter, though, I highly recommend taking it to a pro; not worth the risk you could run trying to save money doing it yourself. You can fix the hole but you still have to deal with the cause and effect. Just my opinion. You are obviously a smart guy and innovative and you've provided excellent documentation of the problem. Just the same, take it to a pro, please, to be repaired!

 

[johnkc]

Re: Help with my H2O leak please!!!!!!

the y pipe is made of aluminum,you will have to remove the engine to fix by getting the hole welded shut or replace the y pipe .welding has worked well on several that i have done ,if you can locate a good welder.water is always in the exhaust bellows ,whether there is a hole in them or not,think about it,as the boat sits still in the water, the water level comes up the y pipe.that is why it is acceptable to use the exhaust TUBE instead of bellows.a bellows reduces noise compared to the tube.what caused the hole is parts of the flappers got out of place and lodged down there and wore a hole thru.good luck

 

[outboardguy]

Re: Help with my H2O leak please!!!!!!

John is absolutely right you must pull the engine to change Y pipe. But if you were really bored and wanted to see the piece that caused all of your problems,you could pull the drive and look up into the exhaust bellows and there it will be.I try to always take a look in every boat I work on so that I can possibly remove the broken piece of flapper before it causes this type of damage.By the way the new replacement flappers will be made out of plastic coated with rubber so when they fail there is little or no chance for a repeat occurance of the Y Pipe leak. Good L uck

 

[outboardguy]

Re: Help with my H2O leak please!!!!!!

The first time I ran across the hole in the Y-pipe phenomenon, the customers complaint was leaking water.My boss tells me to put a new short shift cable and bellows.After completing the job I put the boat in the water only to find it leaking like mad.That is when I found the Y-pipe and had to tell the cutomer he wouldn't have his boat for a little while longer,as well as he'd have to spend more money.

 

[Walt T]

Re: Help with my H2O leak please!!!!!!

Try some JB weld

 

[skicat]

Re: Help with my H2O leak please!!!!!!

When did Mercruiser change the flappers to rubber coated plastic? Just wondering if I should be worried about a possible hole in my y-pipe.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Help with my H2O leak please!!!!!!

All Good Posts,+ Great Ideas.....<br />But, Not that I think it's your Problem......<br />The Bellows in the last photo IS Going to be a Problem Very Soon......<br />Awful Lot of Dry-Rot going on in the grooves.....<br /><br />After you fix the hole in the Y-pipe, You'd Better Address the Rotten Bellows......

 

[mercrewser]

Re: Help with my H2O leak please!!!!!!

Yep, absolutely. Any body recommend a bellows replacement schedule? Or do you guys do what I do and replace them on a used boat you buy and then 4-5 years after. Anyhow, address them bellows at the same time as that y pipe before you have real problems.

 

[outboardguy]

Re: Help with my H2O leak please!!!!!!

Skicat I'm not exactly sure when merc went to the new style of flappers, but if you need a part # I can get it for you, let me know.Yes I would be concerned if you have the metal ones especially if the engine has ever run without water(overheat).It should be fairly simple to check, just take off two hose clamps from top of elbow and then remove all four clamps from elbow/Y-pipe coupling. Next use a screwdriver carefully and pry the rubber from the metal all the way around(it may help to drop liquid soap in there). When it is loose you should be able to push it down the Y-pipe,once it is clear of the elbow grab the elbow and twist side to side until it comes out of the manifold.Now look into the Y-pipe if you see a flat metal piece held in with a pin remove and replace with kit,if you see a plastic piece that looks like a butterfly you are cool, lastly if you only see only a pin then the flapper has already broken and may well be boring a hole in the pipe .In that case you must remove drive and retrieve piece through exhaust bellows.

 

[bluewater19]

Re: Help with my H2O leak please!!!!!!

I had the same hole develop in my y pipe. I don't know if you have the room or not but I cleaned up the area with a piece of 80 grit sandpaper on a wooden dowl with a drill. then applied jb weld with a plastic syringe. It stopped the leak. I don't know if this is bad for your boat but I didn't want to pull my motor at the time.

 

[skicat]

Re: Help with my H2O leak please!!!!!!

Would it be possible to use those compression clamps that the water companies use to fix leaks in water pipes?

 

[Bhamil]

Re: Help with my H2O leak please!!!!!!

Skicat; assume you fix the hole externally with clamps, JB weld, whatever...what caused the hole in the first place? How can you stop it from happening again? That would be my initial worry, the easy part is fixing the hole!

 

[fireship1]

Re: Help with my H2O leak please!!!!!!

Hello, I know it is tempting to patch the hole and take the boat out and forget that you even had a problem. Theoretically it might work but keep this in mind, the exhaust flappers are in that pipe to keep following seas from shooting up the pipe and being backwashed into the engine. Regardless of weather you repair the pipe or replace it, do yourself a BIG favor. Make sure that you replace the flapper valve back in the pipe where it belongs! Don't take a shortcut here it will come back to haunt you in the form of a replacement engine!

 

[Atropine]

Re: Help with my H2O leak please!!!!!!

Thanks everyone for all the help. You guys are great. I want to repair this right for 2 reasons: 1) I don't want to have a worry in the back of my mind constantly about when my plug job may fail, and 2) I am concerned about what caused this hole initially. I am on vacation right now, but when I get home next week I will begin the teardown/replacement process. I think I am going to do it myself, not just for cost savings but because I like knowing how my vehicles work and it makes me more confident in being able to make underway repairs if I know my vehicle. I have a pretty good amount of experience in tearing apart/rebuilding/modifiying the drivetrains of cars/trucks, so this honestly shouldn't be that difficult. Pulling the motor doesn't look that difficult, I just have to get a hold of a motor lift that will do the job. The Clymer manual has a different removal procedure for boats equipped with a driveshaft extension vs. no driveshaft extension. But they do not describe how to determine if your boat has the extension or not. It appears to me that I do not have the driveshaft extension. I also plan to replace at least the exhaust bellows, and possibly the shift boot bellows. The driveshaft bellows is in very good shape still, so I will probably try to leave it alone. I guess I won't know more about the flappers until I get things torn apart. I would like to replace the y-pipe with a new one with the new style flappers. Anyone have part numbers and/or rough price estimates on these parts? Thanks again for all your help.<br />Sam

 

[Bondo]

Re: Help with my H2O leak please!!!!!!

"The Clymer manual "<br />Tip #1....<br />Search ebay... You should be able to find yourself a Factory Mercruiser Manual....<br /><br />"driveshaft extension vs. no driveshaft extension."<br />You Don't.....<br /><br />"I also plan to replace at least the exhaust bellows, and possibly the shift boot bellows. The driveshaft bellows is in very good shape still, so I will probably try to leave it alone."<br />Tip #2.....<br />It's a Bi+ch of a Job.... Busted Knuckles,+ ALL....<br />If you're going to Open the Gimbal Ring/Transom Shield,<br />Do It All.... All the Boots... And the Lower Shift Cable Too...<br />Trust Me... Once every 5/6 years is Plenty...... <br /><br />"I would like to replace the y-pipe with a new one with the new style flappers."<br />Again, Ebay is the place....<br /><br />"Anyone have part numbers" <br />Any Alpha Y-pipe, Your year or newer.....<br />matter of fact, I Think the Alpha 1s are All the Same..... <br /><br />"and/or rough price estimates on these parts?"<br />At Ebay prices run from Dirt Cheap...<br />to Stupid Expensive......