MAYDAY! HELP! Water leaking into the bilge from this hole in the transom bracket!?

[89cruisers]

Last year I had some drive work done on my Bayliner after an outdrive impact, about a month after, the Bayliner started leaking in water and at a significant rate. It's very hard to see from inside the boat, but I found the water to be leaking in from the hole in the middle of this bracket which sits right below the transom bracket. You can only see the hole using mirrors, and took the pics just by guessing the area where to shoot, where does this area lead to? and what is broken that needs to be fixed to stop this leak?

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: MAYDAY! HELP! Water leaking into the bilge from this hole in the transom bracket!

Last year I had some drive work done on my Bayliner after an outdrive impact, about a month after, the Bayliner started leaking in water and at a significant rate............what is broken that needs to be fixed to stop this leak?

Howdy,


It could be anything including a leak in your exhaust down-pipe.....

If you cannot positively identify where it'c coming from, it could be anything from a crack in the transom mount to a rotten transom (which would be a leak through the transom seal).

The fix will then most likely be pulling the drive, engine and transom mount (in that order) to investigate the "rot".

It may be a simple as resealing the transom seal.....but considering that you had a drive impact, it's also likely related to that.

Sorry for being vague......but unless you can actually see a leak from an obvious source, it's VERY hard to speculate......


Regards,


Rick

 

[Don S]

Re: MAYDAY! HELP! Water leaking into the bilge from this hole in the transom bracket!

Are you sure that hole is where the leak is? It is the lowest spot, and that is where any water from anywhere on the transom plate would show up at.
As an example, look at the rust stains on the exhaust that would drip into that area.
Best be would be put it in the water and when it starts leaking, then take some pictures to see where the water is coming from.

 

[89cruisers]

Re: MAYDAY! HELP! Water leaking into the bilge from this hole in the transom bracket!

Already did that last summer, and the only visible area that water could be seen running down is from that hole in the plate, so that is where I can identifiy it as coming from, this is from litterally a couple hours with using mirrors, and cameras to try to find something, and all that was seen was it pouring in through that hole and leaks all the time, not just when running, I know for sure the boat is not rotten (been garage stored its whole life, never used in the rain, only 300 hours, etc. etc.)

 

[Don S]

Re: MAYDAY! HELP! Water leaking into the bilge from this hole in the transom bracket!

If that is where it's coming from, it could be the y pipe or the transom shield leaking. At this point, you pull the drive, the engine, the y pipe and look for cracks or broken bolt tabs (Possible impact damage). If nothing obvious, put the Y pipe back on, the drive back on, and back the boat down in the water and see if you can see what is leaking. Don't go in deeper than the top of the Y pipes with their hoses on them. With the engine out of the way, it will be easy to find the leak. If it is still coming in, then you have to pull the complete transom shield and inspect for cracks. Replace the seal. Check the transom for damage and rot before putting everything back together.

 

[89cruisers]

Re: MAYDAY! HELP! Water leaking into the bilge from this hole in the transom bracket!

Well being that its a 3.0, only one pipe, but since it does not leak in while on land and running, would that narrow that out of the question? When I took it back to them, they said they inspected everything around the drive and that it was all dry. I was thinking about just caulking around the rim of the gimbal housing where it meets the transom

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: MAYDAY! HELP! Water leaking into the bilge from this hole in the transom bracket!

Well being that its a 3.0, only one pipe, but since it does not leak in while on land and running, would that narrow that out of the question? When I took it back to them, they said they inspected everything around the drive and that it was all dry. I was thinking about just caulking around the rim of the gimbal housing where it meets the transom

No, the pipe is full of water to the water line when boat is sitting in the water.

You could caulk around the transom shield on the outside......that might tell you if it ISN'T leaking there.....but there's a lot of other places it could be leaking....especially if there's a crack in the casting or a broken stud.


Considering the previous damage, you may have to pull the whole mess to find it.

 

[89cruisers]

Re: MAYDAY! HELP! Water leaking into the bilge from this hole in the transom bracket!

Alright, it's a shame it waited a few weeks to start leaking after the incident, otherwise we would have just totaled it. Thanks!

 

[Don S]

Re: MAYDAY! HELP! Water leaking into the bilge from this hole in the transom bracket!

Don't just caulk around the outside of the transom shield. That's like putting a bandaid on a stab wound. It covers up the hole, but it fixes nothing, and things will get worse.

 

[RIDEPATE]

Re: MAYDAY! HELP! Water leaking into the bilge from this hole in the transom bracket!

Try snugging the transom plate bolts, I know, I know, bandaid, but it worked for me!!!!!!

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: MAYDAY! HELP! Water leaking into the bilge from this hole in the transom bracket!

If that is where it's coming from, it could be the y pipe or the transom shield leaking. At this point, you pull the drive, the engine, the y pipe and look for cracks or broken bolt tabs (Possible impact damage). If nothing obvious, put the Y pipe back on, the drive back on, and back the boat down in the water and see if you can see what is leaking. Don't go in deeper than the top of the Y pipes with their hoses on them. With the engine out of the way, it will be easy to find the leak. If it is still coming in, then you have to pull the complete transom shield and inspect for cracks. Replace the seal. Check the transom for damage and rot before putting everything back together.

^^^ What he said... With the engine removed will be easy to find the issue.. I know it sounds tough.. It's not.. The tough part is finding something to pull it out with

 

[89cruisers]

Re: MAYDAY! HELP! Water leaking into the bilge from this hole in the transom bracket!

I shall try tightening the bolts, and at this point, I wont mind a bandaid just for this season since my wellcraft project is already $1k over budget. I have an A-frame I build for an engine hoist, and I have a tree, it's just putting it back in, since I don't know how to align the engine properly

 

[Joshua Nichols]

Re: MAYDAY! HELP! Water leaking into the bilge from this hole in the transom bracket!

I shall try tightening the bolts, and at this point, I wont mind a bandaid just for this season since my wellcraft project is already $1k over budget. I have an A-frame I build for an engine hoist, and I have a tree, it's just putting it back in, since I don't know how to align the engine properly

A alignment tool

 

[89cruisers]

Re: MAYDAY! HELP! Water leaking into the bilge from this hole in the transom bracket!

I bought one for my merc 233, its just a bar without any instructions, is there some special way to use it?