sinking ship

[Part-time]

I just picked up a 1978 17' suncruiser with a 120hp mercruiser yesterday. I ran it with the muffs and it was perfect!
I put it in the water this morning and it went like a dream. My wife and I went to town and when we came back a few hours later the boat was half full of water.:facepalm:
I pumped it out and now I can see water dripping in at the bottom of the bell housing.
When I run it I have a strong spray comming in on the port side of the engine (between the block and bell housing).
I know I'm not going to have a choice but to pull the engine but I would like to see what I'm getting into before I get there.
What am I going to be looking for?
Thanks

Steph

 

[boaterinsd]

Re: sinking ship

what did the PO say on this? Was it mentioned before the sale, or as it normally does.( its all good !!)

 

[Don S]

Re: sinking ship

Probably the core plug (aka Freeze plug) back there popped out. If it did. Put a new one in and pressure check the cooling system before you do anything else.

 

[Bondo]

Re: sinking ship

What am I going to be looking for?

Ayuh,.... The Manual,..??..?? You can find it up in the Adults Only section, at the top of this forum....

 

[Part-time]

Re: sinking ship

It turns out the water was coming in from the shift cable boot.
The water was running down the shift cable and onto the flywheel making it look like the engine was leaking.
The guilty culprit...

And then, putting things back together, I ckecked the oil in the LU to find.... about 1/2 of water and nothing else!!!
Now I know the guy I got it from and if he said he filled it with fresh oil this spring I believe him, so where did all the oil go?
This is what I found after some cleaning.

I'm thinking if I clean it good with acetone I should be able to get epoxy to stick to it...