Still have a dang leak.....or a new one

[rickasbury]

Huh...that's interesting and did not know that.

So I tried the muffs and nothing there. Pulled one of the elbows , blocked off the transom side and no leak that way from the y pipe....keep in mind from previous thread, pulled the motor/transom asy and the did everything so I'm really missing something. Can I assume, forward of the raw water pump nothing is going to leak while not running? I understand maybe something could leak out what is in the lines but is not going to syphon from the input side of the pump?

 

[achris]

How much water are you talking about? Does it come in then stop, or just keeps coming?

 

[rickasbury]

I'd say over 3 hours 5 gallons maybe? I never timed the bilge pump. I resealed the trim pump manifold also...and pulled and the sealed the transom. I don't see any cracks in the hull, have not hit anything....its a big hull though and will try to give it another look. When I pulled the motor I did drill for transom rot but everything looks dry and solid. I really laid the sealer on around the new transom seal to where it came out the sides- it looks like I caulked a bath tube , point being that seal around it looks good. When I first put it back together and for several months had no water.has to be something simple I'm just not seeing...I hope. I'm going to pull the other exhaust boot and inspect that- one of the clamps I took off was broken but they are double clamped with 4 per boot . Will get 8 new clamps just in case. Sure am missing some good boating...

 

[Rick Stephens]

Exhaust boots can't cause leaks.

 

[rickasbury]

not out side the transom...the two right there at the elbows...as usual I don't know the right terms for parts! Y pipe to exhaust elbow...

 

[Rick Stephens]

Ah, gotcha. Those should be obvious though. Mine were old enough when I installed them I had to go back twice and retighten the clamps. But water just kind of drizzles down the Y pipe.

 

[rickasbury]

I am hoping....I'm getting to old to yank motors out!

 

[achris]

I am hoping....I'm getting to old to yank motors out!

:facepalm: You and me both. (was my 60th yesterday)

 

[Rick Stephens]

:facepalm: You and me both. (was my 60th yesterday)

Just like you’re my baby brother.

 

[rickasbury]

Well happy bd achris :cheer2: I'm right there with you..62 august ..yuk.

 

[Bondo]

:facepalm: You and me both. (was my 60th yesterday)

Ayuh,..... I hit 65, last Friday,......

 

[tank1949]

not out side the transom...the two right there at the elbows...as usual I don't know the right terms for parts! Y pipe to exhaust elbow...

So if I understand you correctly, water only leaks into bilge when motor is running, regardless if boat is in or out of water? I had a MC V8 aluminum elbow that pitted over time but I didn't notice the small hole during or after I reinstalled motor assembly rebuild. I too noticed water in bilge but couldn't see where it was coming from. I was able, with the use of a mirror, to see that water was coming from under the elbow area. Double clamping didn't get enough pressure or bellows rubber over the pit hole. I removed elbow and was able to clean and TIG. I reinstalled and leak didn't appear.

 

[achris]

So if I understand you correctly, water only leaks into bilge when motor is running, regardless if boat is in or out of water?...

Nope, the opposite. When the boat's in the water, water leaks in regardless, engine running or not.

 

[rickasbury]

Yes, I don't think motor running has anything to do with it which lends me to think it is the water pump back where the problem lays...

 

[tank1949]

Nope, the opposite. When the boat's in the water, water leaks in regardless, engine running or not.

It is too bad that he can't get mirror or camera down where y pipe connects. I'd bet it is Y pipe, rotten transom or drain area leaking. Rickasbury believes transom in solid and drive bellows don't leak? I pray for his sake that he is correct. Rebuilding a transom is not fun. I've had three boats leak and all three were due to rotten transom or rotten y pipes. I feel his pain!

 

[nola mike]

:facepalm: You and me both. (was my 60th yesterday)

I'll be inching up this weekend... Thankfully not too close to the forum geezers (but not far enough away either)

 

[rickasbury]

I had a very looooong thread on here about pulling the motor, checking the transom (drilled out several holes with pictures of the results), cleaned up the transom asy with new bearing and all new bellows etc. so I just don't see ( or want to see) that being the problem. The fasteners for the Y pipe would not come off so ended up cutting that sucker up so I could pull it out with the transom asy and get it on a bench. A member here had a take off one he sold me, did not see anything of a crack to it. One concern I had and no one ever came back was the torque for the nuts to put it back on- book said like 24 ft. pounds which I thought awful light but went with it- I did as told above pull the exhaust apart, plug it up and fill it with water and nothing seemed to leak... so I am hoping there is a hose connection I'm not seeing that is leaking as the culprit but space around these motors as you all know is tuff!

 

[tank1949]

I had a very looooong thread on here about pulling the motor, checking the transom (drilled out several holes with pictures of the results), cleaned up the transom asy with new bearing and all new bellows etc. so I just don't see ( or want to see) that being the problem. The fasteners for the Y pipe would not come off so ended up cutting that sucker up so I could pull it out with the transom asy and get it on a bench. A member here had a take off one he sold me, did not see anything of a crack to it. One concern I had and no one ever came back was the torque for the nuts to put it back on- book said like 24 ft. pounds which I thought awful light but went with it- I did as told above pull the exhaust apart, plug it up and fill it with water and nothing seemed to leak... so I am hoping there is a hose connection I'm not seeing that is leaking as the culprit but space around these motors as you all know is tuff!

and you have verified it is not leaking around boat's drain plug? I purchased gasket kit for one of my rebuilds that contained an o-ring for the Y -pipe that was just that, a damn O ring! I could never get it inside the transom/pipe grove and STAY PUT. I had to order a specific MC Y Pipe molded rubber O ring gasket. Could it be that the Y-Pipe gasket slipped?

I also ran tap inside the Y-pipe threads to clean out crap, so I would get more reliable torque readings. ​

After I rebuilt my current boat's transom and installed transom assemblies' hardware, I filled bilge with water to just below gimbal bearing and tested for leaks. If you can't get mirror or camera down there and have examined all that you can see, then you may have to pull motor. It would be nice to verify that water is not coming in via some bellows before pulling motor. Since water only comes in if boat is setting in water, that is something to consider. If it were me, I buy a camera to look down below. A feel your pain!

 

[rickasbury]

I did fill the bilge, got zip...I blocked off the y pipe and filled it with water, got zip. I did have a camera but everything so tight, could not see anything. I am going to check all the clamps from the water pump back, get the camera and go back in the water...my 270 on the trailer is 14 ft at least of motor pulling so it is not an easy task!

 

[Searay205]

my buddy has the same drive package as you. He had a cooling hose loose on the inlet to the sweater pump. The clamp actually cracked. His leak was massive though... thing was under the motor, what an absolute miserable upside down getting pinched in the ribs ordeal.