Water around flywheel/starter?

[Bababouy]

Maiden voyage today in the Bayliner 175 3.0 alpha one after my impeller change and the bilge was getting little wet, 2",after about 20 minutes or so on plane. The water appears to be dripping from the starter (obviously trickling down from somewhere else from all of the wind as I had my son drive the boat at around 30 mph) and occurs only at higher engine rpm. I am thinking leaky cooling system but not sure what to check. Possibly loose exhaust clamps? I am hoping it is not too serious as this boat does not have that many hours on it. How can I troubleshoot or does anyone know what could cause this?

 

[Bt Doctur]

the 3.0 starter is on the stbd side and the exaust is on the port side water dosent travel sideways.
How was it winterized EXACTLY dont leave nothing out
It could be a leaking head gasket , a popped core plug at the rear of the motor or a cracked block

 

[Bababouy]

I live in the San Diego area and it never gets below freezing for any amount of time. The only ice I could ever see this past winter was some very light frost on some rooftops. Plus, I drained the exhaust and block prior to the winter. The boat was covered as well. There was a lot of wind around me when I was trying to see where this water was coming from due to the fact that the boat was in motion at about 30 mph and if there is turbulence all around the engine compartment the water could blow around the back of the motor I am thinking. I am going to pull off the exhaust elbow and see what else I can get to. I did see that there was some water on one of the exhaust clamps but I could not determine the source of the leak. Also, no leak is detectable while it is on muffs.

 

[Rick Stephens]

I had a loose clamp on the exhaust that would only leak in the water. It didn't care if I was scooting or sitting idling though. What matters is the back pressure if it is a loose clamp. The easiest way to rule that out is tighten em.

There is no exhaust on the starboard side where you said you had water dropping. About the only thing there is a core plug under the flywheel.

Rick

 

[Bababouy]

Any ideas on diagnosis? How can I confirm that a core plug is bad?

 

[Rick Stephens]

If the water is coming out of the flywheel cover then the core plug is rusted out or the block is cracked.

Use your phone to video area you cannot get your head into to see where the water is coming from.

 

[Bababouy]

I will get a camera in there. Also I will pressure test the cooling system. The speedo is not working since I put the drive on and the tube is attached ok at the sterndrive. Possibly a severed speedo tube at the inside of the transom?

 

[Rick Stephens]

If you sever the tube inside, your feet will get wet. it will squirt water under pressure when under way.

 

[Bababouy]

If you sever the tube inside, your feet will get wet. it will squirt water under pressure when under way.

So that seems like a likely suspect since the speedo was working fine prior to the work being done. The tube is still connected to the speedo. I will check on this as soon as I get the next chance.

 

[Rick Stephens]

If you pop the quick connector off at the drive and the flow stops, you will know you nailed it. With that connector disassembled there will be no pressure up the line.

 

[Fishermark]

Maiden voyage today ...

Is this the maiden voyage for you completely - or just this year? Since you are not quite sure where the water is coming from.... When you replaced the impellor, did you remove the entire outdrive or just the lower unit? Have you checked the condition of the drive and shift bellows? There is a vent hole on the transom assembly where water can come in if the drive bellows is leaking. Not saying that is your issue... but something to check.

 

[Bababouy]

I did a transom service where I changed the impeller, bearing and the three bellows, the water feed tube and drive oil monitor tube. I used the factory service manual along with quicksilver parts, aligned the bearing using the tool, etc. I have been out on the boat about a dozen times now. This was the maiden voyage after this service. I have good mechanical ability, just haven't worked on boats. The only time any water appears is under way at speed. The speedo worked fine before. That will be easy to diagnose. I am just hopeful that is all it is.

 

[Bababouy]

Problem fixed. The speedo tube was knocked off the connector on the transom in the engine compartment allowing water to spray directly on the back of the motor. Thank you for all of your ideas and help.