Would this bother you??? Worry or Not???

[Doc_Vegas]

As many of your may have read, I am a new boat owner. I have operated boats before, but never owned one of my own.

So, Saturday is our third time out. I noticed a bit of a burning smell at times, the dealer noticed it when he was on the boat for the launch, but said it was probably just some oil spilt during the change/maintenance burning off.

I decided to look in the engine compartment, and I see an inch or so of water/oil combination. Have a look at the pictures.

Should I be worried about this??? I also found a bottle of power steering leak fix on board.

PLEASE let me know. As a new owner of a used boat, I am still very worried something may be wrong that we did not know about. Keep in mind I spent $1200 to get a complete service and all three batteries replaced!

Thanks!!!

 

[Doc_Vegas]

Re: Would this bother you??? Worry or Not???

Another shot - higher resolution

 

[mthieme]

Re: Would this bother you??? Worry or Not???

First, you should clean out the bilge. Looks like that scum could have been there and accumulated after time.
Second, with the bilge clean, put down one of those oil mats to determine if in fact you do have any leaks and possibly determine the origin.
What's the engine look like?

 

[oops!]

Re: Would this bother you??? Worry or Not???

1200 doillars is a lot of dollars for a routine service.......

the burning smell could be any thing from black paint burning off the manifolds to an major electrical melt down.......

first you need to get a good bilge cleaner and clean the area spotless.....that way you can see whats going on.


once you have it clean....post in the i.o forum.....tell the guys what is happening.......follow thier instructions to a "t".....you be thier eyes ears and hands........they will tell you a step by step procedure.....follow it....dont stray......and with in just a little while....our guys will have the problem diagnosed....if not fixed.......

......yes......they are that good.

you will need a factory manual for the correct engine.....no ...not a seloc.....

the more prepaired you are the easyer and quicker they will be able to help you.

cheers
oops

 

[oops!]

Re: Would this bother you??? Worry or Not???

by the way doc......the dealership must be notified of the potential problem.

warranties on a used boat have a way of running out

 

[marine4003]

Re: Would this bother you??? Worry or Not???

Absolutely call the dealer,you'll probably get brushed off,but its better to have them informed before hand than after something lets-go, may be residual oil from a oil change mixed w/ water in bilge, but as posted above...ALWAYS,keep your bilge clean,i have a cheap wet-vac i use along with healthy supply of Simply Green,for this very reason...if there's a leak...makes it real easy to spot before it gets bad.

 

[torcano]

Re: Would this bother you??? Worry or Not???

I agree that the first step is to clean the bilge. Get a wet vac, a good stiff brush and a bottle of Simply Green. Bring the your dock water hose on board with a squeeze handle to control the water pressure. Squirt the Simply Green directly onto the surface of the bilge and scub away. Hose it down and direct the flow away from the motor itself. Wet vac the dirty water from the bilge. Repeat as necessary. Once you bilge is clean, you will be in a much better position to tell if you have a problem. Here is what a bilge should look like on a 5 year old boat.

URL=http://s485.photobucket.com/albums/rr215/torcano/?action=view&current=bilge002-1.jpg]

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[Silvertip]

Re: Would this bother you??? Worry or Not???

If there was an empty bottle of power steering stop leak you can reasonably assume there is a power steering leak. If the service agency spent any time under there I would expect them to have taken the one nanosecond to remove the bottle. I agree -- exactly what did you get for $1200. An oil change and three batteries comes nowhere near $1200, even if a tune-up was included.

 

[Bob_VT]

Re: Would this bother you??? Worry or Not???

That is just not acceptable.

You were charged $1200 for what? I would demand that bilge be cleaned and they might want to throw in a full detail for the trouble.

Leaving a work area that sloppy makes me question what else they ignored.

 

[tashasdaddy]

Re: Would this bother you??? Worry or Not???

Keep in mind I spent $1200 to get a complete service and all three batteries replaced! you sure didn't get what you paid for.

 

[180shabah]

Re: Would this bother you??? Worry or Not???

One other thing to remember - when YOUR bilge pump kicks on and discharges all of that filth overboard, YOU get the EPA fine not the dealer.

 

[Windykid]

Re: Would this bother you??? Worry or Not???

Take it back and get what you paid for.

 

[salty87]

Re: Would this bother you??? Worry or Not???

an oily bilge and a bottle of power steering leak fix....i'd also be very concerned about any other work they did.

 

[Gary H NC]

Re: Would this bother you??? Worry or Not???

I agree,That looks like its been going on for some time.I doubt very much that was just left over oil that was spilled during a service.If it was they must use monkeys to do the work.
I would take it back as is,leave the mess in there and tell them it is unacceptable!
They should have caught a leak that bad during service..

What kind of warranty did they give you?

 

[QC]

Re: Would this bother you??? Worry or Not???

Hey Doc . . Well it's pretty obvious what we all think, annnnnnnnd . . . I am concerned about the water in the bilge too. Although it is not a big deal, I am guessing that:

a) You haven't been doing any swimming and
b) You haven't had any waves crashing over the bow

Soooooooo, where'd the water come from? If you need any help working on the dealer vee have vays uff dealing vith these people . . . They may be very responsive, but let us help if they aren't . . .

 

[haskindm]

Re: Would this bother you??? Worry or Not???

This a good example of why it has been stated over and over again in this forum that you MUST get a marine survey done BEFORE purchasing a used boat. The marine surveyor would have spotted the dirty bilge and probably the bottle of stop-leak and investigated the cause. What the heck does "complete service" mean? An oil change and a hose down? A complete tune up including a new water pump? You should have a document telling you EXACTLY what you got for $1200. You should still probably hire a marine surveyor to check this boat over before you get further involved. You may find that it is time to "cut your losses" and move on, or you may find that there is an easy, inexpensive fix (or even no fix needed, just clean the filthy bilge). Everyone on here is just speculating. Find a professional and get straight answers. As a first time owner you don't know if this is just routine maintenance and clean-up that needs to be done, or signs of impending disaster.

 

[reelfishin]

Re: Would this bother you??? Worry or Not???

I think I'd call the dealer and ask why you have oil in your bilge and what was the empty bottle of leak sealer for?
Let them know your onto them and their shoddy service and see if they are willing to make it right first. Let them know you realize there's something wrong and that they won't be able to get by just covering up a problem.

By the looks of the bilge, there's water and oil there, you may well have two problems. If there's a can of PS leak sealer, then chances are there's a hydraulic leak somewhere that someone is trying to hide, and I'd be pretty concerned about the water as well. Unless it's been out in the rain uncovered it shouldn't have water down there. Look for a bad drain plug, leaky seam under the rub rail or leaks around the bow eye.

I'd make as much noise now and document any complaints in case the problem goes unfixed.

 

[nlain]

Re: Would this bother you??? Worry or Not???

Call the dealer, that is not how your bilge should look, oil should not be there, for $1200.00 I would think the dealer would have cleaned the bilge for you. Is this the dealer you purchased the boat from, I take it that it is since you say dealer noticed the smell when on the boat for launch, they need to fix this now before it gets worse. Black says burnt engine oil, sounds like an engine oil leak, the hydraulic system needs a close check also, the water problem could be coolant leak, bellows leak, needs to be checked and verified what is or is not leaking and the leaks fixed. Do it quick before they claim you did something.

 

[torcano]

Re: Would this bother you??? Worry or Not???

Can you take a broader view of the bilge and engine compartment? Is this what the bilge looked like before you bought the boat? Did you look at the engine compartment before you bought the boat? I know several of us suggested having a marine survey. I assume it was not done....an empty bottle of power steering fix is a pretty obvious sign that there was a problem. Are your guages indicating any problems? I still think yoou need to clean up the and use a shop vac to take up the water. The amount of water and rate of return will be useful to note.
RK

 

[Doc_Vegas]

Re: Would this bother you??? Worry or Not???

Wow, thanks guys for the informative, yet concerning posts. Let's see if I can answer some of these.

1) First I need to clarify the $1200. $420 was for a complete detail. The dealer actually suggested I skip it, but I insisted. In retrospect, it was a waste. So, for the other $800 I received the following:

a) Gold Service - new impeller, oil/filter, fuel/water seperator, gear lube, "test run on water hose", check/load batteries, check bilge pump, nav lights, horn, blower... $340

b) Gold Service parts - oil, filter, impeller, etc. $160

c) 2x GP-24 batteries - $167

d) 1x GP-27 battery - $95

That's the invoice. I asked them to go through everything and do a compression test on the motor, but no information shown.

I sent the dealer and mechanic (same owner) the pictures and they are coming to look at it tomorrow. The steering leak container was in a spot they probably did not notice (under the sink).

It is a used boat, so no warrantee. Can someone explain the power steering??? Where would the pump be located and could I look for a leak?

As far as cleaning the bilge, I am at a slip, so I feel like I have a bit of a disadvantage. The shop vac. is a good idea, I bet it will be a mess to clean it out later, but that's OK. I will let you guys know what the dealer/mechanic has to say.

Oh yes, as far as the marine inspector, the dealer claims that all their boats go through an inspection before they will take possession. I asked about that before I purchased... for what its worth....

Thanks!!!