75 cuddy I/O taking water..HELP?

Crifasinator · #1 05-21-2013, 12:16 PM

Hi all,
I've had my 75 V20 cuddy with a 165 mercuiser I/O for a couple months now and have had it out a for about six trips. Each time out it has took water and I assumed it was normal. My last trip out was a long one and it took on a ton of water. I now am convinced it isn't normal and want to figure out how it's getting in. The guys at my local marine shop showed me what to look for and I haven't found it yet. I put a hose in it and filled it up almost to the bottom of the motor and the only place i could find anything was right at the bottom of where the gimbal housing goes through the hull just a small but constant drip. I also dried out the bilge and ran the motor on muffs to see if that would generate any thing and it did not. My next step is to put it in the water and look for intrusion running and not running. I had put a new water pump kit and checked the bellows(looked good) I also caulked where the gimbal meets the hull with life caulk because the housing was somewhat eaten away. Is there other areas I should be looking? Thanks
Anthony

spareparts · #2 05-21-2013, 02:00 PM

trim teh drive up, turn it to port and look at the shift cable bellows(starboard side, small tapered bellows). push back and forth on the corrugations in the bellows, odds are, its rotted. Look hard at all your bellows, stick your finger in them and poke on it, keep looking, your find something. If that's not it, you may have an issue in the exhaust system

macojoe · #3 05-21-2013, 08:39 PM

Quote:

the only place i could find anything was right at the bottom of where the gimbal housing goes through the hull just a small but constant drip

I had a 1/8 inch hole in my hull, when the boat is in the water the weight of the boat pushed water in like a fountain!! Could not believe the amount that came in in such a short time!
Also check around the rub rail, mine use to allow all kinds of water in there as the caulking was all gone!

you want to stop that water as you do not have a self baling deck, all water goes to the bilge, and needs to get pumped out, all that splashing salt water will kill the starter and rot out the oil pan fast!! ask me how I know.
also when changing the starter you will find it to be a *****! one thing that helped me was to put a mirror under the motor, now the bolts could be seen in the mirror on the floor!!

Crifasinator · #4 05-25-2013, 03:14 AM

so I still haven't got it in the water yet but have found some things... there are a few spots the caulking is failing under the rub rail, I applied more caulk around the gimbal housing, there are a few holes in the shift cable bellows someone had put silicone on, also i bought two new bilge pumps the tusanami 1200's.
I want to try and patch up the bellows if possible I'm thinking some flex seal- as seen on tv or some type of sealing tape or both?
I only have access to the bilge area where my motor is so I guess both pumps are going in there I have a float switch for one.

smokeonthewater · #5 05-25-2013, 07:42 AM

there isn't supposed to be any caulking around the gimbal housing... It has a rubber seal... if it's leaking then the transom is probably rotten (Lets hope not)... the bellows should be replaced every few years... they are not fixable, just put new ones on

in order to seal under the rubrail you will need to remove it... not NEAR as hard as it sounds

use 3m 4200 or 5200.. silicone won't last

Crifasinator · #6 05-25-2013, 11:44 AM

since the the other two are okay I was thinking a temporary fix on the shift bellows only cause it seems a big expensive job too do them all. the gimbal housing had some corrosion that ate the aluminum away down at the bottom ears by the zincs affecting the seal. guys at my local marine shop recommended the life caulk there. so im sure that will be if the future where all that gets addressed. how do i tell if my transom is rotten?? it looks like the rub rail was caulked top and bottom with maybe Life caulk? there is only a few places it looks failed.

Crifasinator · #7 05-25-2013, 12:02 PM

here are some pics

spareparts · #8 05-25-2013, 12:35 PM

go ahead and replace all three bellows(not that easy) and the shift cable. when you pull the drive, you'll probably find the gimbal bearing bad as well.

cmoney · #9 05-25-2013, 12:49 PM

I don't know if your boat has a livewell pump, but if it does check it and the seacock. My pump separated when we were 15 miles out and i could hear water coming in and I was like oh s*&@. Popped the access plate and turned the lever on the seacock and all was good took 15 min to pump all the water out. when i replaced the pump i noticed there was a small leak in the thru-hull had to reseal it and no more leaks.

smokeonthewater · #10 05-25-2013, 02:58 PM

your bellows are done... even if you didn't have a hole they are YEARS past replacement time....

Personally I would get serious w maintenance... A fellow with basic tools, and a mechanical aptitude could pull the drive, engine and transom assembly, check the transom out, replace the rubber seal on the transom assembly and put it all back together with new bellows, shift cable, shifter seal, gimbal bearing, impeller, and gear oil in a weekend for a few hundred dollars.

Example, if you have a way to lift it, one experienced guy can pull the engine in 15 minutes and an amateur can do it in an hour.

A little crying today followed by a rough weekend can make for much safer and more enjoyable boating for years to come.