Boat Repair; two mechanics with wildly different recommendations. Which one?

[emoney]

Re: Boat Repair; two mechanics with wildly different recommendations. Which one?

I'm not going to speak for Bond-O, but what I gather from his response has nothing to do with "dismantling the motor". As a matter of fact, I think he's recommending you don't do anything, to include putting 5200 or silicone on the outdrive, before you take it to the lake and back it in deep enough for water to intrude. Leave it attached to the trailer, and then remove the motor cover and get down in their. You can use mirrors or even your cell phone camera to reach places you can't get your head into. If as much water is coming in as you've described earlier, it should be very obvious where it's intruding from. Make sure the area is completely dry before you do this, of course.

The problem with water leaks in tracking them down is they don't always originate on the outside where they show up on the inside, if that makes sense. Water takes the path of least resistance and it will find that, as long as it's "downhill". Use a dryer if need be to prepare the inside of the motor compartment. Don't let "it's just a little water" cloud the issue, so-to-speak. If you see the water, but still can't locate it's origin, try posting pictures of both the inside and outside and zoom in as tight as you can. Sometimes these problems show up on "film" easier than they do in person.

 

[coreybv]

Re: Boat Repair; two mechanics with wildly different recommendations. Which one?

So your saying I should dismantle the boat without even checking to make sure that the leak is not coming from the hull? Thats illogical.

As a general rule, if the hull itself is leaking, it'll take you about 5 seconds to spot the hole or crack. Water doesn't just "soak through".

I have to agree with Bond-O. Get the boat dried out, drop it in the water, then crawl down in there with a flashlight and see where the water is coming from. Won't cost you a dime and you'll know where the problem is.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Boat Repair; two mechanics with wildly different recommendations. Which one?

Hey man, I have done that, three times now. Can not see it.

Ayuh,.... Then ya ain't tryin' hard enough...

 

[saumon]

Re: Boat Repair; two mechanics with wildly different recommendations. Which one?

Ok, do exactly what Bond-o said but, as a little stream of water can be very difficult to see on the white fiberglass, here's something that can help you see it, it's a bit time consumming at first but you'll save time, in fact, by not having to do the same test again and again.
Thoroughly clean and wipe dry your entire bilge area so there's not even a single droplet left, it's very important. Then, get a roll of that brown shop paper towels and lay it out everywhere you can, i.e. flat on the floor, vertically inside the transom, making cuts around everything (outdrive, shift cable, etc) and stick it with duct tape.

Then, back up into water and you'll see where water seep.

Also, as a side note, you should be wary when you make that assumption "3) Its not the shift cable bellows, or gimbal seals any of that stuff, since it was just replaced, assuming that mechanic # 1 did the job properly."...

 

[Burro237]

Re: Boat Repair; two mechanics with wildly different recommendations. Which one?

Ok, very good suggestions I will get working on that this week, the mirror and the brown paper thing especially. In the mean time, I did some calling around at some bigger service places, and got some much better price quotes on the possible work involved.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Boat Repair; two mechanics with wildly different recommendations. Which one?

it seems that finding the leak is becoming a problem and we still havent seen any pics so thats not realy helping. drying the boat and using brown towls might help. i have used talc powder before to look for a small leak and that worked. one big problem is any leak might be alot slower when theres no stress on the transom. start simple you say the drain plug weeps when you put water in the bilge so get another one and make sure theres nothing in the drain tube thats causing a bad seal. next check all the extras on the transom then back it in the water and look for the leak. if you find the engine is in the way and you need it pulled then it realy doesnt take a marine mechanic to pull a good motor all you need is someone who can pull and store the motor for a few days while you test the hull. most people will know someone or someones husband that could do this as a favor. a marine mechanic can always be paid to do a quick once over when the engine is back in to ensure it was connected correctly.

 

[sqbtr]

Re: Boat Repair; two mechanics with wildly different recommendations. Which one?

I went back and read you first post on the problem............Did you ever diagnose the inop spedo...........
Just a thought, maybe the tube is leaking inside the boat.

 

[Friscoboater]

Re: Boat Repair; two mechanics with wildly different recommendations. Which one?

It sounds like you are in the first stage of boat repair... denial. I have been there my friend. From what you describe, that transom is rotten, and needs to be replaced. It happens all the time... whether it starts with a bad seal or water sitting in the bilge.

 

[saumon]

Re: Boat Repair; two mechanics with wildly different recommendations. Which one?

I went back and read you first post on the problem............Did you ever diagnose the inop spedo...........
Just a thought, maybe the tube is leaking inside the boat.

+1 on the pitot tube; could be a very simple cause to eliminate.

To the OP, if you want to hang around here, you'll see that it's full of people more than willing to help but there's 2 important non-written rules:

1- you have to report back
2- without pics it never happened

Good luck!

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Boat Repair; two mechanics with wildly different recommendations. Which one?

at what year did vip change to composite transoms. a 2003 is a grey area and the transom might not be able to rot. then again no pics so it didnt happen

+1 on checking the speedo tube as well

 

[sktn77a]

Re: Boat Repair; two mechanics with wildly different recommendations. Which one?

Sorry about your problem but the discussion here is pretty useless. Nobody can diagnose your problem over the internet. Take it to a reputable mechanic for a diagnosis. If you don't know any, post your location and somebody may know of one.

 

[coreybv]

Re: Boat Repair; two mechanics with wildly different recommendations. Which one?

Nobody can diagnose your problem over the internet.

Actually, it happens on this forum all the time. Pictures do go a long way, though.

 

[Burro237]

Re: Boat Repair; two mechanics with wildly different recommendations. Which one?

The speedo has been fixed, its one of the things I brought up to the 1st mechanic. He seems like a pretty honest guy, I just dont think he has ever dealt with transom repair much, at least not on I/O fiberglass boats, he works more on smaller outboard fishing boats. I called a local dealership, who quoted 8-10 hours for a full transom seal replacement, including removal of the motor, the transom seal replacement and reassembly and putting everything back in. They said they could not give a quote up front on transom repair/ replacement until they could see the extent of the damage, if any. I'll try to get some pics in a couple days. It rained like crazy on my one day off this week.

 

[sktn77a]

Re: Boat Repair; two mechanics with wildly different recommendations. Which one?

Actually, it happens on this forum all the time. Pictures do go a long way, though.

Maybe I should have highlighted "Nobody can diagnose your problem"...... I don't think the answer to his problem lies on this forum.

 

[jayhanig]

Re: Boat Repair; two mechanics with wildly different recommendations. Which one?

Not yet, but I will be calling around. I just wanted some educated advice on the price of it. Both mechanics said that lifting the engine was 10 - 12 labor hours, to disconnect and reconnect everything.

That's a load of crap. I watched my boat guy pull my engine out of my Galaxy in less than an hour. Went back in the same way, though it took longer to get things hooked back up.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Boat Repair; two mechanics with wildly different recommendations. Which one?

^+1. I pulled my motor in about 1.5 hours, and I had to build a gantry out of 2x4's and 2x8's first, then back the boat under it, remove the dog house, remove the outdrive, drink some beer, get a sandwich, find the come-a-long, take pictures, drink more beer, disconnect the hoses, unplug the wire, disconnect the batteries, remove the batteries, etc. It went back together in about 2 hours and that was with aligning, running to the hardware store for some new bolts and making sure that I had another sandwich and some beer.

 

[Burro237]

Re: Boat Repair; two mechanics with wildly different recommendations. Which one?

So I'm looking around on the internet tonight and I see a few references to VIP using composite transom and stringers since 97-98. Is there a way to tell visually whether the transom is composite or wood?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Re: Boat Repair; two mechanics with wildly different recommendations. Which one?

a drill and bit will tell you. or call the company

 

[ricohman]

Re: Boat Repair; two mechanics with wildly different recommendations. Which one?

^+1. I pulled my motor in about 1.5 hours, and I had to build a gantry out of 2x4's and 2x8's first, then back the boat under it, remove the dog house, remove the outdrive, drink some beer, get a sandwich, find the come-a-long, take pictures, drink more beer, disconnect the hoses, unplug the wire, disconnect the batteries, remove the batteries, etc. It went back together in about 2 hours and that was with aligning, running to the hardware store for some new bolts and making sure that I had another sandwich and some beer.

This totally describes how I work on things.....

 

[SDSeville]

Re: Boat Repair; two mechanics with wildly different recommendations. Which one?

This totally describes how I work on things.....

Ha Ha...me too! Took me an hour (3 beers) to get my motor out and 2 hrs (6 beers) to get it back in. ...1st time I ever pulled a motor. Do the math and you can figure why I can only work on my boat around 4 hours at a time.

But seriously, no need pull he motor yet. Drill some darn test holes and report back. That would easily put the rotten transom question to rest. Then put it in the water as is and find the leak (as many have said).