mercruiser 4.3 leak

[davidsp]

hi view my video and look its leaking where the rust has started.. is it need to be fixed soon... its only leaker small water dip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyNpTPe3tdI&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[davidsp]

Re: mercruiser 4.3 leak

only tested on idle
.. its a new boat ive buy yesterday

 

[achris]

Re: mercruiser 4.3 leak

Hello David and :welcome: to iBoats.

That is a water pump leak, the seal inside the pump has failed and the pump needs to be replaced. If you continue to run like that the bearing will fail. Also, the water dripping on other parts of the engine will lead to further corrosion damage, so I would be fixing it ASAP....

Chris......

 

[davidsp]

Re: mercruiser 4.3 leak

is it need rhe be replace the whole waterpump...300$part or only the seal can be redone?

 

[davidsp]

Re: mercruiser 4.3 leak

also notice that the oil pressure switch on the right back of the engine have been disconected and wire are split together... is that to bypass a problem? ive reconected the 2 wire but want to know why they are like thar ans what can goes if i have reconected them

 

[DougGreer]

Re: mercruiser 4.3 leak

Just the circulating pump leaking, A easy job to replace on most engines.

 

[thumpar]

Re: mercruiser 4.3 leak

The pumps are not that much and are easy to change. They are sold here on iboats Mercruiser Water Pumps - iboats for just about $100. Pick the one for your application (metal or composite timing cover). Just do it right or it may cost you a lot more in the end.

 

[achris]

Re: mercruiser 4.3 leak

also notice that the oil pressure switch on the right back of the engine have been disconected and wire are split together... is that to bypass a problem? ive reconected the 2 wire but want to know why they are like thar ans what can goes if i have reconected them

Usually to bypass the corroded connectors on the switch. It's the oil pressure switch for the fuel pump. It's a safety item, and best if you re-instate it.

Chris.....

 

[davidsp]

Re: mercruiser 4.3 leak

ok and why bypass thst switch?... and what it does if i run a 8@10hours more with that leaky waterpump... the bell is not loose... its like that was a recent seal failure...

 

[achris]

Re: mercruiser 4.3 leak

ok and why bypass thst switch?... and what it does if i run a 8@10hours more with that leaky waterpump... the bell is not loose... its like that was a recent seal failure...

Usually to bypass the corroded connectors on the switch. It's the oil pressure switch for the fuel pump. It's a safety item, and best if you re-instate it.

Chris.....

Running any longer with the leaky pump... It might survive the entire time and you'll be happy. It might not, and then you're stuck, hopefully not miles out to sea...

 

[davidsp]

Re: mercruiser 4.3 leak

im planning to leave it like that until i can feel a little loose on the puley... and planning to change my propeller first that is not right ballanced since i hit a rock... am i right? its not a bad thing for me to be towed up if something is goin wrong ..but want to be sure it will not cost a motor if it broke.. i check my temp every minute when im on the water so maybe im ok to run it few more rides until the money gets in

 

[Bondo]

Re: mercruiser 4.3 leak

im planning to leave it like that until i can feel a little loose on the puley... and planning to change my propeller first that is not right ballanced since i hit a rock... am i right? its not a bad thing for me to be towed up if something is goin wrong ..but want to be sure it will not cost a motor if it broke.. i check my temp every minute when im on the water so maybe im ok to run it few more rides until the money gets in

Ayuh,.... Runnin' a Boat, that's known to be takin' on water is like flyin' a plane ya Know don't have enough gas in it,....

The end of the trip could easily be Deadly,....

Where are ya Boatin',..??

Who's gonna tow ya in,..??

 

[davidsp]

Re: mercruiser 4.3 leak

im on a lake... not sea

 

[achris]

Re: mercruiser 4.3 leak

What you do is, at the end of the day, up to you.... But here's a story for you to consider.

In 1999 I was summonsed to a coroners inquest into the drowning deaths of 3 people. The reason I was called for evidence was because I sold and fitted the engine to the boat a couple of years earlier. The boat took on water and sank less than 50 feet from shore, in 4 metres (12 feet) of water, on a quiet river, with dozens of people nearby. One gentleman had a heart-attack, and his two friends died trying to save him... That really bought it home to me just how dangerous messing around on the water can be. When you sit in a courtroom and listen to just how these people died (in graphic detail, read out by the examining pathologist) and how easily it could have been avoided, it changes your perspective.... This, is why I take boating safety and being on the water VERY seriously....

So, with that story in mind, take an unseaworthy boat onto the water at your own peril....

And a leaking water pump renders that boat 'unseaworthy'....

99% of the time, you'll get away with it, and you'll think nothing of it, and you'll consider what I have said with disregard... But do you really want to risk that 1%? The people who died that day didn't even know their boat was unseaworthy...

Chris......
(If you are really interested, I have other stories from the coroners courtroom... I have also given expert evidence at the inquiry into a boat explosion... VERY nasty.)

 

[Volphin]

Re: mercruiser 4.3 leak

When I repowered I noticed that my circ pump had been leaking... probably for quite some time. :facepalm:
Is it gallons of water? No. But they are not an expensive fix. You remove 8 bolts total and it will take an hour if you lolly gag.

 

[davidsp]

Re: mercruiser 4.3 leak

ok go with the other story... since i heard my bypassed oil pressure switch can explode my boat since it makes the fuel pump run when key is on on position

 

[achris]

Re: mercruiser 4.3 leak

ok go with the other story... since i heard my bypassed oil pressure switch can explode my boat since it makes the fuel pump run when key is on on position

Ok... The other story.

I was called to remove an engine (BBC) from a boat that had caught fire. Actually exploded, then caught fire. The workplace safety team and the fire inspection team needed to see under the engine. I was called because I owned the business that had installed the engine, about 4 years before I bought the business. At that time I was also the preferred engine supplier to the Department. The boat was a mess, a lot of fire retardant had been used to try and stop it burning. As we lifted the engine we had a look in the bilge, and there was a tiny burn mark on the edge of one of the ribs running under the engine. This was an aluminium boat, and the burn mark was an electrical burn. That was the source of the explosion.

The background was that this boat had recently had some structural work done which involved welding, and in order to do that the fuel tanks had to be drained and cleaned out. That had been done and the work completed and the boat returned to it's owner, the WA Department of Fisheries. The boat had been launched and tied up to a wharf and as it was completely empty of fuel the crew decided to fill from 50 gallon drums on the wharf. During the filling process one of the crew noticed fuel on the floor. Thinking it was just a small spill he turned on the bilge blower. The feed wire had been rubbing on one of the hull rib, and when power was applied it sparked across to the rib. The resulting ignition of the fuel vapour in the bilge instantly lifted the floor about a foot up, blowing the 2 crew into the water, which is probably what saved their lives. The problem was that the fuel-tank vent was an inverted 'U' and faced not overboard like it should have, but back into the void between hull and floor. When the tank reached full from the drums, the excess then spilled out of the vent and into that void, unbeknown to the crew... When the blower switch was flicked on, it lit up...

Although the 2 guys survived, they will never walk again. The force of the floor coming out that quickly smashed all the bones in their ankles and lower legs and dislocated their hips.... And how do I know? One of them was a friend....

Now, will you please fix that boat of yours, and fix it properly, and the right way...

Chris........

 

[Walt T]

Re: mercruiser 4.3 leak

I was once at a launch ramp in April, lots of people launching for the first time that year. One guy fires up, gets a good backfire and smoke starts rolling out of his engine compartment. I grab the fire extinguisher out of my truck, start running there and I see the owner raise an extinguisher and shoot himself right in his face. I almost stopped to laugh. Somebody on the other side was right there and put it out. I then turned around and walked quickly back to my truck so I could laugh without being heard. Had to fake coughing a couple times before I was out of earshot.