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Taking on water!

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casims2000

casims2000

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Took the 98 Speedster out today and since I don't have a working fuel gauge, we opened the hatch to check the fuel level and noticed quite a bit of water. The level was up to the starters. Could not determine where the water was coming in from and didn't have that issue yesterday when we were on the lake.

The bilge pump works and it got me thinking about the mechanics of the pump. How does the water get pumped out into the lake? Seems the lake water would prevent the pump from emptying out the water unless the drain hole sits higher than the water, but that doesn's seem likely. I'm assuming water can't flow back into the bilge pump hose. Is it possible for the pump to be clogged? When I returned home I put water in the engine compartment with a hose to ensure the pump was working and it is. It's pumping out the water, but seems to take quite a bit of time. Wasn't sure if it's possible to plug it with oily water and debris that sits in the engine compartment.

Does anyone have any suggestions on where to look for leaks?
 
First, the hose for the pump is above the water line so water is unlikely to come in from the pump. It is a small pump is a centrifugal type pump that only pumps 500/gals an hour, or about 8/gals a minute with no head pressure. Since the hose is about 2 feet higher then the pump, the pump is pumping less than 8gals/minute, less if there is anything blocking the intake.

If you are taking on water faster than the pump can get it out, you will sink. Therefore, I would find out where the water is coming in before I went out again.

As to where to look, you need to check all thru hull fittings, all hoses, and all connections. Check the carbon seal as well.
 
You can pop the pump off and make sure the blades on the pump are not damaged or broken off. The screen is heald on with 2 push clips if the screen is clogged it will pump slower.

I would float the boat to make sure no water comes in that way and than run it and check to leaks. Some pople have leaks where 2 half of the boat join, but you would see that when you place it in the water. The eninge could be leaking from a hose, carbones seals could be but you would have bad cavitation also with that, or a plugged fitting. Make sure you hose is not damaged from the interior to the hull fitting through the engine compartment.
 
The discharge for the bilge pump is under the swim deck between the pumps. It's a white hose/outlet. I had a problem with mine filling with water if I left it in the water docked. The previous owner broke the speedometer paddle wheel, so he disconnected the wire and took it out. That left a tiny hole that let water in. I left the boat docked overnight and found about 18 inches of water the next morning. The bilge pump didn't kick on. That's when I figured out, from the factory the pump is hooked to the battery switch, with the switch off, the pump won't work. I fixed that oversight by sea doo.
 
All good info, another place to check is your exhaust seals, where they "through hull" on each side up under swim platform. Look for dried and cracked rubber seals, I sincerely hope they aren't the culprit, not an expensive fix but just a PITA to change out.
 
Can the driveshafts be turned by hand? I know they are hard to turn, but is it ok to turn by hand because someone tried doing this to grease the PTO flywheel. I didn't know if this could cause damage to something. They seemed to think this was ok to do.
 
howie099 said:
You can pop the pump off and make sure the blades on the pump are not damaged or broken off. The screen is heald on with 2 push clips if the screen is clogged it will pump slower.

I would float the boat to make sure no water comes in that way and than run it and check to leaks. Some pople have leaks where 2 half of the boat join, but you would see that when you place it in the water. The eninge could be leaking from a hose, carbones seals could be but you would have bad cavitation also with that, or a plugged fitting. Make sure you hose is not damaged from the interior to the hull fitting through the engine compartment.
Click to expand...

What exactly is the carbone seal? I've seen it mentioned countless times on here and I know where it's located, but what exactly does it do and how could it be leaking?
 
It is the seal that goes between the boat the drive shaft. It has a boot and black ring in it. It takes the place of a standard carrier bearing. Just look where the drive shaft enters/leaves the boat and you see the assembly.
 
I found the water leak. There's a hole in the cooling system's head pipe assembly on the starboard engine. Water is shooting out through the hole. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to repair the hole? I see a new assembly is $800. Can it be patched or welded?
 
i dont know if you have these for sure ..but look to the rear of the jetpump and look in there make sure the 2 siphon tubes are in there....these tend to fall out from time to time on seadoos and will force water in if they are missing or broken or whatever.... heres a pic i found
 

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How do I upload pics? I thought it would be simple, but as I chose 3 pics to upload, it seemed to be uploading them then after the 3rd pic, it just stopped. What am I doing wrong? Can I not upload straight from my computer?
 
post your pics on photobucket, then click on below pics (direct link), then paste on attachments where it says from website
 
Are you saying there should be tubes in the engine area connected to these two drain holes? I have a 1996 sportster (1 engine) and think I have these holes. I am not sure if I have tubes connected to them or not in the engine compartment.
 
How much water in the engine compartment is normal in like a 96 sportster that I have? After I am running I see water in my compartment that fills the two "V" areas where the two external drain plugs are. Should there really be no water at all in the conmpartment?

thanks
 
larrybr45 said:
How much water in the engine compartment is normal in like a 96 sportster that I have? After I am running I see water in my compartment that fills the two "V" areas where the two external drain plugs are. Should there really be no water at all in the conmpartment?

thanks
Click to expand...

No, a hole formed because it rusted through. I need to either have it welded or for a temporary fix use JB Weld on it. Not sure how much water should be in the engine compartment, but I've never had water in there. This was the first time I had water so I knew something was wrong. It took me some time to find the hole as the engine needed to be running. I could see water running from the front of the engine compartment from under the starboard engine to the back of the boat where the drain plug is. I finally saw the water shooting out of the hole in the pipe assembly of the cooling system.
 
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