What's Leaking???

L

longboatsailing

Member
Joined
Aug 8, 2007
RO Number
28059
Messages
26
I have a 1999 SeaRay 270 that I keep on a lift. I remove the drain plug and drain the bilge before I leave the boat for a month or so and when I launch it again, there is no sign of water in the bilge.

However, after the boat has been in the water a couple of hours, I can see water in the bilge. If I use the boat all day, I will have to run the bilge pump a couple of times to get rid of the water.

I can't find the source of this leak. I've eliminated the fresh water as the source, as I don't have any water in the tank. It can't be rainwater as it didn't rain. I can't see any water trails around the engine. It doesn't seem to be engine related as I can let it sit for a couple of hours and see more water in the bilge.

The Marine Max guys couldn't find anything either. Any ideas as to where the water is coming from?
 
Most likely - coming in from your outdrive. The usual suspects are u-joint bellows or shift bellows. First try trimming the drive all the way down and see if the leak diminishes. The bellows will usually leak faster when the bellows are extended. Also, on Alpha drives there is a weep hole that will dribble if there is water in the drive shaft bellows. If so, replace the bellows quickly, otherwise the gimble bearing usually rusts first, then the u-joints rust. Doesn't take long. But more important, your boat can sink if your battery goes dead. It's happened.
 
Ours, in signature, was leaking at shift bellows three years ago which would make it about the age yours is now. Tied up in the water, I could hear a trickle that splashed into the bilge from the center at the transom. Above is right, only the shift and drive bellows let water into the hull. Exhaust bellows does not but probably time to change all three. Shift bellows is the most popular culprit for sinking, but drive bellows allows lots of rust damage as well as water entry to boat again as noted above.
 
I'm betting bellows. They should be replaced every 2 years max. If that is indeed the case, your problem may be greater. Anticipate replacing the U-Joints and gimbal bearing. It will cost you roughly $2-3 hundred to repair total. Replacing the bellows every other year is about $60.
 
Bellows every 2 years? I just replaced mine and it was 10 years old. Maybe that's another Freshwater vs. Saltwater issues like my 20 year old risers? Of course, if you run with your drive up in shallow water that does take it's toll on them. That was the reason we had to replace the perfectly good 10 year old bellows! DOH!!
 
I have a 2000 Sea Ray 270 also . Mine has the twin 4.3 and I also started to notice a slight bit of water in the bildge over about a day. I got down low in front of the engines ( not an easy task) and looked back toward the transom under the engines. I could see a steady drip coming from the back under the starboard motor. I have put the boat away for the winter but I plan to do the bellows on both engines. I am sure that these bellows are original.
 
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