Water spraying on and around the motor - '99 21v

[mdk681]

As of late I have noticed more and more water being almost 'sprayed' on and around the motor on my 21v... I notice it mainly after surfing/wakeboarding and after driving on plane for a while. I get back to the lift and open everything up as usual, but I notice a lot of water on the door that coveres the motor in the center, on my batteries, and on top of the engine cover. I opened up the doors on Tuesday and drove at a slow speed by myself and looked for leaks but did not see anything. Any ideas on where this water/spray could be coming from?

For a while I thought it was from stopping when weighted for surfing - I figured it was the big wave/wash that hits the back of the boat and maybe water was coming through the blower vent. That does not appear to be the case after looking in to it. Any help or suggestions on where to look would be appreciated.

P.S. I never saw any of this last season - this spring I had the impeller replaced and the engine aligned along with v-drive and transmission fluid changes.

[whitlock87]

Shaft seal is my guess.
Drive the boat with the engine cover open and look at the back of the engine by the V-Drive ( It takes two people. One to drive and one to look)

[TeamAllen]

I would look at the drive shaft packing first.

[Ruger761]

You might also look at the water pump on the front of the motor. It will have a weap hole on the bottom. If seals are shot, water will come out of it hitting belt causing it to spray everywhere.

[TeamAllen]

Here is a picture of the stains coming out of my original circ pump.

[mdk681]

Shaft seal is my guess.
Drive the boat with the engine cover open and look at the back of the engine by the V-Drive ( It takes two people. One to drive and one to look)

I will give this a shot tonight.

You might also look at the water pump on the front of the motor. It will have a weap hole on the bottom. If seals are shot, water will come out of it hitting belt causing it to spray everywhere.

This sounds more like what I am seeing. The water seems to be spraying all over the place and even somehow makes it into the rear portion of the starboard side v-drive locker. The water is only on the back half of the motor cover, and is only right above where the belts are on the engine bay cover.

I was looking at a breakdown of what appears to be my engines water pump assembly here:
http://www.perfprotech.com/mercruise.../210?model=336
Which seals were you referring to? P/N #2?

[mdk681]

Here is a picture of the stains coming out of my original circ pump.

Thanks for posting that picture. If it is indeed leaking from that area, is it usually just the seals or does the actual pump itself leak and need to be replaced?

[Ruger761]

Its the seals internal to the pump. So just buy a new pump and replace the full thing. Pretty easy on a DD a V will be a little tougher just to get to everything.

[kx250frider617]

I have that boat and the majority of the water on the engine is from getting in and out of the boat. All the water drips between the rear hatches right onto the serpentine belt. I run in salt and have a can of WD to spray the engine with. Its a horrible design, they should have at least though of making a gutter under the rear hatches to re-direct the water.

[mdk681]

Its the seals internal to the pump. So just buy a new pump and replace the full thing. Pretty easy on a DD a V will be a little tougher just to get to everything.

I am going to try and track down one tonight after work. It appears all that I need to do is remove the belt, unbolt the pulley from the pump, then unbolt the pump from the block and swap it out? Anything else you ran into that I may get hung up on? Any advise would be appreciated - I can handle basic engine mechanics but am not comfortable with major tear downs...

[Travism]

Make sure you get the gaskets from the block to the water pump. It is a pretty straight forward install and you should be able to leave the pulley on until you get it off and onto the bench.

[mdk681]

Make sure you get the gaskets from the block to the water pump. It is a pretty straight forward install and you should be able to leave the pulley on until you get it off and onto the bench.

Great, thanks a lot for the suggestions! I am going to give it a go tonight or tomorrow and will report back with my findings!

[mdk681]

Make sure you get the gaskets from the block to the water pump. It is a pretty straight forward install and you should be able to leave the pulley on until you get it off and onto the bench.

It indeed was the water pump - I picked one up for around $150 at the marine parts store down the street. The install was very easy, even though I was a bit hesitant at first. It feels great to take care of something like that with a couple hours of my own time as opposed to dropping $500+ to have someone else do it!

Thanks again for all of the suggestions and direction - I'd be lost without Tige Owners!