Water in Bilge

[CtxAggie]

For the last 2 summers my 05 22V auto bilge pump would run every 5 to 10 minutes, to pump out a ton of water, while parked and swimming in a cove. My boat shop said the packless shaft seal was shot, so they replaced it last week. We took it out this weekend and there was significant improvement, but there was still a couple inches of water in the bilge although the pump was not frequently running.

My question is how much water is acceptable in the bilge?

[Jetdriver]

Ideally it's dry but that isn't very realistic. Those seals are supposed to drip a little so there's gonna be some water in there. The shape of your hull holds the water towards the front under the gas tank when you're sitting level so if you want to see how much water you're really holding drive slowly forward so the bow is high. This is also a good way to use the bilge pump to get out as much as possible. Most of our pumps are in the rear corner area of the bilge.
If too much water collects (6-8" or so) in your bilge it can get into the vent on your drive which is obviously bad.
Personally I try to not ever let it get above an inch or two. I'm planning on adding a second bilge pump in the forward part of my bilge this season.

[GzeroX5]

If I remember correctly, the PSS takes some operational time for good seal to set in. The friction between the stainless collar and the carbon piece gets it nice and flat and provides the seal. I doubt this set-in period explains your couple inches of water though. I would "double check" your shop put the right amount of preload on the stainless collar/PSS. While doing that, I'd run your finger up in there to make sure there is no debris/burrs, etc, causing the lack of seal. I did my own PSS. It wasn't mechanically hard, but ergonomically it was a PITA. If all that looks good, you may be leaking from somewhere else. Oil cooler would be a good starting spot.

[BCRider]

I had the same issue last year. Was getting a lot of water. I just had to push the collar in a bit more on the shaft to tighten it down. You may have been able to do that.

[CtxAggie]

Took the boat out for few hours yesterday and it's definitely taking in too much water. There is little but not much improvement with the new PSS. The pump would kick on every 10-15 mins and dump a lot of water.

I may just take it back to the shop.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[chpthril]

With the boat on the trailer, fill the bilge with a hose and see where water drips out. have you inspected the engine/drive train while running, for leaks?

[jslayde1]

On my '05 I had lots of issues with the mufflers letting in tons of water. The problem with those factory fiberglass mufflers were if you tighted the clamps too tight it would collapse the fiberglass ends - then you would have to "rebuild" the ends where you crushed them. I ended up putting straight stainless steel pipe in there too replace the muffler.

I would definitely check the hose/mufflers if you have not already...

[CtxAggie]

With the boat on the trailer, fill the bilge with a hose and see where water drips out. have you inspected the engine/drive train while running, for leaks?

I've inspected the engine while running and found no leaks. I took your advice and filled the bilge while at home. Turns out the rudder plate leaks like a sieve. What's the best method for repair? Unbolt and apply plumbers putty and or silicone? Does one need to use a lot of finesse when removing the plate to keep the steering alignment and parts intact?



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[onetogofast]

Has a grease zert that's needs serviced every 25 hours or so. Just 3-4 pumps each time


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CtxAggie]

Are there any tutorials on how to reseal the rudder plate?

[Germaine Marine]

I could be totally wrong here but I would think thats an easy fix with some 5200.

[CtxAggie]

I could be totally wrong here but I would think thats an easy fix with some 5200.

So just pookie around the plate without unbolting??


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[freeheel4life]

As usual Mike nails it. Hard to tell in your pic but are there also two big gel coat cracks running out to the starboard side?? I would say to get a proper seal you would need to unbolt and scrape off old 5200 or whatever marine adhesive/sealant got used that day then reinstall with 5200. Which would also mean unbolting tiller arm and dropping the rudder out. Pretty simple mechanically, not as much when it comes to access, and you will need a second set of hands to do it right. A colorful vocabulary will help as well. Tiller arm will be keyed to rudder shaft with a small piece of key stock so it's pretty much impossible to mess up steering alignment as long as it goes back together the same way you took it apart. Only real catch is you usually need a decent sized jack and some cribbing to lift the boat off the trailer or else rudder won't clear your prop guard on the trailer. Otherwise a good set of hand tools, a good light, patience, a buddy, and a tube of 5200 is all you need .

[CtxAggie]

As usual Mike nails it. Hard to tell in your pic but are there also two big gel coat cracks running out to the starboard side?? I would say to get a proper seal you would need to unbolt and scrape off old 5200 or whatever marine adhesive/sealant got used that day then reinstall with 5200. Which would also mean unbolting tiller arm and dropping the rudder out. Pretty simple mechanically, not as much when it comes to access, and you will need a second set of hands to do it right. A colorful vocabulary will help as well. Tiller arm will be keyed to rudder shaft with a small piece of key stock so it's pretty much impossible to mess up steering alignment as long as it goes back together the same way you took it apart. Only real catch is you usually need a decent sized jack and some cribbing to lift the boat off the trailer or else rudder won't clear your prop guard on the trailer. Otherwise a good set of hand tools, a good light, patience, a buddy, and a tube of 5200 is all you need .

Great feedback!