Cleaning out the bilge

Port side, by the engine mount? That looks like your fuel cooler. Inside that plastic box is both the fuel cooler and the fuel pump. While some verdigris on bronze parts is not a concern, there's more there than what I would consider "not a concern". It might be best to pull it out, clean it up and give it a good goings over. That hose looks to have some issues, as well, but that's not explaining the leakage since the leakage is coming from higher up, possibly where the fuel line enters the cooler tube.
Yes port side near the mount. Thanks for that info. I will try to get a closer look at it to see where the water is coming from, i know i just saw it dripping off the blue valve under the corrosion. There must be something above that corroded pipe that is leaking water?
 
That’s the raw water hose to the fuel cooler it should be double clamped . pull it off wire brush the cooler clean and cut about an inch off of that hose and re-clamp with two straps
 
That’s the raw water hose to the fuel cooler it should be double clamped . pull it off wire brush the cooler clean and cut about an inch off of that hose and re-clamp with two straps
Is there any harm doing this while the boat is in the water? Assuming water only flows through that if the engine is running, so if i pull it off, residual water will spill out, but that is all?
 
Is there any harm doing this while the boat is in the water? Assuming water only flows through that if the engine is running, so if i pull it off, residual water will spill out, but that is all?
On my boat my strainers are above the waterline so I have no issue doing anything south of my strainers I wouldn’t think you should have an issue but if you have a concern then close the seacock to the water inlet for that motor ,and yes there might be some residual water laying in there ,none that should be of any volume
 
Yes port side near the mount. Thanks for that info. I will try to get a closer look at it to see where the water is coming from, i know i just saw it dripping off the blue valve under the corrosion. There must be something above that corroded pipe that is leaking water?
Jeff,
This is a picture of the internals to one of my fuel coolers on a 4.3L. Probably the same inside, if you want a inside look at your setup. The large line with corrosion and blue drain is obviously leaking. I also don’t like the look of that hose. Good idea to give that area some love real soon.
 

Attachments

  • A16996B5-CDC5-4CC3-AB48-5C63D70959BC.jpeg
    A16996B5-CDC5-4CC3-AB48-5C63D70959BC.jpeg
    118.6 KB · Views: 268
DWA's picture is exactly the same the same thing you have, Jeff. And, it looks like he suffer's from the same upside down posting issue as you! :)

Doing it in the water... there's a good chance you would end up having a siphoning thing going on - meaning, the water would continue to flow. You don't have a seacock to turn off (unless it was added somewhere along the line). The impeller inside the raw water pump will slow down the flow rate - depending on where the vanes stopped - but it won't stop the flow. You could, however, pinch the output hose of the raw water pump... or remove the hose from the back side of the fuel cooler and raise it above water level.

You might get lucky, as mentioned above, that the only thing is a leaky hose connection - in which case this becomes an easier fix. But I'd want to get eyes on everything as the leak may be coming from other places, too - even though that verdigris is, for the most part, actually protecting the metal.
 
Last edited:
Those blue plastic drain plugs are notorious for cracking and leaking too. So check if it is cracked or the rubber ring is cracked. Should that water hose be double clamped? Maybe it is leaking?
 
Well it’s not really related but I started painting my generator today.

Replaced the mounts and cleaned it. This is step 3 before new wire loom and a sound shield. You may notice I mounted an led light under the generator table. Best. Idea. Ever.


Trying to get this stuff done before it gets too hot. Heck it was 80 today!
 

Attachments

  • 5C4BEBCB-B3F3-40BA-B109-FA47E83374B8.jpeg
    5C4BEBCB-B3F3-40BA-B109-FA47E83374B8.jpeg
    157.8 KB · Views: 295
  • 7E706008-0D20-4DEB-B762-36E93E7388B6.jpeg
    7E706008-0D20-4DEB-B762-36E93E7388B6.jpeg
    131.4 KB · Views: 284
  • 8E908151-AF4B-47EC-94DC-6E525DE141BE.jpeg
    8E908151-AF4B-47EC-94DC-6E525DE141BE.jpeg
    98.6 KB · Views: 286
Well it’s not really related but I started painting my generator today.

Replaced the mounts and cleaned it. This is step 3 before new wire loom and a sound shield. You may notice I mounted an led light under the generator table. Best. Idea. Ever.


Trying to get this stuff done before it gets too hot. Heck it was 80 today!
That bilge is crazy clean. Looks beautiful!! Nice work
 
Jeff,
This is a picture of the internals to one of my fuel coolers on a 4.3L. Probably the same inside, if you want a inside look at your setup. The large line with corrosion and blue drain is obviously leaking. I also don’t like the look of that hose. Good idea to give that area some love real soon.
Thank you for that picture, that is a great help. I will be giving that area some attention soon. The comments here will help me figure out exactly what to do. Much appreciated.
 
Those blue plastic drain plugs are notorious for cracking and leaking too. So check if it is cracked or the rubber ring is cracked. Should that water hose be double clamped? Maybe it is leaking?
Thanks for the tip. My biggest concern with removing the hose and even the drain cap is the flow of raw water into the boat. Residual water is no big deal, but if there is suction from the bay that could cause me some issues. I will need to think about this before doing anything
 
That’s the raw water hose to the fuel cooler it should be double clamped . pull it off wire brush the cooler clean and cut about an inch off of that hose and re-clamp with two straps
Can i afford to cut off an inch of that hose and still have enough to clamp on afterwards?
 
DWA's picture is exactly the same the same thing you have, Jeff. And, it looks like he suffer's from the same upside down posting issue as you! :)

Doing it in the water... there's a good chance you would end up having a siphoning thing going on - meaning, the water would continue to flow. You don't have a seacock to turn off (unless it was added somewhere along the line). The impeller inside the raw water pump will slow down the flow rate - depending on where the vanes stopped - but it won't stop the flow. You could, however, pinch the output hose of the raw water pump... or remove the hose from the back side of the fuel cooler and raise it above water level.

You might get lucky, as mentioned above, that the only thing is a leaky hose connection - in which case this becomes an easier fix. But I'd want to get eyes on everything as the leak may be coming from other places, too - even though that verdigris is, for the most part, actually protecting the metal.
Regarding doing it in the water and the siphoning, is this true even with sterndrive, or only inboard?
 
Regarding doing it in the water and the siphoning, is this true even with sterndrive, or only inboard?
It's "only" with a sterndrive. An inboard has a seacock that can physically shut off the incoming water. Unless you have added a seacock, you have no direct way to shut off the water. You could try raising the drive and using some really good tape over the water inlets, too. But keep in mind that there's always the risk of one of the "prevention" methods failing.
 
It's "only" with a sterndrive. An inboard has a seacock that can physically shut off the incoming water. Unless you have added a seacock, you have no direct way to shut off the water. You could try raising the drive and using some really good tape over the water inlets, too. But keep in mind that there's always the risk of one of the "prevention" methods failing.
Gotcha. I will double check but i doubt there is a seacock.
 
This might be a dumb question, but as i look at @DWABoat photo of his fuel cooler, his drain cap looks parallel with the fuel cooler body, where as mine looks a bit crooked. Could it be as simple as mine needing to be turn a partial rotation to become tight?
 
Can i afford to cut off an inch of that hose and still have enough to clamp on afterwards?
you need to look at that length of hose and see how much play there is in it. I had enough room on my hose to cut past the old clamp Mark
 
This might be a dumb question, but as i look at @DWABoat photo of his fuel cooler, his drain cap looks parallel with the fuel cooler body, where as mine looks a bit crooked. Could it be as simple as mine needing to be turn a partial rotation to become tight?
More than likely it's cross threaded, buy a new plug.
 

Forum statistics

Threads
112,943
Messages
1,422,709
Members
60,927
Latest member
Jaguar65
Back
Top