Help with water leak

B

bryan25rs

Member
Jun 30, 2011
154
Cape Cod
Boat Info
2008 Sundancer 310
Engines
Mercruiser 6.2 Liter V-Drives w/DTS
I have noticed salt build up on exhaust hoses and pulleys on my starboard engine. There is a pin hole leak somewhere leaking salt water onto the serpentine belts and then getting flung everywhere. I don't know how to find the leak, I tried running the engine up to 2000 rpms while in bilge and can't see anything, I think the engine needs to be under load. It isn't safe to have someone in there while in the ocean. Any ideas?
 
If it was leaking there it would be antifreeze, not salt water. The engines are 6.2 horizon engines
 
Generally speaking, V-drive are a great thing. Unless of course, you're trying to do maintenance on the front of the engine, which of course is turned backwards and stuffed, X2, into a cramped bilge. Then, one wishes for outdrives or another 2 feet of beam. But you are well aware of that! :smt001

Let everything dry up and then either contortion yourself to look around for the tell-tale white (dried up salt water) streaks, or use your phone on video (make sure you have good light down there) and look that way. Focus on, obviously, the hose connections and the heat exchanger. Hopefully, it's just a loose clamp, or possibly a clamp that has rusted and partially broken. Depending on how "thick" the tell tale white streak is, you may even be able to feel it (crustiness) with your fingers.

It's unlikely that you need a load on the engine as the water flow is the same at a given RPM, regardless of load. But, it may very well be (again, hoping for one of the easy things mentioned above) that the leak may not start till higher in the RPM band or when things get good and warm and start to expand. Although, running under load would certainly heat things up better - at least faster. You may want to take it for a good spin, then come back and run it again in the slip to physically look around.
 
Last edited:
Thanks Dennis, I will try it tomorrow and update. And yes vdrives suck when it comes to repairs, I have the genset also, if I wasn't skinny I don't know how I would do anything down there
 
bryan25rs said:
Thanks Dennis, I will try it tomorrow and update. And yes vdrives suck when it comes to repairs, I have the genset also, if I wasn't skinny I don't know how I would do anything down there
Click to expand...

Easy... you'd find a 15-year old kid and give him $20. We call them "bilge monkeys". :smt001 Heck, that's still not a bad idea!!! Good luck - I hope it's something simple!
 
The same thing happened on my 2008 330DA. I found a nearly transparent stream of water shooting out from the raw water pump when I ran the generator. It took me a few weeks to find it. I thought it was the same thing you are looking for from the mains.
 
Last edited:
Sorry Mike I thought it was in the signature.

BINGO- Raw water pump! I got the engines nice and hot, used my hand held spotlight and ran the engine in neutral up to about 1800 rpm and that was enough. At first it looked like I was coming from the heat exchanger but the belt was flicking it there. The bright light was the key. The pump only has 2 seasons on it, and they are the bronze ones $$$$. Can the seal be replaced?
 
Here's the part # for the shaft seal kit 8m0050018. Here's the info on a wear plate for it.
metalartetc.com. part # ssmwp-001
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Forum statistics

Threads
113,247
Messages
1,429,219
Members
61,125
Latest member
Bassinbradw
Back
Top