The ultimate leak finding thread <post if you find a new source!>

[Xwinger61]

@Julian
I have a leak issue I cant find a fix for on my Yamaha 190 fsh. The Wash down hose is leaking. When I checked it turned out it wasn't even hand tight. I tightened it down but still leaks and the faster I go the more it leaks. Have not found fix yet. I would like to just remove it.

Xwinger

 

[Julian]

@Julian
I have a leak issue I cant find a fix for on my Yamaha 190 fsh. The Wash down hose is leaking. When I checked it turned out it wasn't even hand tight. I tightened it down but still leaks and the faster I go the more it leaks. Have not found fix yet. I would like to just remove it.

Xwinger

Do you have a YES warranty? I'll bet they'll just swap out the leaking part!

 

[Xwinger61]

Not sure what a YES warranty is?? I did get a warranty not sure if its was for 1yr or more.

 

[Julian]

Not sure what a YES warranty is?? I did get a warranty not sure if its was for 1yr or more.

Yamaha Extended Service Warranty.....you might have paid for it, or it might have been thrown in....depends on when you bought your boat, the dealer, the incentives etc.

 

[Xwinger61]

Cool thanks I think there was a 3 yr warranty on it. I'll call the dealer.

 

[Osric]

I don't normally notice water in the bilge but this past week after a few hours of heavy tubing the boat had taken on a lot of water - so much so that the center ballast compartment had significant water in it that wasn't in the ballast bag. I didn't think anything of it but reviewing this thread makes me think I should go looking for leaks ... what do people consider a "normal" amount of water in the bilge after a few hours of tubing?

 

[Gym]

I don't normally notice water in the bilge but this past week after a few hours of heavy tubing the boat had taken on a lot of water - so much so that the center ballast compartment had significant water in it that wasn't in the ballast bag. I didn't think anything of it but reviewing this thread makes me think I should go looking for leaks ... what do people consider a "normal" amount of water in the bilge after a few hours of tubing?

Regardless of what you think might be normal it would be a quick and easy test to put your boat on the trailer, raise the bow either with the trailer jack or on a slight incline, put about 5 gallons of water in the engine compartment using a hose. Then stand behind the boat to see if anything is leaking out. It's also possible this could be cooling water if the water feels warm. You could have a broken hose clamp.

 

[J-RAD]

Regardless of what you think might be normal it would be a quick and easy test to put your boat on the trailer, raise the bow either with the trailer jack or on a slight incline, put about 5 gallons of water in the engine compartment using a hose. Then stand behind the boat to see if anything is leaking out. It's also possible this could be cooling water if the water feels warm. You could have a broken hose clamp.

Tried that with mine. Ran a garden hose and put a LOT more than 5 gallons in it and never saw a leak...

 

[rkgdmd]

I never thought the garden hose method was all that useful. I guess if there was an actual hole in the boat it might help you find that. Most of the time the water is entering through the rear hatch or rear hatch cover. Mine leaked like a sieve. Water splashes over that area when you slow down suddenly...like when you stop to pick up a tuber. How often is the bilge coming on when you're out on the water? These boats just aren't too watertight. Lol.

 

[Jgorm]

My solution is to run a bilge pump and not care. I get about a gallon, maybe 2 out the plug after a day on the water.

 

[Osric]

Regardless of what you think might be normal it would be a quick and easy test to put your boat on the trailer, raise the bow either with the trailer jack or on a slight incline, put about 5 gallons of water in the engine compartment using a hose. Then stand behind the boat to see if anything is leaking out. It's also possible this could be cooling water if the water feels warm. You could have a broken hose clamp.

This presumes I have a trailer! I do not. I store my boat on a lift in my boathouse and it doesn't leave my lake system.

I am pretty confident that if there is a leak it must be rub-rail level or higher, as a day of wakeboarding = no noticable water; a day of tubing = lots of water. The tube puts a lot of force on the boat and the swim platform get wet. I'll try some experiments this weekend and see if I can narrow it down, but it isn't an issue that has caused us a lot of trouble generally.

 

[Gym]

Yes @Osric I did assume you had a trailer as the Yamaha's come with one but not a problem you can still do the test on the lift you'll just need to put in a little more water. As you suggest the rails are a known point of water intrusion.

 

[StanM]

I always seem to have some water when I pull the plug. I put my boat on a slight incline and stuck a garden house back by the rear rub rail. Two leaks, one at each corner of the swim platform.

 

[Speedling]

This presumes I have a trailer! I do not. I store my boat on a lift in my boathouse and it doesn't leave my lake system.

I am pretty confident that if there is a leak it must be rub-rail level or higher, as a day of wakeboarding = no noticable water; a day of tubing = lots of water. The tube puts a lot of force on the boat and the swim platform get wet. I'll try some experiments this weekend and see if I can narrow it down, but it isn't an issue that has caused us a lot of trouble generally.

My rub rail and many of the older boats were not completely sealed in the back causing an in rush of water when going slow and water washes on the deck. Check yours

 

[Cambo]

does anyone have any pictures or info of removing the rub rail and siliconing the area ? I did remove the rear remote looking in that hole I could easily see why it could leak there was a factory silicone bead about 1'' above the actual seam and it was so sparsely applied that even if it was on the seam it probably would not come close to sealing it . Im goint to try and remove the cup holder to see If I can reach in with a small tube of silicone

 

[Speedling]

does anyone have any pictures or info of removing the rub rail and siliconing the area ? I did remove the rear remote looking in that hole I could easily see why it could leak there was a factory silicone bead about 1'' above the actual seam and it was so sparsely applied that even if it was on the seam it probably would not come close to sealing it . Im goint to try and remove the cup holder to see If I can reach in with a small tube of silicone




View attachment 100262

I don't recall how your boat is constructed however my boat has a hatch that I can take out to access the exhaust. This is where I was able to look inside

 

[Julian]

A recent swamping of a 240 series boat was due to a scupper failure .... so apparently they didn't move it above the water line, or there was more to this story....

 

[AmesJainchill]

I had a possible combination of #3 and #4 the first time I took mine out on the water this year for a post winter "shakedown" test. Went cruising speed for around 15-20 mins with no apparent issue, then got in a glass smooth channel and opened it up to WOT briefly. Pretty much immediately, the bilge light came on blue, then quickly went to red. Immediately stopped the boat to idle, left the engines on and opened the hatch to see if water was spraying anywhere in the engine compartment. Did not appear to be, though water had made its way to the bottom of the engine compartment area up from the "lower bilge". Pump handled the water on its own and I proceeded to go cruising speed back to my launch. Bilge would turn on every minute or two at this speed on the way back but the indicator light never turned red again. Took the boat back to the dealer and had them test it on the water. They sealed the tray around the cleanout plugs (which was barely, if at all, sealed), reseated the plugs themselves and no further issues. I pretty much always get a little water (<1 gallon estimated) draining out of the boat when I pull the drain plug back on the trailer at the end of the day, but so far never had the bilge kick on again. ?

 

[Cambo]

A recent swamping of a 240 series boat was due to a scupper failure .... so apparently they didn't move it above the water line, or there was more to this story....

They are higher up on my 242 at the water line while floating . As the boat rocks it dips under and out and when going no wake its definitely under water . My theory on why it cracks while the scupper has a one way bailer it still lets some water in the hose that is a large hose and when it bounces in the boat the weight causes stress on the scupper connection then eventually it cracks then shears off completely

 

[WbSoCal]

This is intended to be an ultimate leak finding thread! If you have a leak that isn't covered in this thread, reply and @Julian so I get notified to update it.


First Question:

1. Is the water in the bilge hot? If cold, move to section A, if hot move to Section B.

SECTION A: Your leak is not from exhaust water, so could be from one of the following sources (we've ordered them in a general order of likeliness)

1. Loose or poorly sealed through hull fitting.
   1. This could be the main drain plug itself, shifter cable, bucket cable, speedo, depth finder, or anything screwed into the boat below the water line.
   2. One (not fool proof) way to quickly check for this is to put the plug in the boat while on the trailer and stick a hose in the bilge and fill the stern with water while looking for leaks (don't go to the point of touching the oil filter with water...but you do need some pressure). If this produces a leak outside...voila. If it doesn't, it doesn't rule out these fittings, but make it much less likely.
   3. Visually inspect all the fittings.
   4. Seal with _____(insert preferred sealant here--life caulk? 4200?)
2. Scupper drain (especially for models where this drain is below the water line-24' models built after 20__ (need year) have scupper drains above the water line) may be cracked...often a problem in older 23' Yamaha models...the plastic hull fitting cracks and leaks (photo?)
3. Broken seal around cleanout tray. Reseal with silicone or weather stripping. When you stop the boat quickly, water can get forced up the clean out tray drain tube into the clean out tray. If the hatch isn't sealed water leaks in there, and if the tray edge isn't sealed it will leak there too.
4. Plugs not fully engaged. Water is flowing around them, up into the cleanout port and/or around the cleanout tray to get to the bilge.
5. Intermediate Bearing leak, and another thread on bearing leak
6. Leaks in the fittings at the point where the drive shaft enters the boat. This thread covers this (due to rope ingestion)
7. Anchor locker drain-either has a leak, or the anchor locker itself leaks. This is especially a problem if you drive the boat with a bow full of people through a long no wake zone...it forces water into the anchor locker and fills it with water...which then leaks into the rest of the boat. On some model years the anchor locker drains weren't sealed and allowed water into the hull when the bow was loaded down and driving no wake speeds.
8. If your speedo isn't working and it is a Pitot tube style....check behind the helm for water and connect the hose.
9. If you have ballast bags, check the connector fittings for leaks. There is also a sillcock (valve) on the intake at the through hull that you can close. This would eliminate all but the through hull fitting itself as a leak source on ballast systems.
10. If you are wake surfing and sink the rub rail below the water, the rub rails often aren't sealed well....check there for leaks. Also, the pop up cleats leak.
11. If you beached with the stern very low and waves washing the swim deck, two things could be an issue. One-the rub rails can leak water through, or Two, the clean out tray may not be sealed.
12. Some boats have had leaks in the clean out tube hose at the bottom. This would only leak when the stern was weighed down a lot.
13. Many of our boats don't have drains hoses connected to the cup holders, so when water gets in them it goes right into the bilge. Some boats with swim deck cup holders have this issue. On mine they drain onto the swim deck, but if the hose comes off...then they drain to the bilge.
14. The following thread covers leaks in the clean out tray and rub rails: https://jetboaters.net/threads/need-help-lots-of-water-draining-from-plug-on-17-212x.23345/
15. Do you have a wash down pump or shower tank - check the fitting - some have found them almost completely undone!

SECTION B: If the water in your bilge is hot, then you have a leak in an exhaust manifold.

• Check all the hose clamps and see if any are missing or broken.
• Check for cracks in the manifolds.
• Check for leaks on the intake of your resonator.

The best way to find a leak is to remove the clean out tray and visually inspect for water.

One member used baby powder sprinkled in his bilge as a way to more easily spot where water is coming in. Using your phone with the light on and recording video in the bilge is also a good approach.


Also began an FAQ on leaks

Links to threads on boat leaks:

1. https://jetboaters.net/threads/still-leaking.13046/
2. https://jetboaters.net/threads/surprising-water-leak.13295/
3. https://jetboaters.net/threads/impeller-jam-caused-serious-leaking.7274/
4. https://jetboaters.net/threads/water-leak-from-engine-block.14405/
5. https://jetboaters.net/threads/i-dont-think-water-is-suppose-to-be-there.5919/
6. https://jetboaters.net/threads/water-in-my-bilge.12397/
7. https://jetboaters.net/threads/repa...-a-rope-being-sucked-into-the-impeller.18078/

New to this website and new to owning a Yamaha after 34 years of owning a Mercruiser outdrive boats. Not sure if this has been covered here before. I bought a Yamaha 2022 212SE a month ago. Love the boat but was concerned about the amount of water that would drain from my boat after a few hours on being on the water. Looked into the usual suspects, the anchor locker wasn't the problem, I taped up the outside of the drain and filled it with water and it didn't drain a drop. Went to the back of the boat and sprayed water all around, when I sprayed water on the clean out port tray, I could hear water draining into the boat, pulled the center cover off and instantly felt a wet area in the center of the larger plastic cover that covered up the entire tray. When I emptied a few glasses of water around the outside raised area I could see water pouring through the front center. I attached a few pictures of the area. Yamaha did a very poor job of sealing that joint. It should be an easy fix that I would normally do myself but I will be taking back to the dealer for a 10 hour service anyway and will show them the video I took on the problem. Hopefully you can see the problem in the attached photos I included.