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  1. #21

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    The boat is only ever on its trailer for the winter, and this winter it won't be stored on its trailer unfortunately. I agree that running it on a hose and measuring water output on each side - not just guessing but actually measuring - is an exercise worth doing, although probably in the spring at this point.

    The RWP housing runs extremely close to the temp of the lake, I've checked it with my IR thermometer. And when I winterize it, I sort of do the "bucket test" when I suck up antifreeze... but there again I should *measure* the time it takes, which I never have.

    Thanks again for the thoughts and ideas. I think I just need to be a little more methodical about this, rather than assuming something is OK because it "kinda seems normal."

    The good news is, I had a whole season without a single hiccup with the boat, over 60 hours and the only "issue" I had was re-packing the stuffing box (which was by choice). Oh and the Keel Guard is delaminating, not from the boat, but from itself. That I can live with, if it's my only problem this season.

  2. #22

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    Update: I'm not entirely surprised, but last night the silicone hose failed. We went out for a late-season night cruise, and of course we were just idling for probably close to an hour, when suddenly the exhaust makes a much louder sound. It's clearly the sound of exhaust dumping out under the engine cover, and I shut the engine off right away. When I opened the engine cover, there was nothing visible, and no extra water anywhere. A quick look around revealed the starboard side hose completely SPLIT down the side, along the length of the hose over a span of about 8 inches. The fact that it wasn't spewing water out means, of course, there wasn't much, if any, going down that side.

    I was able to wrap some webbing around the hose to sort of keep it together, then move a hose clamp and use another strap I had to keep the webbing in place, just enough to get home. I ran at a speed just above idle to keep water flow going, but not any faster so as not to put excess strain on the rest of the hose - or to fill the bilge with exhaust water.

    I still don't think this is a water flow problem before the manifold, but rather an issue later in the system, possibly a partial blockage in the muffler. The reason I think this is because I have addressed all possible water flow issues in past years with the system leading up to the manifolds. I don't know who it was on this forum who had the problem recently, but someone who had redone their floors had a similar problem and found the muffler to be the culprit. The fact that the issue stays on the starboard side only is more evidence that it's not a water supply problem.

    My dilemma now is what to do with the boat at this point. The floor is absolutely solid. The motor mounts are... pretty solid. But I know it's all original, and we all know what that means. I love the boat but it's not my dream to own it forever. I have money set aside for a new boat, but I'd have to sell this one. I will be sleeping on this, but I'm tempted to take this as the reason to rip up the floor and replace everything from the front seats to the transom - I'm sure there is some water-soaked foam, if not much rotten wood yet. I've seen plenty of boats that were caught early - before there were any major signs of rot - and didn't need a full bow-to-stern gut. I'm just terrified to go down that road because I know where it usually goes.

    Or should I just get another 3' section of VHT silicone hose for $150 and remember to bump up the RPMs a little more?

    See my handy band-aid fix to get the boat home without massive noise and/or water filling the bilge. It wasn't bad actually - you could hardly hear the difference!

    IMG_0415.jpg

    IMG_0417.jpg

    IMG_0416.jpg

  3. #23
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
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    Hudson, WI
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    2,651

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    The only thing that repair is missing is zip ties!

    Glad you were able to make it home. I don't have any great ideas about the problem (my boat never had mufflers) but if it was me, I'd definitely want to take the steps to fix it rather than just band-aid it.
    Former owner of a 1987 Supra Saltare. Current owner of a Malibu 23LSV.

  4. #24
    Join Date
    Jul 2010
    Location
    N.W. Suburbs Chicago, IL
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    2,307

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    That was me you're thinking about with the exhaust overheating the hose aft/downstream from the riser and manifold. What is after your hose there between the riser and the transom outlet?
    '86 Comp TS6M - Reborn 2016
    Riding a HO Sports CX Ski

  5. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jetlink View Post
    That was me you're thinking about with the exhaust overheating the hose aft/downstream from the riser and manifold. What is after your hose there between the riser and the transom outlet?
    That's right, now it sounds familiar.

    After the hose it's a stainless 3" pipe that goes into the floor at about a 45, then I presume there's a muffler between there and the transom pipe which has just a rubber flapper (no Super Trapp or anything like that).

    I'm betting something is blocking flow in that starboard muffler.

    What worries me about "fixing it right" is taking the floor up in this boat... I don't think I want to get into a cap-off resto right now.

  6. #26
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    Jul 2010
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    N.W. Suburbs Chicago, IL
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    Have you checked flow through the manifolds and risers? I forget, is it only on one side like mine that has an issue? If you have a "fish" that you can run down the exhaust when you take the damaged hose off see if it has any obstructions before it exits the transom. My issue was I had something that created enough of a blockage to increase back pressure that forced the water to take the path of least resistance and I bet that is what is happening here.
    '86 Comp TS6M - Reborn 2016
    Riding a HO Sports CX Ski

  7. #27
    Join Date
    Sep 2004
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    Hudson, WI
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jetlink View Post
    Have you checked flow through the manifolds and risers? I forget, is it only on one side like mine that has an issue? If you have a "fish" that you can run down the exhaust when you take the damaged hose off see if it has any obstructions before it exits the transom. My issue was I had something that created enough of a blockage to increase back pressure that forced the water to take the path of least resistance and I bet that is what is happening here.
    I don't think this is the issue. If the blockage was after the manifold/riser than there would have been plenty of water coming through the split in the exhaust hose. I'd stick a garden hose in there and make sure you get a steady stream of water out the back of the boat.

    Have these manifolds ever been off? Any chance the gaskets were installed incorrectly on that side? (I once reassembled an engine and didn't install a head gasket on one side!!)
    Former owner of a 1987 Supra Saltare. Current owner of a Malibu 23LSV.

  8. #28

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jetlink View Post
    Have you checked flow through the manifolds and risers? I forget, is it only on one side like mine that has an issue? If you have a "fish" that you can run down the exhaust when you take the damaged hose off see if it has any obstructions before it exits the transom. My issue was I had something that created enough of a blockage to increase back pressure that forced the water to take the path of least resistance and I bet that is what is happening here.
    The problem is really only starboard side. The port side is more or less fine. I think I may have the same issue with having a small/partial blockage in the muffler, as you said. The rest of the system has been gone through.

    Quote Originally Posted by wotan2525 View Post
    I don't think this is the issue. If the blockage was after the manifold/riser than there would have been plenty of water coming through the split in the exhaust hose. I'd stick a garden hose in there and make sure you get a steady stream of water out the back of the boat.

    Have these manifolds ever been off? Any chance the gaskets were installed incorrectly on that side? (I once reassembled an engine and didn't install a head gasket on one side!!)
    I haven't tested this scientifically, by putting a bucket under each side and measuring / seeing if one fills up faster than the other. I can tell you water comes out both sides when the boat is out of the water, and water flows out fine above idle. It's the extended idle times that seems to cause problems. On the gasket - yes, the risers / manifolds have been off, and I'm 100% positive the gaskets are correct. That was a plausible early theory but unfortunately it wasn't the issue.

    The fact that it's really only on one side, too, makes me believe it's something about that muffler on that side. I've had the hoses off where they connect to the manifolds, and both put out good flow. I've had the manifolds and risers completely apart and flushed out thoroughly. I've ground out the grooves in the riser where the hose slips over to let more water out.

    But man, I'm terrified to rip up the floor......

  9. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by Jetlink View Post
    If you have a "fish" that you can run down the exhaust when you take the damaged hose off see if it has any obstructions before it exits the transom.
    I don't know what the muffler looks like internally. Could you fish some kind of stiff wire (like one of those tools you use to pull wires/cables through walls, etc) straight through from the inside to the outside? Or are there baffles in the way?

    When I replaced the hoses last, I did it in the water. My friend who helped me was amused that if we both stood on one side of the boat, water flowed in at an alarming rate through the 3" pipe... however we did note that water flowed in about the same from each side. Which makes sense because water flows out fine at higher engine speeds. It kind of adds up that at low engine speeds, there is some back pressure created in the system and it wouldn't take a lot of restriction to keep the cooling water passages from putting out their usual flow. A small amount might just be trickling down the bottom side of the hose, while the rest just goes out the other side - the path of least resistance as you said.

    Can you tell this issue is driving me crazy? It's been lingering for about 4 years, since I first burned through an exhaust hose. I worked at a marina at the time and had many mechanical minds thinking about it. I did everything we would have done if a customer had been having the same issue. At this point, I'm not sure what I'd tell a customer in the same situation. Except don't idle for so long... which isn't what I want to hear. That's like, "oh yes your car will do that after going 30mph for more than 15 minutes continuously, you have to just change your driving style..." what? It's not like I'm experiencing an issue after running WOT for long periods.

  10. #30
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    Hudson, WI
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    I'm also stumped. My biggest fear? You tear up your floor and don't even find mufflers there.
    Former owner of a 1987 Supra Saltare. Current owner of a Malibu 23LSV.

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