LS2000 leak

[sailorkane]

Hi all. Have a 2000 LS2000. Recently had jet seals redone. Put boat in water and it leaks. After 30 minutes running, half idle, half on plane, boat has lots of water in bilge. Took 3 minutes full flow to drain out of plug hole. Inspected hoses in aft compartment and don't see anything obvious. One thing stands out, though. I replaced the starboard cleanout plug with a complete new one. When I looked at it the next day, the well above the plug was full of water. Don't know where it came from. Is it possible the pressure from jets pushed water past seal? Then the seal re-sealed to keep the water above the plug for 24 hours? Seems farfetched. Any ideas, please share.

 

[Julian]

Your clean out plugs should have water on top of them after use - that shows they are sealed.

I recommend going through the leak finder thread and posting in reply to that if it doesn't help you find the source:

https://jetboaters.net/threads/the-ultimate-leak-finding-thread-your-opinions-are-needed.6684/

Also, you shouldn't have that much water in your boat without your bilge pump being triggered - sounds like you either didn't have it turned on (it should always be on when the boat is in the water), or your pump isn't working - may need cleaning (should be annual maintenance item) or may need replacing.

 

[sailorkane]

I was doing a trial and didn't have the bilge pump on. Last time I trialed, I had bilge pump on and this time needed to see how much water was actually coming in. Thanks for the leak link.

 

[Julian]

My favorite way to find leak like this is to stick my phone into the bilge while running with video camera on and light on. Slowly swivel the camera around and point at areas that you are concerned about. I would start with what has changed - specifically those shaft seals.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

also check the hoses and clamps around the muffler area and the engines

 

[sailorkane]

Thanks for the responses. I did what you suggested. Removed aft tray and clamped cutoff switches and found the leak. I attached two photos. One is a pipe that is the engine water intake pipe that goes from the fiberglass housing at the base of the cleanout port to the firewall and the engine water intake. (technically I attached photo of port side, because harder to get photo of the actual leaking starboard pipe). I also attached a closeup of the joint on the aft end that is actually leaking. Not sure if I should just put a new hose clamp on it and see if it fixes it? Looks like its been caulked before. Looks to me like replacing this hose pipe would be a PITA. The forward end going through the firewall appears connected to the engine. And no room to remove and replace that hose.... Would the engine have to shift? Or intake be removed? Probably a mechanic job. Anyone with any insight?

 

[84rzv500r]

impeller shaft goes through there, disconnect the steering and reverse bucket cables, coolant hose on the jet drives and slide the assembly out and you can replace the hose and clamps at will... alternatively the quick fix you may be able to remove the clamps clean up everything inspect the hose reseal and re clamp without puling the impeller shaft... prolly worth a try first..

 

[sailorkane]

Thanks. I didn't realize the shaft runs through that. Appreciate the information. Just had the seals redone. Obviously mechanic didn't tighten hose clamp enough. And probably should have replaced that hose, which looks original. I'll take it back to him.

 

[mss135]

It would be silly to replace the seals and not the hose while the drive shaft is out. Those are not original clamps and have been replaced. The original clamps are oetiker clamps that crimp on.

 

[sailorkane]

Thank you. Mechanic will be looking at it Wednesday morning and will fix it. I appreciate the insight you have given me.

 

[sailorkane]

Update: The hose that was leaking was due to the aft end of the shaft hose connection. It is just a plastic nipple that is screwed and caulked into the fiberglass and clamped on the hose. Mechanic (same one who replaced all shaft seals a month ago) pulled the shaft, pulled the plastic nipple, cleaned everything up, put it back in with slightly bigger screws and new sealant and reinstalled the shaft. All appears good. He did not charge me for this. It might be argued either way that he should have replaced it when doing the seals. But it clearly was an additional repair and if done when the seals were done would have bumped the labor by an hour. So I'm really tickled with his response. He is a popular mechanic and backed up on repairs and gave me priority to get this done. This clearly fixes this problem. Now on to the next one!!!