Scarab 165 HO leaking

[Metalchipper]

I have a 2017 Scarab 165 HO with 17 hrs on it. I bought it a couple of months ago after it sat at the dealership for a year or more in the back of the lot. Someone stole the radio and speakers out of it and I guess there was a problem with replacing it because it sat for for a very long time untouched.
Anyway, when I got it I had to send it in to fix a relay that was in the O2 system after sitting so long. I was so happy to get it back and put some time on it. I live on a canal in south Florida so putting the boat in the water is easy to do.
But when I pulled the boat out I notice an unusual amount of water in the engine compartment. I put the boat back in the water the next day with the intent to keep a sharp eye on the water. Since the bilge pump is not working either, I was extra careful to watch the water level.
After a hour I pulled the boat out and there was about 5 gallons of water in the engine compartment already.
By leaving the plugs in, I am able to see the water leaking out in the impeller housing that looks like it could be a seal leak or even the gasket that seals the pump housing in the fiberglass hull.
Has anyone seen this problem before or do anyone have any ideas of anything else it could be. Also the warranty will run out at the end of the year, so I want to be sure that any repairs as a result of sitting so long are taken care of before it runs out.
Any help will be greatly appreciated, Thank you
Metalchipper

 

[tdonoughue]

Not familiar specifically with the Scarab, but if you have water in the hull when it is out of the water and it is coming out of the impeller area, that is not good. There is a seal there where the shaft comes from the engine, through the hull, to the impeller. Yours would appear to be shot. Pretty surprising on a boat with 17 hours on it.

How bad a job that is to replace depends. But on some boats it requires moving the engine... At any rate, that is one I would take in for warranty. Especially with the bilge not working (and what is with that--that should be another warrant item!). Right now those items are their problem due to the warranty. If you keep running the boat and swamp it, you will have a ruined engine (which will then be your problem).

(oh, and welcome!)

 

[Metalchipper]

Not familiar specifically with the Scarab, but if you have water in the hull when it is out of the water and it is coming out of the impeller area, that is not good. There is a seal there where the shaft comes from the engine, through the hull, to the impeller. Yours would appear to be shot. Pretty surprising on a boat with 17 hours on it.

How bad a job that is to replace depends. But on some boats it requires moving the engine... At any rate, that is one I would take in for warranty. Especially with the bilge not working (and what is with that--that should be another warrant item!). Right now those items are their problem due to the warranty. If you keep running the boat and swamp it, you will have a ruined engine (which will then be your problem).

(oh, and welcome!)

Thanks a lot for the info, I suspected that it could be something like that. I’m going to have a little talk with them about their $65 computer diagnostics that didn’t pick up the bilge pump not working. he only way it wasn’t detected is if the pump was running but not pumping, which can happen if the shaft or impeller failed and just the motor was spinning. That might send a false signal to the computer that all is well.
The boat sat in the south Florida sun for over a year, maybe 2 years for all I know, which might explain the seal failure.
Someone stole the radio out of it at the dealer and whether the insurance took a while or something else, but it sat in the back of the lot for a very long time with the speaker and radio holes open.
But its a 2017 165 HO Impulse and I got it for 17k when I checked the prices online the same year ran $20 to $22k with much more hours on them so I bought it. Hope it wasn’t a mistake, my wife just passed away and I bought this to get me out of the house again, I live on a very wide canal that offers me easy use with miles of waterway with some real good fishing too.
Welp, I guess its back in the shop.
Thanks again for the help

 

[tdonoughue]

Well, I can clear this much up for you: I don't think it was a mistake. Doesn't seem like a bad number for the boat. And it could be a good adventure, especially if you take on fixing some of these things yourself. Sorry to hear about your loss, but it is healthy you are looking to get out. This boat will be fun once it gets all up to snuff.

Check out https://jetboaters.net/threads/carbon-seal-function-and-explanation-for-pre-mature-failures.14454/. Good writeup on the carbon seal, which I think is what you are dealing with. May also find some people who actually know what they are talking about (rather than me..).

Not sure about the bilge pumps on the Scarabs, but on the Yamaha I added a second one anyway (and my first one did not work--turned out to be a bad circuit breaker). Those pumps are relatively cheap but very important when you need them...

Pro tip: If you update your profile with your location, that can help find local help to you. We have a member map that puts everyone with a profile location on there. Makes it very easy to click on a few near you to find what they are cruising in and who might be able to help you.

Do update us!