SX 192 took on water....Solved..

[Matt J]

Hey guys,

So went out this evening with the wife and a couple of friends. It was the first time out with the SVHO IC installed as well. So last night I ran the boat with the hose hooked up to make sure there was no water leaks, and no issues were present. Everything was good initially! I again checked for any water in engine compartment a few minutes out after running motor up in the high RPM's. Dry as a bone!!! We headed over to a cove to hang out for a while, and stayed stationary for around an hour only periodically starting motor to move the boat due to drifting. We started heading back to the marina, and after going through the no wake zone I brought up the power (around 6000 rpm's or so) Immediately I noticed the rpm's fluctuating a little/surging. I pulled the power and opened the engine cover to see water around half way up the motor, as well in the ski storage. Turned on bulge pump and got the water down low enough to try to figure out where or why water was coming in. The water got bulged out and never came back in. The engine ran fine after the water was lowered, etc. After pulling boat out of water and securing things for trip home a nice Sheriff came over to say hi. Turns out it was a fellow SX 192 owner and member here (REM385). It was great to chat with him this evening, and thanks for your help with trying to trouble shoot my issue. On his advice I did also check the oil for evidence of water, and it looks good normal color. I am due for my 10hr service, so it looks like it's time to take it to the dealer to see if they can figure out the cause. It's really frustrating at this point. I just don't understand were the heck the water came in from??

Update..... Left drain plug was not fully in. It was only screwed in a half to maybe one turn.

 

[swatski]

Hey guys,

So went out this evening with the wife and a couple of friends. It was the first time out with the SVHO IC installed as well. So last night I ran the boat with the hose hooked up to make sure there was no water leaks, and no issues were present. Everything was good initially! I again checked for any water in engine compartment a few minutes out after running motor up in the high RPM's. Dry as a bone!!! We headed over to a cove to hang out for a while, and stayed stationary for around an hour only periodically starting motor to move the boat due to drifting. We started heading back to the marina, and after going through the no wake zone I brought up the power (around 6000 rpm's or so) Immediately I noticed the rpm's fluctuating a little/surging. I pulled the power and opened the engine cover to see water around half way up the motor, as well the large ski storage completely filled with water. Turned on bulge pump and got the water down low enough to try to figure out where or why water was coming in. The water got bulged out and never came back in. The engine ran fine after the water was lowered, etc. After pulling boat out of water and securing things for trip home a nice Sheriff came over to say hi. Turns out it was a fellow SX 192 owner and member here (REM385). It was great to chat with this evening, and thanks for your help with trying to trouble shoot my issue. On his advice I did also check the oil for evidence of water, and it looks good normal color. I am due for my 10hr service, so it looks like it's time to take it to the dealer to see if they can figure out the cause. It's really frustrating at this point. I just don't understand were the heck the water came in from??

A crooked clean out plug would be one chief suspect. Any loose water hoses/clamps?
How come the bilge pump did not start pumping earlier, did you have to manually turn it on?

--

 

[haknslash]

I would double check to make sure your inlet water feed line to the IC is securely clamped to the bottom of the IC and the other end of the hose where it connects to the junction fitting off the other water line. Remember you have to uninstall and reinstall that hose for the IC swap so make sure you got those clamps secure on the hose.

Where your drain plugs in and tight? Cleanout plug seated good?

Always try and remember to have the bilge turned on whenever you're on the water for exactly things like this. Good thing you caught it in time!

 

[mraz72]

How did you turn the bildge on? It should just be on as long as the battery switch is on. Did you hang out at the cove and turn off the battery switch?

 

[Matt J]

A crooked clean out plug would be one chief suspect. Any loose water hoses/clamps?
How come the bilge pump did not start pumping earlier, did you have to manually turn it on?

--

No all the hose's are fine and tight. No water leaking from IC hoses, etc. I did reinstall the clean out plug before leaving house this evening. It seemed to lock into place as usual, and I ran the boat for a while with no issues, so I ruled out the clean out plug as the problem. Crap!!!! So the boat will still have normal power with a crooked clean out port? I was under the impression that if not seated probably you will get no thrust. When I first got the boat straight from the dealer the salesman failed to put clean out plug in right, so on my first outing the boat had no thrust. I checked the plug and the chamber was filled with water due to not being seated right. Today after all the water came in I did check the plug at least visually and everything looked good. I should have probably pulled it then to reseat it.

 

[REM835]

The cleanout plug was the first thing I thought of also. Said it ran fine though before they stopped for an hour in the cove leading them to believe it filled while engine was off. Did find a pretty good ring of excess sealant hanging from the exhaust.

I believe he had to manually turn the bilge on and had to switch it a few times because it wouldn't come on. Coming back to the dock they said the pissers were flowing strong. I happened to be parked at the ramp eating when they pulled out. Drain plugs and everything was in and there was nothing left to drain when they removed them. One point he mentioned to me was once he had power they looked in the engine compartment and thought water was maybe shooting from the area of the intermediate bearing.

@haknslash if it is something with the IC would the pissers still flow strong?

 

[Matt J]

How did you turn the bildge on? It should just be on as long as the battery switch is on. Did you hang out at the cove and turn off the battery switch?

Nope! That's what's weird also. Had to manually turn it on.

 

[swatski]

Nope! That's what's weird also. Had to manually turn it on.

You might have had something stuck in it and it needed some "convincing"? or the sensor is not working well.
You know what I'm going to say - time for a back up bilge pump install! Good thing is - it is relatively easy and inexpensive.
https://jetboaters.net/threads/battery-disconnect-and-bilge-pump-still-left-on.13167/#post-229935

--

 

[swatski]

No all the hose's are fine and tight. No water leaking from IC hoses, etc. I did reinstall the clean out plug before leaving house this evening. It seemed to lock into place as usual, and I ran the boat for a while with no issues, so I ruled out the clean out plug as the problem. Crap!!!! So the boat will still have normal power with a crooked clean out port? I was under the impression that if not seated probably you will get no thrust. When I first got the boat straight from the dealer the salesman failed to put clean out plug in right, so on my first outing the boat had no thrust. I checked the plug and the chamber was filled with water due to not being seated right. Today after all the water came in I did check the plug at least visually and everything looked good. I should have probably pulled it then reseat it.

I would say - the cleanout plug would be a prime suspect, those can be installed but not completely seated - so you can get enough thrust to drive but also water in the bilge/engine bay.

--

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Forgive me if I missed something.... did you run this after the water was found to look for a leak? All was good when you left the dock but maybe a hose popped off while out on the water.

 

[haknslash]

I would imagine if the pissers were flowing strong then the IC wasn't leaking. The amount of water he had in his boat and the fact the pissers were flowing strong makes me think this leak was coming from somewhere else. I wouldn't expect an intermediate bearing housing to gush out water though as I thought they did more of a trickle leak?

Do you have my lock mechanism for your cleanout plug? When I install my cleanout plug I yank up as hard as I can several times and verify my EZ lock is engaged. I would put the boat back in the water just to try and investigate where it's coming from again before taking it to the dealer.

 

[Matt J]

I would double check to make sure your inlet water feed line to the IC is securely clamped to the bottom of the IC and the other end of the hose where it connects to the junction fitting off the other water line. Remember you have to uninstall and reinstall that hose for the IC swap so make sure you got those clamps secure on the hose.

Where your drain plugs in and tight? Cleanout plug seated good?

Always try and remember to have the bilge turned on whenever you're on the water for exactly things like this. Good thing you caught it in time!

I have triple checked all the hoses and clamps from the IC install.. I did do a visual inspection out under power, so the problem developed after some time out on the water. Drain plug was secured, and I jumped in water to check it also. I am leaning to Swatski theory on a bad seated clean out plug. I know for sure there was not a blowout however.

 

[Matt J]

Forgive me if I missed something.... did you run this after the water was found to look for a leak? All was good when you left the dock but maybe a hose popped off while out on the water.

Yes we did!! After the water was low enough I used "no wake mode" for a while then with the power up in the upper ranges. My buddy was visually checking for any signs of water coming in while under power. After it bilged down it did not return. Assuming that if I had a hose leak then it would fairly easy to detect a leak especially under pressure.

 

[swatski]

Definitely not a blow out.
But - the other possibility is the intermediate bearing housing. Maybe Jeff can chime in @Cobra Jet Steering LLC, I know there have been some issues related to blowing the seal in the bearing housing (the bearing itself is sealed too) due to over-greasing. Was the boat serviced, yet? The factory does not put any grease in there hardly at all, so the first service (10hrs) is kind of critical for that.
Probably unlikely the culprit, but maybe worth considering?


EDIT: I remember there is something funny about that leaking intermediate assembly - it leaks either when moving or stationary more - don't remember.
--

 

[Matt J]

Definitely not a blow out.
But - the other possibility is the intermediate bearing housing. Maybe Jeff can chime in @Cobra Jet Steering LLC, I know there have been some issues related to blowing the seal in the bearing housing (the bearing itself is sealed too) due to over-greasing. Was the boat serviced, yet? The factory does not put any grease in there hardly at all, so the first service (10hrs) is kind of critical for that.
Probably unlikely the culprit, but maybe worth considering?

--

No sir!! I have not done the 10 hr service yet. I am currently at 10.9, so I have to get it done ASAP. I hate to take it to dealer for it, but I might have to after this issue. I guess the thing that is bothering me the must is that things were back to normal after the water was vacated.

 

[Eric Ballard]

No sir!! I have not done the 10 hr service yet. I am currently at 10.9, so I have to get it done ASAP. I hate to take it to dealer for it, but I might have to after this issue. I guess the thing that is bothering me the must is that things were back to normal after the water was vacated.

Go to the boat ramp on a slow day and leave the transom straps on and back her into the water and open all the hatches and looks for water. With the boat on the trailer and strapped down, you are in a more controlled situation. You can rev the engine a bit and be safe if there is a bad or worsening leak.

Do you have a transom mounted fish finder transducer? I had one and the silicone had not seated well and quite a lot of water got in.

Leave the bilge on when in the water. this bit me in my ass for sure and now I am religious about it.

 

[ToddW850]

Did you happen to feel the water in your floor storage or in the engine compartment? Curious if the water was hot or cold.

 

[Matt J]

Thanks guys for all the replies! Went out to garage this morning determined to find the cause, and after further inspection I found the left rear drain plug was only screwed in a few turns... A total fail on my part. I confess I never checked the left plug, but only the right one. Also, the drain plug in locker was not in as well. Live and learn right? I am usually pretty diligent on pre inspection stuff, but just screwed up. I fly airplanes for a living, so attention to detail is the norm for me. I got lucky, and just thankful things didn't get worse then they did.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Very strange, the amount of water can be from a bad drive shaft housing but not the actual seal the rubber that the center of the drive shaft housing can be broken loose from pumping grease in the fitting. The boat is fairly new so I am not convinced this is the issue, you may have had the cleanout plug leaking when underway and luckily you stopped when the water was just shy of the level it needed to be to destroy your engine. Hoses can allow water in and a bad or clogged check valve in outgoing the line of the bilge pump can also allow water to back feed through the bilge hose.. Basically you will need to dry out the boat and put it back in the water looking for the issue with the boat static at anchor. Then if you do not locate the culprit you will need to do the engine running routine with the hatch open and the kill switch in the hatch area taped town so you can see it leaking in the exhaust area hoses etc. Just run it at idle in neutral I think you may have a through hull fitting leaking or a hose clamp off a hose
OK I POSTED THIS BEFORE YOUR FINAL POST glad you located the issue.

 

[Jetswu87]

Nope! That's what's weird also. Had to manually turn it on.

Just to clear this up. The bilge switch has to be on at all times on the water. If the switch isn't on it will not do it's 2-3 min, 1 sec power up to check for water.

Switch off, no bilge pump.