outboard filling with water under engine cover

Nordburg2001 · 27 November 2016, 18:25

I have a 1993 Suzuki DT100 outboard. yesterday while out at sea I noticed water running out at the engine cover! I lost revs (off a cylinder due to wet electrics) we made it back to Bangor marina and onto the trailer. I suspected the gasket under the power head but when I ran it today at home with the muffs on I couldn't see any sign of a leak anywhere?
I'm not new to engines but relatively new to outboards, is this common? does the engine need to be under load or have any gurus out there have any other info on the DT100 engine?

Xk59D · 27 November 2016, 18:35

what were you doing when this happened?

got any pics of the boat in water?

sounds to me like you swamped the motor with a mistake at the helm/freak wave.

Nordburg2001 · 27 November 2016, 18:41

really don't think so, I never shut the throttle sharply and the weather was fairly calm yesterday, never lifted out of the water once. I also thought I noticed water running out when I tilted the engine last week after pulling up to a jetty on Lough Neagh! it was like a millpond last week

Nordburg2001 · 27 November 2016, 18:47

Here are a few pics of use out yesterday and one of last week

Nordburg2001 · 27 November 2016, 18:52

Not sure that worked I'll try again

Xk59D · 27 November 2016, 18:55

is there spray coming up over the transom when you are under way?

were you going astern at any point?

if it isn't doing it with muffs on then it may be spray (assuming it isn't fuel leaking?) or you will need to have forward motion/more heat to open up the problem area.

before you do anything else i would do a compression check, certainly before using it again.

Pikey Dave · 27 November 2016, 18:58

Could be a split/leaking water hose. It might only happen when the thermostat opens, which it may not do running on muffs.

Nordburg2001 · 27 November 2016, 18:58

Yes there is spray, possibly from the transducer! I have had a few complain about spray and also seen the bilge pump light repeatedly flash on and off

Nordburg2001 · 27 November 2016, 19:04

Are any of these pics showing? It's not a compression issue, it sounds as sweet as a nut at idle and on song, I felt it running off a pot and immediately noticed the water issue! All good again today on the muffs

Nordburg2001 · 27 November 2016, 19:11

is there an easy way to stop the spray issue? is this a common problem?

Xk59D · 27 November 2016, 19:17

it isn't likely to be compression related.....BUT........you are talking to someone unlucky enough to have had similar symptoms with a suzuki 85hp some years ago. i had water coming out of the hood, it was fine on the muffs and sounded fine to begin with, it got gradually worse ofcourse until i twigged what it was. whilst this is certainly not common i had a cracked block and whilst under load the engine compression was blowing the water out the gaskets (and inside after a little while), lucky me eh!

as you can't replicate that is why i said do a check, have nothing to lose and easy to check on shore. i'd be amazed if it is that though to be fair and good news it sounds sweet again on muffs.

can't tell anything from those pics buddy

if i had to bet i would think it is either spray or a gasket has took a dump after the stat, there is a decent chance the stat is closed while on muffs depending on how long you ran it. time of year doesn't help either in this case.

Nordburg2001 · 27 November 2016, 19:24

I get ya! had the same thing happen on a trials bike when I was a pup 20 odd years ago. ill lift a compression tester tomorrow and check it after work. what sort of PSI I should expect? 120 ish???

Nordburg2001 · 27 November 2016, 19:27

I suppose I could pull the stat out? bit late now though, the neighbours wouldn't be best pleased!

Xk59D · 27 November 2016, 19:30

would need a manual to tell what PSI to expect, but the usual applies to begin with. if they are all close then i would move on with the next thing but i guess you are in ball park with 120.

i would take the thermostats out, run it again on the muffs and look for leaks after the above.

if that fails then probably need to get it back in the plonk and run it with the cover off with someone/camera looking at it.

spray is not unheard of with ribs but it usually shows itself by coming in over the transom rather than in the engine. most engines have a degree of protection from this happening- i.e the bottom of the cowl is sealed somewhat.

Nordburg2001 · 27 November 2016, 19:34

ill do that and let you know what I find, if nothing noticeable other than spray, is there anything I can do to stop it?

Xk59D · 27 November 2016, 19:36

i assume this is your boat?

looks pretty clean based on this so unlikely to be spray related.

IF it is spray then yes you can stop it with a deflector of some kind or make sure your engine is it correct height. (picture makes it look okay though)

Nordburg2001 · 27 November 2016, 19:43

yes that's it but unfortunately you cant see where the spray comes up. I have the transducer mounted on the starboard side, that's where the problem might lie. I might have caught it on the gopro, ill have a look

Xk59D · 27 November 2016, 19:49

if those are vents on the side of the engine and you have spray coming in putting your pumps on then wouldn't surprise me if that is your problem.

there was a post recently about spray from a transducer and someone made a deflector from hard rubber i think it was, have a search buddy.

Nordburg2001 · 27 November 2016, 19:53

Hope so! That would be a handy fix! Cheers for your input, cracking forum with helpful guys!! Thanks again

whiskylee · 27 November 2016, 20:19

I changed all the water hoses on my mid 90's Merc after seeing salt crystals on the power head, couldn't see anything obvious but it sorted the problem. not expensive to change them all and if your engine is 1993 they could well be original