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Slow hull water leak while sitting

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lamajama

lamajama

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I've got a annoying water leak into my hull on my 2002 GTX.

What occurs is while the machine is sitting on it's buoy, it taking on about 1-2inches over a 12-15 hour time frame while sitting
overnight - and no I don't wish to take them out each night...!.

I draw the water out prior to riding but after riding, the hull is dry so it does not appear to be the carbon seal as the bailers are
doing their job while running and besides that I would imagine I would know if that was the issue by the amount of water coming in..

I have the 2 siphon tubes at the rear, so it's not that.

Two summers ago I had the same issue and determined it was hairline fractures in the drain plug housing so I replaced them with new parts
properly sealed etc and that seemed to solve the issue at that time. It appears that these new plugs are in good shape (no cracks like before....)

Any other ideas where to look? or do I just replace the new plugs again...:banghead:

My other machine has always been as dry as a popcorn fart so it is possible to have a dry hull....:facepalm:
 
I had the same issue and mine was a shoe bolt loose. The only way I found it was to fill the hull with water and look for the leak. on the outside. Some add food coloring to find the really hard to find leaks.
 
Had a similar leak with one of mine. Check the O.PA.S. valve at the center, just above the jet pump. I found my leak with the ski on the trailer, on the boat ramp, in the water with the engine running.
 
Thanks to both replies. I just don't believe it's the new plugs so I needed elsewhere to look.
 
That's true....:thumbsup:

The conundrum is that it happens while sitting so I shouldn't need to fill it very much.... whatever the issue it is, it should be pretty low...
 
Are they oem? If so that's your prob. Should be o-rings on them.

I can't see th schematic clear enough on my phone. My screw in plugs have a keeper on them. So they can't be removed completely but the cap requires orings.
 
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They are oem replacement from a year and a half ago. I've never seen an o-ring on these type of plugs and I've had a number of machines over the years
- my 2004 does not have them either. I'm not 100% on where the o-ring would be situated. I did seal between the hull and the new plug assembly as I put the new
one on.

PeterH - the reason i do not think it's a carbon seal as it's a very slow leak and I seen nothing coming in from it as I rode it with the seat off. If this was the case
for a slow leak for you how did to determine that was it?
 
On mine....the very end of the cap....just inside of the lip that comes in contact with the....assembly. An oring goes there. So that it is between the cap and the assembly.
 
Whoops pressed enter to quick, mine wasn't taking on water while riding, only when sitting in the water, my mechanic used the led torch on his phone, put it under the shaft where the carbon seal is & we could clearly see light up through where the seal wasn't sealing
 
PeterH said:
Whoops pressed enter to quick, mine wasn't taking on water while riding, only when sitting in the water, my mechanic used the led torch on his phone, put it under the shaft where the carbon seal is & we could clearly see light up through where the seal wasn't sealing
Click to expand...

Ah Ok...I was just idling when I was looking at the seal. I was under the impression that a carbon seal leak was catastrophic and would look like a flood... ;)

I'll try the flashlight test once I get to the machines. They are stored about 20 min away and I'll need to snag a buddy to look with me.

Thanks for the help!
 
Here's what I've done in the past to figure out where leaks are coming from on boats and ski's.

Ensure craft is "riding" level. Pump in water until it fully covers the drain(s). Take some food coloring dye and add to the water in the hull while agitating the water. I personally use Green food coloring as it shows up so easily in all light conditions. I then place white or flame colored paper (Art paper in 'FLAME' color sized at 100'x36" purchased through my local Staples office supply store for $25) underneath the craft held down with stones/bricks/etc. Large leaks will show fairly quick. Smaller ones may take an overnight sit. The color on the paper will change from a light yellow to an olive color depending on the amount of coloring in the hull water. If you get white paper, it will, of course, be green where it leaks.

Super easy, and super cheap. Makes finding leaks extremely easy.
 
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Joseph9936 said:
Leave it there for overnight and the water level will be at the point of the leak.
Click to expand...

Not if the water leak is at the carbon seal. That's almost the lowest level you can go.

OP, take my advice above and save yourself some time and issues. We used this like method on our Blackhawks to define cracks in the belly of the aluminum. It always works and defines the total area of the damage.
 
Hawk388 said:
Not if the water leak is at the carbon seal. That's almost the lowest level you can go.

OP, take my advice above and save yourself some time and issues. We used this like method on our Blackhawks to define cracks in the belly of the aluminum. It always works and defines the total area of the damage.
Click to expand...

Will do Hawk. I suppose that the water level will still stop at the leak level such as drain plugs or if it drains completely I would say then it's the carbon seal, being the low point like you mentioned.

I hope it's around the plugs as that's a very easy fix....but I don't buy lottery tickets for a reason.....

This is very annoying..!!
 
Well mine was because of a loose bolt on the shoe. Very slow drip but enough to have enough water to worry about at the end of a day. Even thou it sucked I was relieved to know what the issue was right away and that I found my nemesis.
 
Joseph9936 said:
Well mine was because of a loose bolt on the shoe. Very slow drip but enough to have enough water to worry about at the end of a day. Even thou it sucked I was relieved to know what the issue was right away and that I found my nemesis.
Click to expand...

Hah - good and appropriate word...nemesis...! :thumbsup:
 
Just a first update. I currently have some water sitting in the hull but not enough to cover the carbon seal and as of yet nothing. Trying to eliminate things as I go.

So as I'm contemplating life I'm checking clamps etc and so forth and come to the OPAS system to check and lo and behold I see one socket head screw that attaches the OPAS
to the hull is completely missing. and yes, this leaves a gap with the hole to the hull. So I think I have the reason why the leak comes from sitting in the water.

I will report back after some more checks.

I just don't know why thieves would find this a part worthy of stealing....:facepalm:
 
lamajama said:
That's true....:thumbsup:

The conundrum is that it happens while sitting so I shouldn't need to fill it very much.... whatever the issue it is, it should be pretty low...
Click to expand...

Well,,, to some degree yes, but mostly no..

When in the water the ski is displacing water. Which creates a low pressure area above the displaced water, which in this case would be the hull of the ski.

So, when you fill it from the inside, the weight of the water has to be greater than the equivalent of what the displaced water outside of the hull was in order for the leak to happen..

So if your ski weighs 800 pounds ish, you will have to get a decent amount of water in the hull if it is a small leak..
 
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Just an update...no water leak from the hull out as I suspected (although Coastiejoe's scientific explanation above probably explained why...) but I'm
having a HELL of a time trying to get the OPAS missing bolt to "catch" the inside threaded hole of the OPAS. It seems there is too much "give" when I try
and thread it though the hull hole. After about an hour of trying, I've gotten a longer bolt and will try again.

I also just don't see how I can get inside the hull corner to brace the OPAS piece. I might ask a small kid in the neighborhood to try squeezing in. Lol.

Short of that I might just seal the hole as I have 3 other bolts holding the OPAS to the hull.
 
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