www.iFourWinns.com

Hey everyone, looking for a bit of advise.

Had the boat out this weekend and it seemed to be running great. The boat is a 2006 H180 with Volvo Penta 4.3L, stock everything. After several passes towing a wake boarder we noticed a bit of smoke coming out of the transom/outdrive. This was accompanied by a faint smell of oil. Its something I haven't noticed in the past. As per the gauges, temperature was good, oil pressure was good, idle was maybe just a bit low on the rpm side. We checked the oil and it looked great. I think I might just be paranoid but wondering if there is anything else i should be checking. Ive been told the drive coupler could case some smoke like this?

Thanks!

What color was the smoke? Black usually means too rich of fuel, blue means burning oil, and white means overheat.

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1996 205 Sundowner DLX
5.0FL Volvo SX Cobra
Tow Veh: 2012 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X

Could be exhaust manifolds. At 8 years old, this is not too likely in a fresh water boat, but right on schedule with a salt or mixed use boat.

Clogged water passages (rusted) in an exhaust manifold can cause the rubber exhaust hoses to burn inside. This can happen even with normal engine temperatures... if one is more clogged than the other, then water will exit the engine more on the good side, and overheat the bad exhaust manifold. Have you checked temperature of the manifolds?

But then, burnt rubber smells a lot different than oil, and can hardly be described as a faint smell, so this is just one idea to look at.

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"Knot Easy" 2000 Horizon 240 Volvo 5.7GS /SX
tow: 2017 Honda PILOT EXL-AWD
prev. boats:
'87 Chaparral 198CXL 4.3 OMC Cobra
'69 Jetstar 16ft Ski Boat, 115hp Yamaha
'68 Aluminum Jon Boat, 3hp Sears
'64 Water Wings

Get yourself a Radio Shack IR temp gun, it is a very good diagnostic tool. I have 2 one for the garage and 1 I leave on the boat. With this you can measure the temp of your exhaust manifolds, risers and hoses with out burning your hands. It is possible for the exhaust system on an inboard to run hot, when the engine itself is not overheating. Sometimes you will see steam coming off the water where the exhaust is coming out under the transom because the temp of the water getting exhausted is so much hotter than the water in the lake/bay. I saw this once when I had the problem with clogged water intakes, but I was also seeing higher than normal temps on the gauge, but not overheating. After running on plane, I see 115-125 on the one piece manifold/riser units I have on the old 4.3. After slowing to idle they cool down to about 95 or so in few minutes. If they are too hot to keep you hand on the temp is probably higher than 130*.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Thanks for the help guys. I'll keep a close eye on it this weekend and keep you posted. I'll try to get my hands on an IR temp gauge as well. The smoke looked more white then anything, tough to say if it was bluish. If we get the same problem this weekend, Ill for sure take better note.

Thanks!

Is the smoke coming from outside the boat, or inside?

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1996 205 Sundowner DLX
5.0FL Volvo SX Cobra
Tow Veh: 2012 Nissan Frontier Pro-4X

Only from outside of boat. Open engine cover, no smoke, motor sounds healthy.

It certainly isn't the drive coupler then.

Awesome! Just picked up ir temp gun. I'll post any findings tomorrow. Thanks!