www.iFourWinns.com

Terry and Greg both good food for thought. I do need to try and check all of the water hose and hose fittings a little closer and I should be able to follow the hoses without the engine running, otherwise they are to close to the belt. Based on the water temp coming from the bilge, it would only make sense that it was leaking on the intake path somewhere and Mike I know that's what you were getting at and also the thought I had in mind when I checked it out on the lake. I do have the VP manual on my laptop as well as the hard copy on the boat. I will scrutinize the engine photo's a little closer and try to diagnose this further this weekend or next. It may be difficult for me to do anything with it this weekend as I am the oncall person for our group and can't really get into too much, plus the boat isn't at home, it's in storage, but I'll get to it this weekend or next. Thanks for all the ideas guys and keep em comming of anyone has any more.


Thinking about this more when I did run it on the hose at home I only ever ran it at idle speed. I did make sure to run it long enough for the thermostat to open. This is easy to tell because when it opens the temp needle goes from flat to 165 - 170 in about 3 seconds. Maybe because it was only at idle speed it wasn't creating enough pressure to make the leak show up, at least I hope, because then things would make alot more sense or because I was using the hose and not muffs it was bypassing the intake path that's leaking. That makes even more sense, because there has got to be a section of hose between the lower unit and the water pump that is being bypassed when you use the garden hose hookup. Hmmmmmmm.

_________________
2008 H210SS VP 5.7 Gi/SX
2011 Ford F150 FX4 EB

Just a quick question....are you still under warranty?

_________________
Current Boat:
2004 Sea Ray 320 Sundancer "Nauti Luvin'"

Previous Boats:
1999 298 Vista "Seas The Day"
2008 H200SS "Nauti Luv"
2006 Tahoe Q4

By chance did you happen to look down and see if your speedo was working, if not thats your problem, seen it many times, that tube will pump a good amount of water in while underway only. Seen this one boggle even the best service tech.

_________________

I'm still thinking bellows...from your description.....do this - back the trailer into the wawa, raise the hatch and raise the low unit all the way up (engine off)....then lower a little and have someone turn wheel left and right.....lower it some and crank her up and watch the inner transom at the bottom. If you see water trickeling down as motor is off then money is bellows....no it will not start making noises until it's to the point you are into big money with damage.

My old boat would do just as you are describing - it actually wasn't the drive bellows but the shift cable boot tube (not really an issue with the VP drive,but is with the merc). Only time it would leak was when boot was bent just right to expose a cut in the hose. Not an expensive repair, but needs to be addressed asap if this is the case.....total failure (again if this is prob) can totally ruin your day(s).

Yours is a 2008 as is mine - at end of season mine are getting swapped out (every two years on fresh water - every year on salt). Especially if you leave your unit raised when parked on trailer....this creates a large amount of stress on that rubber boot. Not saying you do that, but many folks will. I always lower mine once parked and also release tension on transom tie downs an bow strap.

FYI - on mine (old boat) the water would come in when unit was raised and it would dump a large amount until unit was lowered.

_________________
http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o71 ... wqm355.jpg


08' H210SS
VP 5.7Gi

You mentioned that you ran at idle with a garden hose attached to the engine compartment connection. My manual states that for a VP, you do not run the engine, and for a Merc, you do run the engine while using this connection.

If you can not duplicate the problem with the boat on the trailer running on the muffs at higher than idle RPM, then to me, the problem lies with your hull integrity, ie, bellows, thru hulls, exhaust, etc.

_________________

2010 278 Vista
5.7 GXi DP

Past:
1999 225 Sundowner
5.7 GSi SX

Yeah, this section of the manual could be written better:

"NOTICE The Four Winns installed flush out kit for Volvo
Penta® engines is identified by a transom
deck mounted coupler & cap. This type of flush
out may be used with the boat in or out of the
water and the engine OFF.

Volvo Penta’s engine flush out is directly
attached to the engine itself and is identified
by a blue cap. If the engine comes with this
type of flush out kit installed from Volvo Penta,
follow the procedure included in the engine
operator’s manual only."

According to my engine manual, the Volvo Penta flush out (opposed to FW installed Volvo flush out) can be used in place of muffs while the engine is running at idle. Best to check the specific manual supplied for your engine.

_________________
2007 Horizon 200
4.3L GXi/ SX 225 HP

Jole tell me more........My speedo stopped working this year actually and I've been trying to fix that as well. A week ago or so I put the air hose on it on the dash side and tried to blow it out. A small piece of mud and a small stick were protruding from the drive when I got out of the boat to check it, but no dice the speedo is still not working. Is there a connection that has to be remade (specific to the speedo) when the drive is pulled for service? If this is the case they probably forgot (drive serviced as part of winterization) or it doesn't have a good connection but I was able to blow some crude out of there so it's got to be partially connected.




The online version of the manual which I have access to right now says "Volvo Penta engines incorporate an engine flushing port designed to flush the engine with fresh water while the engine is running"




I should be. I know, I'm probably going to take it in. But that means leaving it for a couple of weeks during the summer which sucks, but we do have some out of town time coming up, so if I have to I'll probably do it then.

_________________
2008 H210SS VP 5.7 Gi/SX
2011 Ford F150 FX4 EB

[/quote]

Joe nailed it. Your speedo tube is punctured, disconnected, or otherwise damaged. Shame on the rest of us for not suggesting that.

_________________


Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

I found the section in the manual where it talks about the Pitot Tube checking/cleaning/etc and I didn't clean it out properly by connecting the compressed air at the helm, I should have connected it at the transom shield, so I'll have to locate that. I'm curious, due to Joel's comment, if the tube has come loose at the transom shield and is dumping water in my bilge. I'll try and check that out this Friday if I can get the boat out. If this is the problem, it lines up with my symptoms of only getting water in the bilge while underway. I hope this is it, it should be an easy fix.

_________________
2008 H210SS VP 5.7 Gi/SX
2011 Ford F150 FX4 EB

Joe nailed it. Your speedo tube is punctured, disconnected, or otherwise damaged. [/quote]


That's what I'm thinking........

_________________
2008 H210SS VP 5.7 Gi/SX
2011 Ford F150 FX4 EB

Good call and glad my thoughts were wrong:)...That certianly would explain why water would be streaming in while underway....now you just get t stand on your head for a while, but at least know more about what you are looking for. I hear ya on the 2 week service delays...that's why i had the dealer mail me knew seals for the trailer hubs and will be installing them myself.

_________________
http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o71 ... wqm355.jpg


08' H210SS
VP 5.7Gi

I take it we are talking about a merc????? First place I would check is back under the dash, i've seen them blow off the speed so hard they fall back into the shell. If its still hooked up I would get underway and then pull the hose and you should get a good shower. If not its plugged or cut. I've seen couplings inline near the fuel cell for why I don't know. Maybe your air pressure blew one apart. If all else fails unplug from the speedo and blow air from the outdrive (merc) or pilot tube (penta) and listen for the hiss.

_________________

It's a VP. I'm gonna try and get into it Friday morning. Anyone know where the pitot tube connection is located on the transom shield? I've obviously never looked for it before.

I have disconnected and reconnected it several times on the back of the speedo, so I know I have a good connection there. I know where the pickup is on the lower unit, I just don't know where it connects on the transom shield (as the manual states), but I'll be looking for it in the morning. Thanks guys for all your help and suggestions. Let's hope this is the issue.

_________________
2008 H210SS VP 5.7 Gi/SX
2011 Ford F150 FX4 EB

If its a VP its even easier. The hose just runs through the transom above the pick up tube and the pick up tube has a barb fitting on it. That pick up tube is a break away and comes off the mount rather easy. Then you can see where the hose is conected.

_________________

So, I know what the hose looks like that's connected to the back of the speedo, I'm assuming I'll find that same hose somewhere amongst all the wires bundled together in the transom/bilge area. I'd say it's about the same diameter as a Mc Donalads straw or maybe just a little bigger and it's black, so it blends in well with all of the black plastic wires, etc.

_________________
2008 H210SS VP 5.7 Gi/SX
2011 Ford F150 FX4 EB