| T.R | Title | User | Personal
Name | Date | Lines |
|---|
| 383.1 | try Marine-Tex | BIZNIS::CADMUS | | Mon May 22 1989 18:03 | 26 |
|
Suggestion-
leave the tank in place- drain it , get some soapy water, put a little
air in the tank- and use the soap solution to find the leak.
sand the area around the leak to rough it up, clean it uop with alcohol
and get some marine-tex ( expox filler/sealer)- put a big gob of this
around the leak, let sit for 24hrs and away you go.
Taking the manifolds off isn't that big of a deal if you want to go
that route. If it is a small block chevy- you've got 6 manifold stud
nuts,the exhaust hose, and one or two water hoses. It takes me about
15-20 min on my OMC to get the manifolds off.
New exhaust manifold gasketys are available at any auto parts store as
these are the same on automotive or marine engines( head gaskets are a
different story).
I'd tend to take off the manifold, pull out the tank, and fix the leak(
unless it is a crack).
If you haven't got time to do iot right- you better have time to do it
twice is what my dad always said.
Dick
|
| 383.2 | SeaRay says..."Pull the engine" | MPGS::TURBAYNE | | Tue May 23 1989 09:13 | 30 |
| Dick....thanks for the input......SeaRay called me back last night.
Their first answer was that the engine had to be pulled to get the tank
out.....I told them that although they make a great boat, it sounded as
though they didn't put much thought into the water tank design/replace-
ment....In lieu of pulling the engine it was suggested that I cut the
top and a couple of inches of the wall of the tank off and put a
bladder tank inside......I like your idea better, but I'm not certain
that even if I take the manifold/power steering off that I will be able
to get the tank out......The tank is such a tight fit that I cannot move
it to where I can see the leak. I do know that it is in the far back
corner (least accessable of course) as when I filled the tank I could
see a little spurt of water shooting up. My initial feeling was that
the leak was in the seam on the far corner, but over night the tank
almost drained completely. If it is a seam leak, then it must be low.
If I can jockey the tank around enough, do you think the Marine-Tex
would do the job even on the seam?????
SeaRay is calling me back today with a recommendation as to what some
of their dealers have done in terms of putting in a bladder tank....My
other option is to cut out the origional tank completely and replace
with a smaller one that would fit in without pulling the engine or
taking manifolds off.....Defender sells may different sizes. The
existing is a 24 gallon tank.....I could put in a 15 easily, and put a
second tank on the other side of the engine compartment. Dual tanks
would mean a bunch of extra hosing for fill/overflow/draw, but in that
I am on a mooring, having extra water is a real plus.....
thanx,steve
|
| 383.3 | | MSCSSE::BERENS | Alan Berens | Tue May 23 1989 10:02 | 5 |
| I very seriously doubt that Marine-Tex or any epoxy or anything else
will adhere to a plastic tank. If the tank is the translucent white
polyethylene plastic about the only way to repair it (that I've heard
of) is to heat weld it (not a do-it-yourself task). Replacement may be
the best option.
|
| 383.4 | Seal-all | ATSE::URBAN | | Tue May 23 1989 10:31 | 9 |
| I mentioned somewhere else in this file a product, generic name
selastic, sold at Hammar Hardware here in Nashua under the name
"Seal-All". I used it to repair a hole at the corner of my plastic
windshield washer bottle, and it has held for at least a year in the heat,
oil and alcohol fluid environment under the hood. Thier is no
doubt in my mind that if you can get at the seam to work this material
into/onto it, it would do the job.
Tom
|
| 383.5 | A question | VICKI::DODIER | | Tue May 23 1989 13:52 | 5 |
| Is it correct to assume that the water in this tank may be used
for cooking/drinking and that you don't want to introduce any toxic
chemicals/substances into it ???
Ray
|
| 383.6 | | MPGS::TURBAYNE | | Tue May 23 1989 14:35 | 25 |
| Ray......you are correct....Although I won't probably use it for
drinking water (as I have heard that the water at Westport is lousy
with iron, etc.), there may be that occasion where somebody would want
a drink.....We will be using it to wash dishes, etc....So, bottom line,
I can't use anything real toxic........I have to admit I was tempted to
dump in a can of radiator sealer and pressurize the tank with a garden
hose until the sealer found the leak, then flush the tank a dozen time
or so to get out all the rest of the sealer, etc.....This was only a
fleeting thought though as I know there are no real short cuts to
fixing this problem......I am still examining my options
though...SeaRay called back and said that the engine does not have to
be pulled. Only the left manifold and power steering have to come off.
I might just go that route and replace the tank versus patching and
finding out I have another leak next year.....Another thought I had was
to cut out the existing tank (24 gallons) and slip in a 15 gallon. It
looks as though I could put in the 15 without ripping down the left
manifold, etc. At the same time I could put a second 15 gallon tank on
the oposite side of the engine compartment as there is plenty of room.
I would pick up an additional 6 gallons. The draw back is the
additional plumming to hook up the fill/vent and feed lines...15 gallon
tanks are available from Defender for about $60 each....I haven't got a
replacement cost from SeaRay for the 24 gallon tank, but I assume the
dealer will want some heavy dollars......
thanx for the input....steve
|
| 383.7 | | BMT::SAPIENZA | Knowledge applied is wisdom gained. | Tue May 23 1989 15:59 | 24 |
|
.6> ... At the same time I could put a second 15 gallon tank on
.6> the oposite side of the engine compartment as there is plenty of room.
.6> I would pick up an additional 6 gallons. ...
If I'm not mistaken, one of the reasons the tank is located along
the centerline of the boat is the reduce the loading effect of the
water. If you were to put a fifteen gallon tank of water on either
the port or starboard side of the engine compartment, I'm pretty
certain that you would notice the boat lean to one side. Not to
mention the effect of the water sloshing around in the two tanks.
If you're going to replace the tank, how about two 10 gallon
tanks which might fit in the same location? By using a smaller tank,
you presumable do away with the problem of getting the tanks in
and out of their resting place. (Of course, you end up with slightly
less capacity, but then how much water do you need to wash dishes?)
One other thing regarding a dual-tank solution. Have you giving
any thought to the additional plumbing that might be needed?
Frank
|
| 383.8 | An idea maybe | VICKI::DODIER | | Wed May 24 1989 09:14 | 6 |
| I'm not sure of the shape of the tank or the opening size so
I don't know if this would work or not but it may be worth mentioning.
Would it be possible to take a plastic bag (as thick a mil as you
could find) and place it in the tank as a liner ?
Ray
|
| 383.9 | | MPGS::TURBAYNE | | Wed May 24 1989 10:06 | 28 |
| Frank.....you bring up a couple of good points.......The dual 15 gallon
tanks sounds very appealing on the surface, but the plumbing would be
the drawback.....As to the boat leaning; I'm not certain that this
would be the case......At approximately 8 lbs per gallon, the existing
tank full would weigh 192 lbs.....Now, on the opposite side of the boat
is the batteries. I would guess the combined weight of these is about a
100 lbs. So there is a delta of about 100 lbs between sides.....A 15
gallon tank full would weigh about 120 pounds....So if I implemented
the there would be 120 lbs on one side and about 220 on the other side.
Still a 100 pound difference, but now the extra 100 would be on the
battery side...I can't see anything else in there that would add any
great weight to one side or the other......BTW, if I didn't mention it
before, the water tank is tucked under the deck up against the
starboard inner wall....
My panic over this hole problem is starting to diminish....LAst
night my wife went out and bout a 5 gallon collapseable water
container. What I may do is put up with the slow leak for the season (
I figure that the tank takes about 36 hours to drain itself
completely). With the 5 gallon collapseable and filling the main tank
every Friday nite or Saturday, I can probably get through the season
with enough water.....I can always replace the tank or whatever next
fall.....I just don't want to start tearing down the engine now....I'm
worried about "Murphy's Law". Like breaking a stud off the exhaust
manifold or some senario which would require pulling the boat and
either trailering it home for repairs or sitting in a boat yard...
steve
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