2008 Outback taking on water in the bilge area... Any Ideas???

My 2008 Outback DD is suddenly taking on water in the bilge area... I noticed this last week for the first time... we ran the boat a few hours and stopped to let someone out at the dock... as I was taking off the boat started to stutter and then it stalled...it didn't want to start back up but finally did... I got it back to the dock and it seemed to run ok when not in gear... as soon as I put it in gear it would stall out again pretty quick... I noticed that there was A LOT more water in the bilge area than normal... I took it back to the landing this morning and pretty much the same... the boat was only in the water for maybe 5-8 minutes and the bilge area was full again... I pulled the boat out of the water and in my driveway I filled the bilge area from the top with the plug in to see if I could see a leak anywhere... water was pouring out of the exhaust hole on the back of the boat... any ideas on what this could be?
Thanks

Sounds like either a faulty seal at the exhaust exit point through the transom or a crack in an exhaust manifold or one of the pipes.

Lift the floor and dunk the boat.

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Originally Posted by zabooda

Lift the floor and dunk the boat.

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What do you mean? Lift the floor behind the engine and put the boat in and try to find where it's leaking from?

Yes pull the rear floor panel and launch or run it on fake-a-lake and see if you can find the source of the leak

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Originally Posted by kaneboats

Sounds like either a faulty seal at the exhaust exit point through the transom or a crack in an exhaust manifold or one of the pipes.

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I have an 08, though it's an lsv but I had a similar issue this year. I found the issue at the starboard exhaust elbow, where it mates to the transom fitting. The way everything was lining up, the elbow hose was not mating all the way over the fitting. I was taking on water only when underway and had pressure from the exhaust, but as soon as I located the issue and loosened off the hose clamps, I started taking on lake water quickly. I found that one of the hose clamps was actually doing nothing. It must have worked itself off slowly over time, as this is the first year I have had the issue with water in the bilge- and it was hot!

Anyway, I fixed it out of the water, but it was not easy- it's tight in there. Good luck.

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Originally Posted by viking

Yes pull the rear floor panel and launch or run it on fake-a-lake and see if you can find the source of the leak

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Pianoman – I agree with Viking. Pull the floor panel. Four or six screws secure it in place. Only tool needed is a Phillips-Head screwdriver. Quick and easy. When removed and out of the way, you have immediate access to everything from the transmission back to the gas tank. In particular, you will have access to the exhaust system and thru hull drive shaft. Run a fake-a-lake or drop it in the water and inspect for leak. - Deerfield

C'mom, Cubbies!!!!

Thanks for the input guys... I will try and get it in the water this afternoon and report back...

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Originally Posted by pianoman0123

Thanks for the input guys... I will try and get it in the water this afternoon and report back...

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Make a good inspection as there could be more than one leak. I'd recommend first floating the boat and checking for leaks at the penetrations, second start the engine and check for engine leaks including the heater, shower and exhaust tubes, third have someone drive the boat and look for leaks at the penetrations and the shaft seal. Good luck.

The rain finally cleared up and I was able to put the boat in the water to assess the leak... turns out it was coming from the exhaust... where the exhaust pipe and muffler join together it came apart... we put some fiberglass adhesive on it to try and seal it back together... going to let it sit tonight and take it out tomorrow... hopefully she will run as good as before... thanks again for everyone's input...