Help! My Cockpit Is Flooding

[markcr]

I just hooked a fake-a-lake to my (new to me) 05 outback and was running the engine. After a while, water started coming into the cockpit from underneath the forward driver area. It's coming in really bad and lots of it. It has a heater option and my suspicion is that it wasn't winterized correctly by the previous owner and the heater core is cracked. Anyone else see something like this on their boat? If it is the heater, any advice would be appreciated on how to fix or remove it. Also, can I bypass the heater temporarily by routing the outlet hose directly back into the inlet hose?

As always, thanks.

As a side note, I drove all the way to Oregon to buy this boat last weekend. The guy I bought it from seems like a real honest guy so I don't think there is any malice involved. However, I'm kicking myself for not doing a more thorough pre-flight before buying it.

[Razzman]

You can pull the hoses and bypass, it won't hurt anything. The heater should be under and behind the starboard bow seat in front of the drivers hump, pull it and have a radiator shop check the core.

[zegm]

pull it and have a radiator shop check the core.

Hey just a quick question here, are there any more radiator shops left in the world with the new plastic aluminum radiators? I haven't seen one in 10 years.

[zabooda]

Heater core. Happened to me. I called Heatercraft and I replaced it with no problems. Mine corroded out mid-summer.

[Jon]

Yep, heater core is probably busted. Until you get it fixed just remove the hoses from the core and connect the two so the water will loop back to the engine.

[markcr]

Ok, thanks gang. I'll pull it and see about a replacement or getting it fixed.

[zabooda]

You can replace just the core but if is like mine you'll have some rivits to drill out. I found they weren't cheap but they were priced the same as automobile heater cores.

[kaneboats]

Heater? I was putting some AC on my boat before I got interrupted. When was that? Around April 1?

[Razzman]

Hey just a quick question here, are there any more radiator shops left in the world with the new plastic aluminum radiators? I haven't seen one in 10 years.

I have three within two miles of my house!

[zegm]

I have three within two miles of my house!

Wow, are they now rebuilding the new style radiators? When these "new designed" radiator have gone bad on me I just order a new one. I have spent between 175 to 300 dollars for a new plastic and aluminum radiator. When the auto manufacturers were using copper I never bought one, just took it to the radiator shop. Copper actually cools at almost twice the rate of aluminum but the cost and weight is driving the change, so now you have to allow for a radiator that is almost twice as large.
I have also never bought a starter or alternator, just took them to the shop and usually got out of there paying between 30 to 50 bucks. Last time I went it cost me 100 dollars!