Film behind boat?

boater2018

boater2018

Member
Feb 26, 2018
146
Boat Info
2000 Sea Ray 210 Sundeck
Engines
Mercruiser 5.0 EFI
Hey guys! I have a 2000 Sundeck 210 with a 5.0 mercruiser efi. Alpha 1 outdrive. This past summer, I noticed a film on the water behind the boat. The color is hard to determine, but looked grayish or white to me, and could see the rainbow colors from certain angles. I don’t see or smell any fuel coming from anywhere, so I don’t feel it’s gas...I thought maybe trim fluid seeping from a cylinder, but now i’m Questioning that. It has been sitting over the winter and I just cranked it up to check it out in preparation for Summer. It started first time and ran very smooth, as smooth as it has since i’ve had it. I noticed after letting it run a while that I saw the film in the water puddles on the ground below the boat. I ran it on the muffs FYI, with the plug removed. I did have an oil leak last summer and i’m sure there is still some oil in the transom. Do you think it could be that? Or exhaust? Just trying to figure it out. It almost seems like it would be coming from exhaust considering it’s in the water at the lake and on the ground when on muffs. Any advice would be appreciated.
 
boater2018 said:
Hey guys! I have a 2000 Sundeck 210 with a 5.0 mercruiser efi. Alpha 1 outdrive. This past summer, I noticed a film on the water behind the boat. The color is hard to determine, but looked grayish or white to me, and could see the rainbow colors from certain angles. I don’t see or smell any fuel coming from anywhere, so I don’t feel it’s gas...I thought maybe trim fluid seeping from a cylinder, but now i’m Questioning that. It has been sitting over the winter and I just cranked it up to check it out in preparation for Summer. It started first time and ran very smooth, as smooth as it has since i’ve had it. I noticed after letting it run a while that I saw the film in the water puddles on the ground below the boat. I ran it on the muffs FYI, with the plug removed. I did have an oil leak last summer and i’m sure there is still some oil in the transom. Do you think it could be that? Or exhaust? Just trying to figure it out. It almost seems like it would be coming from exhaust considering it’s in the water at the lake and on the ground when on muffs. Any advice would be appreciated.
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Pull the oil dipstick make sure the motor oil is free of water. If the oil has a milky white look to it you have water in the oil.Run the motor for five minutes before checking the oil. I assume the boat is not fresh water cooled ?
 
Express 390 said:
Pull the oil dipstick make sure the motor oil is free of water. If the oil has a milky white look to it you have water in the oil.Run the motor for five minutes before checking the oil. I assume the boat is not fresh water cooled ?
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I'll do that asap. I changed the oil last summer...and plan to change it again. I assume common causes of getting water in the oil could be exhaust manifolds needing replaced....maybe some water seeped in while washing the engine compartment through the oil leak/s that I had? The boat does not have a "closed cooling" system...it cools using the freshwater from the lake. If the oil is milky, I assume the first remedy to try would be to change it, then check again to see if the film is gone by running it at the lake? Thank you
 
Also, FYI....I changed the plugs and wires last summer...the plugs were dry and compression was 145-150 on all cylinders through a "cold" compression test prior to running the boat any from winter storage the previous year. I have seen water dripping from the top of the exhaust manifolds from the rubber seal where it attaches to the manifold, but 2 different mechanics told me not to worry about it if the boat is running good, which it is...it cranks up every time and idles smoothly with no noises (rattles, knocks, etc)
 
boater2018 said:
Also, FYI....I changed the plugs and wires last summer...the plugs were dry and compression was 145-150 on all cylinders through a "cold" compression test prior to running the boat any from winter storage the previous year. I have seen water dripping from the top of the exhaust manifolds from the rubber seal where it attaches to the manifold, but 2 different mechanics told me not to worry about it if the boat is running good, which it is...it cranks up every time and idles smoothly with no noises (rattles, knocks, etc)
Click to expand...
Lets hope your oils clean
 
I am definitely going to check the oil again. I will say, though, when I had the oil leak last summer, I checked it numerous times while at the lake one weekend until my mechanic could get it repaired and it was clean every time. I also pulled the valve cover to get the part number (long story, but purchased the boat with little history known and ended up just needing the flame arrestor cleaned) and the oil was also clean in the valves. Anyway, I appreciate the advice and am hoping to check it this evening...but it was checked last summer while in use several times and it always looked clean. I'll report back once I check the oil, hopefully this evening.
 
Not sure how the conversation went from a sheen in the exhaust water to water in your oil. That's not your problem.
Does your boat burn thru oil ? If not, it's probably a bit of unburned gas, and if the boat runs well it's nothing to worry about.
 
We have been out several times since then with no issues. I haven't noticed it burning through oil since the leak was fixed, but am going to check the oil and change it also before taking it out. I also plan to change the impeller. I was also wondering if drive oil could leak out and cause the film too? It is below the line, probably 1/2" at the most. It used to be at the full line. The impeller was changed summer before last, so it's due to be changed again. My temp gauge is also reading low and it wasn't last summer....so wondering if something impeller related or drive fluid could be causing it. I read where someone had a gunked up impeller and the debris only allowed cold water to pass, so their gauge read low, I don't know how credible that is, though. If everything looks good with the oil and the impeller when that's changed and the drive oil when it's changed, I assume it's ok, maybe a little bit of unburned gas, as you said. Thank you, I will report back
 
Normal for the drive fluid to go down a bit
Engine running cold would be a thermostat , gauge or temp sender issue.
 
My '99 7.4's used to push a little soot out once in a while, especially on cold starts. It was black/gray and never smelled like fuel. Sometimes had the rainbow sheen around the edges but not typically. I checked with multiple people and they suggested it was running rich during startup. "common problem for this vintage FI" I was told.

I ran a few bottles of Lucas fuel cleaner through that boat over a period of about 18 months and the problem went away. I guess I convinced myself that I ultimately had some plugged up/dirty fuel injectors or the like. She always ran great but I always hated that sheen when it was happening...

My experience only, of course.
 
Oil looks clean as I suspected. I plan to use some cleaner as suggested and service the impeller. Should be good to go
 
Could be a failing fuel pump/injector causing gross over fueling.

Could be a faulty seal on the trim system

Could be a faulty seal on the outdrive.

Could be a faulty oil cooler or power steering cooler.


My money is on fuel pump.
 
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