Red fluid leak in bildge

[Riptide III]

Have red fluid in bildge. Doesn't smell like diesel. Definitely NOT coming from engines, transmissions, or trim tab pumps. The engine room is completely void of petrol fluids with the exception of the very center of the bildge. In other words it is not running down the sides to the V. It has to be coming from forward of the engine room bulkhead and I am assuming there are limber holes (I will check today) at the center(keel) of the boat at the bulkhead. A possible thought, maybe it is actually fuel leaking down to the keel forward of the bulkhead then aft or could it be steering fluid at the helm. What color is that? On my other boat it is yellowish. Is it ATF on this and how do I check the level? There is no engine mounted pump? Thank you guys?

 

[fwebster]

You can list the various fluids and colors and begin the process of elimination pretty easily.

ATF (tabs/transmissions) is red
Cat ELC is red
Diesel fuel is red
Steering fluid is usually clear but Teleflex did add a red dye for a few years

Next, carefully smell or taste the red liquid............I told somebody to do this taste test once before only to learn that the "clear" liquid was from a leak in the holding tank, so you are on your own here. Any petroleum based liquid is going to have a smell and feel like, well, petroleum. I am betting you have a hose clamp leaking on the cooling system and the red substance will have a sweet, glycohol taste/odor.

Having a diesel boat means you get a feel for the difference in smell between raw unburned diesel fuel and burned diesel. If this were raw fuel, you could probably smell your boat from 2 slips away.

Don't discount the engine cooling systems as a source. The leak could be from expansion tanks, overflow bottles or water heater if you have the heat exchanger connected.

The bulkhead is supposed to be mostly water tight. There shouldn't be limber holes connecting the forward bilge from the engine space.

Finally, look in all your cabinets and be sure there isn't something there that has leaked into the bilge. A boat owner in our marina looked for a green liquid leak for a month only to find that one of his sons had turned over a bottle of Gatoraide in a cockpit cabinet and it slowly dribbled green goo until they finally tasted it and a mental lightbulb came on.

Good luck with your search.............

 

[Riptide III]

I put two absorbent socks in the bilge. I'll clean her up and then investigat further. You were right about the lack of limber holes.

 

[mjmason1]

Are you sure it's not left over anti freeze from winterizing? That's also pink.

 

[Jetgod]

Trim tabs use ATF also.

Are you sure it's not left over anti freeze from winterizing? That's also pink.

 

[Riptide III]

The trim tab plumbing is completely exposed thus eliminating that possibility. I am still trying to track it down. There are in fact no limber holes in the bulkhead and the fluid is only in the center keel of the boat. I haven't eliminated the possibility that e bilge is incapable of pumping it out because it is the top layer and just flows back down the hose at the end of a cycle. I need to completely clean it out this weekend and see what happens. To be continued.