There's a greasy liquid (fuel, water, oil, etc.) under the engine. There doesn't seem to be a hole or a pump for this to drain. An I supposed to manually pump this out. Larkin
Engine compartment Drainage
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Yep...but only after
soaking up all the oil in it with an oil absorbent bilge "pillow." They attract and soak up petroleum products while rejecting water. Don't use any bilge cleaner or other cleaning product until after you've used the pillows...detergent cleaners emulsify oil, preventing the pillows or pads from soaking it up. When there's no more oil left in the water (you may have to replace the pillows once or twice to get it all, remove them and dispose of in containers provided by the marina for used oil etc. Now you can clean your engine bilge with anything you like. Why is the water there in thef irst place? 'Cuz bilge pumps can't remove every single ounce...there's always some left behind. And it should be regularly pumped out if you don't want it to stagnate and make your boat smell like a swamp...or even a sewer if it's allowed to stagnate in the summer heat long enough.
soaking up all the oil in it with an oil absorbent bilge "pillow." They attract and soak up petroleum products while rejecting water. Don't use any bilge cleaner or other cleaning product until after you've used the pillows...detergent cleaners emulsify oil, preventing the pillows or pads from soaking it up. When there's no more oil left in the water (you may have to replace the pillows once or twice to get it all, remove them and dispose of in containers provided by the marina for used oil etc. Now you can clean your engine bilge with anything you like. Why is the water there in thef irst place? 'Cuz bilge pumps can't remove every single ounce...there's always some left behind. And it should be regularly pumped out if you don't want it to stagnate and make your boat smell like a swamp...or even a sewer if it's allowed to stagnate in the summer heat long enough.
Shouldn't be a bilge pump under the engine
Sounds like you have some kind of leak. Soak up the oil with something absorbent. Just about anything will do - you do not have to buy the little oil pads. Rags, paper towels, toilet paper, newspaper, sawdust all will absorb the oil. Discard of them appropriately. It is a messy job so be prepared. If you are a brave soul, you can try just a tiny taste of the water. Sweet is coolant, salty is salt water, etc. Add some dish detergent - a small amount will do - think drops per gallon. Pump it out or sponge it out and clean and dry the area. To determine where the water is coming from, first check the coolant level to see if it is down. If the coolant level is ok, you can try running the engine with a clean dry newspaper spread underneath it to see where it is coming from. Caution, keep your hands out of the engine compartment when it is running. If you have a pinhole fuel leak, you may not see it and it can spray out under such pressure that it will penetrate your skin. If you have to trace such a leak, use paper on a stick or similar to locate it.
Sounds like you have some kind of leak. Soak up the oil with something absorbent. Just about anything will do - you do not have to buy the little oil pads. Rags, paper towels, toilet paper, newspaper, sawdust all will absorb the oil. Discard of them appropriately. It is a messy job so be prepared. If you are a brave soul, you can try just a tiny taste of the water. Sweet is coolant, salty is salt water, etc. Add some dish detergent - a small amount will do - think drops per gallon. Pump it out or sponge it out and clean and dry the area. To determine where the water is coming from, first check the coolant level to see if it is down. If the coolant level is ok, you can try running the engine with a clean dry newspaper spread underneath it to see where it is coming from. Caution, keep your hands out of the engine compartment when it is running. If you have a pinhole fuel leak, you may not see it and it can spray out under such pressure that it will penetrate your skin. If you have to trace such a leak, use paper on a stick or similar to locate it.
sound advice
Larkin, Peggy gives some sound advice and she is correct, there will NEVER be a totally dry bilge or engine compartment. You didn't say what type engine.....do you have a stuffing box?? if so, then check that as they always have a slight leak. If it is a saildrive unit, check your exhaust hose for a pin hole. The same for any bilge hose that passes through.
Larkin, Peggy gives some sound advice and she is correct, there will NEVER be a totally dry bilge or engine compartment. You didn't say what type engine.....do you have a stuffing box?? if so, then check that as they always have a slight leak. If it is a saildrive unit, check your exhaust hose for a pin hole. The same for any bilge hose that passes through.
Uh - Mike and Peggy - NEVER say never
I clean my bilges collection of dust with a shop vac because it is bone dry. The engine pan is a usually a little oily but also dry. Since we do not know what specific boat we are talking about, it isn't possible to know for certain what configuration we are talking about. If there is an engine pan (which would not have a drain), there should not be a bilge pump in it and no one should install one. If you remove all the oil, and clean it up with detergent, it is not much different than dish water so I would dump the collected water overboard antifreeze notwithstanding.
I clean my bilges collection of dust with a shop vac because it is bone dry. The engine pan is a usually a little oily but also dry. Since we do not know what specific boat we are talking about, it isn't possible to know for certain what configuration we are talking about. If there is an engine pan (which would not have a drain), there should not be a bilge pump in it and no one should install one. If you remove all the oil, and clean it up with detergent, it is not much different than dish water so I would dump the collected water overboard antifreeze notwithstanding.
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