Leak in Vetus waterlocks muffler

[stanleyi]

I'm looking for advice regarding the waterlock muffler on my 1980
Hunter Cherubini. After experiencing engine overheating over the
weekend, I began tracing the cause once the engine had cooled down.
Though I believe the initial Issue was the result of a faulty gasket on the
raw water strainer, I am now noticing setious leakage coming from around
the waterlock muffler. Could the unit have been seriously damaged by the
overheating or
Is it likely that Just tighting the clamp would solve the leak problem? Also
wondering what other things I should be checking.
Thanks for any thoughts or similar experiences you have had
On this.
Stan

 

[Claude L.-Auger]

Stanley, the overheating could not have been caused by something happening after the water leaves the engine. You've identified the initial cause as lack of cooling water caused by faulty gasket on strainer. Test and check one thing at the time ! So shut off the through-hull entry and fix the gasket. Check that you have no restriction from the through-hull to the strainer preventing good water flow (i.e. weeds, debris, etc). Once gasket fixed and in position, with strainer cleaned & cover properly installed, open the through-hull valve and check for leaks at the strainer and beyond, to the engine. Then go and tighten (or replace) the clamp at the muffler. Try to run the engine and see if everything is OK. If not you may have a problem with the waterlock muffler or the hose. And how long has it been since anything was done with the exhaust elbow ? If you have a restriction anywhere in the exhaust system, your engine may not overheat, but it is not going to run correctly. Good luck

 

[Ian McGain]

My suggestion is next to check your water pump. My overheating was caused by the seal leaking air but not water on the back plate.
Good luck

 

[Sailvayu]

The vetus water lock is plastic and yes you could have damaged it by loss of cooling water and just hot gases going into it. the plastic will melt and the only way to fix it is to replace it.

As for the over heating yes a leaky gasket could have caused that, start there and check to make sure you have good water flow out the exhaust, if not keep looking for a problem. Do not run the engine long without cooling water. it is also possible if it was sucking air in as a result of the strainer you could have burned up the raw water impeller as well. Good luck

 

[stanleyi]

leak in Vetus waterlock

Ian, Claude and Sailvayu,
Thanks for the advise and recommendations. I initially checked everything for the leaks from the impeller to the waterlock and found a leak where a water hose connected to the engine. The hose seemed soft so I cut off an inch and reconnected it. I then discovered the leak at the waterlock. Interesting that the cover on the impeller was mentioned as a point where air could get into the system that could potentially cause failure. I remember when I took the impeller plate off I noticed there was no gasket there, which surprised me, but the impeller looked good (no missing pieces). Perhaps the lack of a gasket was the problem and not with the raw water strainer gasket. Shouldn't it have a gasket under the impeller plate? That might explain why the flow seemed week in the strainer after recranking the engine (which is when I discoved the waterlock leak). I will definitely check everything for obstruction from the sea cock forward, including blockage in the hoses.
thanks again

 

[Alex Dare]

There should be either a paper gasket or an o-ring set in a groove under the raw water pump cover plate.

 

[Stu Jackson]

What raw water pump do you have?