Narrowed it down

[jarhead175]

2016 175txw-leak is either coming from the bottom of the livewell (drain fitting) or their is a leak in the hull forward of the livewell. Fished Friday and had a hull full of water again got pissed off and spent hours on my head with a flash light looking for a leak. I can see every fitting but the one on the bottom of the livewell. Anyone know what size that opening is at the back of boat for the livewell drain? Thinking i can plug it at the back of the boat and fill the well with the garden hose and see if it leaks into the hull. If that dosen't work I am going to put the plug in the back and flood the boat to see if it starts dripping out of the hull. If I have to send this to a shop to find a leak I am going to put a for sale sign on it when I get it back.

[Highcentered]

Sorry you're having such a bad time with this boat. Sounds like you either got a "hung over on Monday" or "Don't give a damn Friday" boat. Have you checked all the livewell fittings while on the water?

[jarhead175]

All but the drain on the bottom

[gatorglenn]

There is a T fitting have way between the livewell and the transom. There’s no easy way to get to it without disassembling the whole rear of the boat. If that’s leaking. You have to pull the carpet the deck that has the seat bass in it. Then you can get the fuel tank out and the floor of the bilge.

[jarhead175]

Which line is the T in? Assuming it's under something because I haven't seen it yet.

[randy albert]

Not sure if this helps but I purchased an older tracker 2002 a few years back and I had the same problem and apparently it had been going on for a while because when I opened it up the foam was waterlogged . It was the livewell drain fitting under the livewell . my model has a storage box aside of the livewell, we removed the bottom of the box and then most of the waterlogged foam and was able to get to/replace the fitting . It was a pain in the ass but its dry now . Good luck

[jarhead175]

With work and getting off after dark I haven't had a chance to work on it. I am planning on removing the screens on the back of the boat, plugging them there, and filling the livewell. I have brought fish home and didn't notice any drop in water level in the livewell so if it's leaking it has to be in the plumbing underneath.

[jarhead175]

Well shit I give up....weather has been crap so I never gor to work on the boat. Today was nice better half said she wanted to go so off we went. 7 hours on the water and not a drop when I pulled the plug out. I have no clue now leaks don't just start and stop.

[Pfd41]

My fishing partners boat (Pro 175) would intermittently have water in the bilge. We finally found sometimes during launch and take out water would come into splashwell and run into the holes where steering and cables come through. We can adjust how far we back trl. Into the water to prevent this condition. ???

[jarhead175]

Haven't noticed any water in splash well most ramps around here are so flat you have to get the rear tires wet to unload. When it does get water it's a lot which is why I am at a loss on this one. I have had a few boats develop plumping leaks over the years and they don't come and go once they start they only get worse.

[Goldstar225]

Jarhead I have the same issue with my boat. Dry bilge for 3-4 trips then dump 1-2 gallons out on the next one. Not taking any water over the stern. Same circumstances each time for livewell usage. I haven't come close to figuring it out myself. Puzzling but since it doesn't adversely affect anything I've just accepted it as a "quirk" of the boat.

[jarhead175]

I have been racking my brain over this. Asked my better half if she noticed me do anything different? She mentioned i didn't fill up on the way to the lake. Only thing I can think of the extra weight is putting something under water that shouldn't be. I bought a 3/4" plug and have the pump out hole plugged from the outside to eliminate water from back flowing through the bilge pump. To me that leaves the motor holes. I looked yesterday and you can see the silicone between the motor and the boat but that dosen't mean their is silicone in the hole.

[jlg309]

I’ve got the same issue. Most of the time if you pull the plug, it’s bone dry. Then out of the blue a few gallons pours out. I don’t see me doing anything different drive wise. Anyway, I gave up worrying about it. My boat is nowhere near sinking so I decided to not let it stress me out.

[MikeCSr]

My 2020 175 TXW does the same.. dry or little water 4 out of 5 trips. I figure that the trips where more water comes out when pulling the plug is just from water coming over the stern when I slow down too fast.
One of these days I may just put in an automatic pump (mainly for them 2ft+ white cap windy days) but for now I am not worried as just folks above, it has never been enough to put the boat in danger.

[Crappie Bob]

My 2001 Tracker did that. I took the back lid off so I could lay on the deck with a flashlight and to see what could be going on. To me the live well never filled right to begin with, you sometimes had to go to the port corner and back the boat go up and down to get it to prime, yes I got a lot of looks doing that but the alternative was carry a bucket to fill the live well.

I bought it used so just lived with it for a while, but there was water when I pulled the drain some times. I checked the bilge drain and there is a duck bill check so no water coming in there. Nothing coming over the transom. I started looking around more at the live well pump and the Flow-Rite valve, mine the pump snaps into the bottom fixture that screws into the Flow-rite valve. Well. there it was, the problem with mine. The actual motor part with the impeller was loose. It has 2 tabs that snap it in place and one was not snapped, and with the tight fitting and twisted hoses down there I guess bouncing and banging, waves and trailering would move it enough the "O" ring would let water in the hull, and it would gravity drain also. I guess that's why the previous owner had a plug in the live well to stop it from leaking down.

Any way, got a new "O" ring since I was in there anyway and put some Merc grease on it and snapped it all together and went to the lake. Launched the boat and turned on the live well pump and nothing, not a bit of water came into the live well, I forgot to turn the spray valve on, opened it and started filling like it never had before - worked just like it was supposed to, and the best part, not a drop of water in my bilge area since.

Now I don't know about yours, but that was what was wrong with mine, no more bouncing up and down to fill the live well and no more water on my garage floor

[jarhead175]

Finally got time to mess with the boat. Put the plug in the back and filled the livewell till it came out the over flow, let it set two hours, and not a drop in the hull.

Thinking about putting the plug in the boat and filling the hull. How far can I fill it without getting the foam wet?

[Crappie Bob]

I would put the boat in the water and look at the live well pump running to check for leaks before I filled the hull and took a chance on soaking the floor and foam. You never can tell where it will go and how much you get back out , just 2 cents worth...

[jarhead175]

It leaks without running the pumps. I use my livewells maybe 3-4 times a year.

Called my local BPS and talked to a service tech. He said fill the hull so I did. Filled it up to within 1/4" of the battery charger. Been setting for 20 min not a drop on the outside carpet is wet.

It has to be leaking around one of the top two outlets on the back or around the bolts on the motor. The motor bolts almost make sense to me maybe it's moving on the road or on the water that allows it to leak sometimes and not others?

[Crappie Bob]

The pump can leak without running, on mine the cap part that holds the pump motor was loose and it would let water in thru the suction part below the water line and into the hull. The bolt holes can leak also, but I would think you could see that leaking down or signs from where the water had stained it running down. It's easy to reseal the bolts, just do them one at a time, and do all four. 3M makes a good below water line sealant for that but I don't recall off hand the number, someone here will know for sure, that's how I found out about it

[Crappie Bob]

Looking at the back, the top left outlet is the bilge outlet, if it goes below the water line and you don't have check valve in that line it will go directly into the bilge

Mine looks like this