Water pouring in from back of engine

"Another newbie here, so I apo

"Another newbie here, so I apologize up front for not knowing what I'm talking about. lol...

I have an 1987 Mercruiser 3.0L, 4Cyl. I bought the boat last year, and the only problem I had was that it was running really rough. The carburetor was rebuilt, and the motor seems to be running great. But.... After I got the motor started, I noticed water coming in from the back of the engine, near the starter. The water does not flow in from this area when the motor is turned off, even with the water hose still connected and flowing using the water muffs. I checked the back of the motor where it connects to the transom (I'm sure that's the wrong name) and I see water coming in from that area as well. Looking at the water flow diagram from Seloc, could this be the intake hose leaking really bad? The water flows in so fast, it fills the bilge area faster then it can drain (without the plug in). Any suggestions? Looks like if I want to really dig in to this, the motor will need to be pulled. I sure hope I'm wrong.

Sorry for rambling.... Thanks for any help that you can give me.

~Andy"

"Andy, it could be just a hose

"Andy, it could be just a hose that has a hole in it, hopefully. I had a water leak last year from the transom area(by the way you are right) I couldn't find the leak and it didn't leak this year. I found a good deal on a bigger engine and replaced it, while I had the engine out I noticed that the hose from the transom to the power steering cooler had a hole in it right where it was resting on the engine coupler. Check your hoses really well, take them off where the leaks are and have a good look. Good luck.

Jeff"

there's a core plug on the

there's a core plug on the back of the block that could be leaking but obviously you want to check the hoses first

"Thanks for the suggestions. I

"Thanks for the suggestions. I will take a look this weekend. I sure hope it's a hose.

If it is the intake hose, is it on the outside of the transom unit? The only hose I could see was on top going into the engine and that was dry."