Logo

86 3l cobra water leak

robertson

New member
"my 86 3l cobra is leaking wat

"my 86 3l cobra is leaking water around the stern when docked, i have looked to try and find a leak with no results. i have inspected the hull very carefully and gel coated any scrateches. the interesting thing is it leaks water at different rates dependind on where i have left the stern drive positioned. any help woud be great. thanks .
Best regards Grant"
 
"Could be several things but i

"Could be several things but if the position of the drive affects the leak rate, it sounds like your u-joint bellows is leaking. Tilting the drive up stretches the bellows and opens the wound. You need to act soon. A catastrophic failure can sink your boat. Also you should check your drive lube for water contamination. A leaking bellows will leak past the input shaft oil seal."
 
"thanks Chuck, the oil looks g

"thanks Chuck, the oil looks good no water, can i confirm the u-joint bellows as the cause, before preforming a replacement? if i tilt the drive up i should be able to see a tear?
thanks Grant"
 
"Maybe, maybe not. You might g

"Maybe, maybe not. You might get some idea of it's condition by feeling of it where you can reach it. I guess I assumed it is leaking worse in the "up" position which would point more to a leak on the bottom side of the bellows."
 
"ok, i bilged then toweled the

"ok, i bilged then toweled the boat inner hull. waited and watched. looking from the transom area . drip drip. i moved the tilt up and it got faster. pulled the boat out and the bellows look and feal deteariorated. i will replace both bellows. question. the water is always in the exhaust bellow as its ported under the water, it is most likely the one leaking? again i will replace both. just tring to think the problem through. thanks again
Best regards Grant"
 
Problem is likely the u-joint

Problem is likely the u-joint bellows. Water leaking into it will leak past the gimbal bearing into the boat. It is normal for the exhaust bellows to have water in it.
 
Back
Top