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Mercruiser 4.3LX Service

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rinkerv6

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Good afternoon, I am new to the forum so please let me know if I am posting in the wrong place etc. I have a Mercruiser 4.3 LX in my Rinker 186. When I bought the boat last year it has been stored inside for 6 years and not used. I now need to replace the bellows in the out-drive as water leaks into the bilge when the drive is tilted all the way up. Does anybody have a step by step guide for this? Also i want to service the engine. Again does anyone have any direction on this. I do have mechanical knowledge but not in depth on this particular set up.

Kind regards

Will
 
The first thing you need is a factory service manual for whatever drive you have (alpha I, Alpha II, Bravo, etc). Tell us what you have on the back, or the serial number or year, and we'll direct you to the correct manual.
 
bilge rat jim said:
The first thing you need is a factory service manual for whatever drive you have (alpha I, Alpha II, Bravo, etc). Tell us what you have on the back, or the serial number or year, and we'll direct you to the correct manual.
Click to expand...

Hi thanks for that. I suppose i should have got this info before hand. I will have a look when i get home and update.

Kind regards

Will
 
you have an ALPHA drive on a 18 ft boat.
The question then becomes whether it is a gen I or gen II

if the lower is bolted together to the upper with 4 visible bolts and nuts it is a Gen II (there are more than 4 but these are visible.

If not it is a gen I

The job is the same for either generation only issue may be what water hose and bellows are needed. They may be the same between the two gens but I forget right now.

Either way the task you ask about is not for the weak at heart.

It takes an experienced mechanic 4-6 hours to do all boots and bellows and water hose.

Also typically a new shift cable should be done at the same time as the shift cable bellows will need to be done also and due to sitting for so long a new water pump impeller absolutely needs to be installed in the lower unit.

Manual or not it is a pretty tough job.......takes many attempts to get it done in a reasonable time and correctly.

WHere are you located?

Maybe someone here lives close enough to lend a hand....
 
rinkerv6 said:
Hi thanks for that. I suppose i should have got this info before hand. I will have a look when i get home and update.

Kind regards

Will
Click to expand...

Hi, The serial number for the outdrive is 0D754978. I think this is Gen 2 but clarification would be great. Also the whereabouts of a workshop manual would be greatly appreciated.

Kind regards

Will
 
kghost said:
Not to hijack the thread but do they have the HP manuals? (high performance)

Looking for # 3
Click to expand...

Doesn't look like it, you know how it is with these "shared" PDFs- sometimes they stay on the interweb for years, sometimes the copyright cops remove them quickly. #3 is the old GM block high performance manual, I did a quick search and can't find a shared PDF, the best deal seems to be on Ebay for about 30 bucks. Still not a bad price for a $80 manual.
 
Hi Guys,

Just want to thank you all for your help. I have removed the top and bottom parts of the outdrive. I have the impeller and housing ready to be replaced. I will post some pictures when i get them onto the computer. My next job will be to replace the bellows as one of them is leaking but not sure which one. I also need to get hold of a manual for the engine. The serial number is OD826891 and it is a 4.3 LX if anyone knows of a PDF. I will be back in touch later today with pictures etc. Once again thanks for the help.

Kind regards

Will
 
rinkerv6 said:
I now need to replace the bellows in the out-drive as water leaks into the bilge when the drive is tilted all the way up.
Click to expand...

Will, while I agree that if your drive shaft bellows leak water, it must be replaced.

Suggestions (that you won't find in the owner's manual):


  • Raise the drive no more than need be, whether trailer towing or in the water.
  • Store the boat with the drive fully down, and with the drive aimed straight forward.

These bellows are injected mold/heat formed in a position that (when installed) most ressembles the position that they'll be in when the drive is down.
When a drive is raised, the underside of the bellows becomes stretched and stressed, so to speak.
Over time, this will accellerate the failure of the material.

IOW.... to ensure premature drive shaft bellows failure, raise the drive fully up, and leave the drive cranked over to Port or Starboard during storage.
I can almost guarantee premature failure.


.
 
RicardoMarine said:
Will, while I agree that if your drive shaft bellows leak water, it must be replaced.

Suggestions (that you won't find in the owner's manual):


  • Raise the drive no more than need be, whether trailer towing or in the water.
  • Store the boat with the drive fully down, and with the drive aimed straight forward.

These bellows are injected mold/heat formed in a position that (when installed) most ressembles the position that they'll be in when the drive is down.
When a drive is raised, the underside of the bellows becomes stretched and stressed, so to speak.
Over time, this will accellerate the failure of the material.

IOW.... to ensure premature drive shaft bellows failure, raise the drive fully up, and leave the drive cranked over to Port or Starboard during storage.
I can almost guarantee premature failure.


.
Click to expand...

Hi,

Where I use the boat I have to tilt the drive quite a lot to come into the shore. I can hear the water trickling into the boat through the outdrive all the time so deffinately a leak somewhere. I always store the boat with the outdrive down. My other question is, I may just replace the bellow that is leaking to save time. Is this okay or am I wasting time just doing one.
Thanks Will
 
Inspect the u-joint bellows, you will need to remove the drive to do this. After you remove the drive and no water is found in the joint bellows and it does not have any cracks or holes you can leave it.

Most of the time when you have a water leak when the drive is tilted up, it's the shift cable bellows. If you find the shift bellows to be bad, you will need to change the shift cable too.
 
If it has not Hardened, ripped, dry rotted or swollen from grease and not leaking, it will be fine.

We are not talking about a water pump impeller that gets a set shape.
 
Docksidemarineservices said:
If it has not Hardened, ripped, dry rotted or swollen from grease and not leaking, it will be fine.

We are not talking about a water pump impeller that gets a set shape.
Click to expand...

Chris, correct.... we're talking about drive shaft bellows.

I doubt that an experienced Marine Mechanic could tell us that they've never seen a drive shaft bellows (when removed) that did not show signs of the material holding a "set" from a drive having been stored in the up position!

My experience tells me that these will begin to take a "set", and that the "set" (along with the underside stress) is what begins to shorten their life span.

Hey.... it was just a suggestion. He can do what he wants to! :D


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