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Alpha 2nd gen bell housing

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Paul57

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I've acquired a really clean, less than 100 hours 1998 Sea Ray 185 and she's leaking at the interface of the transom plate and the gimbal housing. A modest leak if in the water or if the bilge in the engine bay is partly filled with water. This means the transom core is in jeopardy and likely getting wet. I've replaced the bellows, hoses and drive seals recently, shortly after purchase, as they showed signs of cracking, even with little use, so I just replaced them.

I'm an SAE mechanic for some 30 years, though little boating experience, finding this boat in this condition, with this few hours was just a deal I couldn't pass on. I'm fully equipped to pull the engine and have had the drive off already. I know I need to pull the drive again, plus the ring and housing, then the engine and the transom plate to get at the transom. I have a gantry tall enough to yank the engine and roll the boat out from under.

My main questions are, what types of special tools will I need to get the housing off? I figure I'll need an alignment tool for reassembly, I have the bellows ring driver and expander, but I'm seeing some odd stuff that I'm wondering about, such as the shift cable nut, gimbal ring pivot bolts, etc.

Fixing damage to the core I have figured out, I'm just wondering if I've bit off more than a skilled automotive mechanic can attempt. Simply, is this a project a serious car guy can do or will I need a $1,000 in special tools to get it done. I have a buddy that's a boat guy and he says it's doable, but a big job for a novice. He's the one that will fix any transom core damage. He has a home made tool that will remove any rotten plywood, between the skins around the bolts and cut out, which he'll backfill with thickened epoxy. When this is cured, he'll (who am I kidding) I'll recut the cutout and bolt holes.
 
Bit confused, you replaced the bellows and you still get water in the bellow. To do that work you had to have the tools?
I know I need to pull the drive again, plus the ring and housing
? you remove the drive, remove the engine, remove the inner plate, remove the outer transom housing
http://www.boatfix.com/merc/Servmanl/14/14b4.pdf
 
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I'm not getting water in the bellows. The leak is at the transom seal which has (likely) softened the core. I understand the work involved.
 
remove the drive, remove the engine, remove the inner plate, remove the outer transom housing
from the inside cut away the inner skin, remove all the wet/rotted wood, relaminate with plywood ,
reglass the skin or glass in a new skin
 
Again, I understand the work involved, I'm more concerned about special tools. For example I had to cut off the drive bolt lock. Ate up quite a few blades, but it's off.
 
There are no special tools required for removal of the outdrive, engine, or transom assembly (inner and outer). Simple hand tools will be needed.


What you will need upon re-assembly is,

First is a MANUAL!!, then an alignment tool to align the gimbal bearing to the engine coupler when re-installing engine after transom assembly has been installed.

If your outdrive had a lock on it blame the previous owner. They do not come that way from Mercury.

Have you checked the lower transom bolts/nuts to see if they are tight?

Also where the hydraulic lines go into the bottom of the transom there is a "seal" and gasket. Have you looked there ?
 
So, just an alignment tool, cool, I can do that. Yeah, I assumed the anti-theft key was dealer installed. I got it off surprisingly easily with a 1.5" disk, a screw driver to split the sleeve and as soon as I tapped the actual nut around about 1/4 of a turn, I used a needle nose to spin it the rest of the way. About a 1/2 hour of effort, really.

Is there a transom seal kit, for the appropriate gaskets. I've seen two, one is a full up deal for about 200 bucks, with bellows, O rings, drive gasket, etc., though the image doesn't look to show the actual transom seal (#86711), but everything else. and another one that has the O rings and actual transom seal, which is quite cheap ($6 - $8).

Yep, have the manual and this is the first part anyone should buy for their latest boat. Yep the lower bolts were a bit loose, but when tightened the 'glass crushed, making it pretty obvious the core was rotten. The next set of bolts up the transom plate were still tight, so likely some isolated rot at the bottom of the transom, possibly down to the drain tube (gravity always pulls the same way). Do you have part numbers for the "seal and gasket" on the hydraulic line distribution block?
 
Apparently it takes a while to get moderator approval for new posts. The engine is out, took about 2 hours, getting everything pulled away. I removed the manifolds to make hoisting from a tight compartment easier.

I'd like to check the part numbers;

transom seal 43713
replacement drive nuts 11-13439-1 (6x)
Bellhousing kit 4281586 (O rings and drive gasket)
Y pipe O ring seal 41802
Exhaust ring 326741 (does this come in the bellhousing kit?)
Exhaust manifold gaskets (4.3) 27-99757
Carb base gasket (Rochester)27-807982
Rear mount spacers 23-99322
and an alignment tool

I miss anything? These parts houses don't have easy to find stuff. You have to hunt and peck. For example if I get the Sierra 18-2619-1 kit, it looks to have the O rings, drive gasket and exhaust seal, but the product description doesn't say. I don't want to buy a rebuild set, with everything I need, as the bell housing and gimbal assembly will remain intact with it's new bellows. I guess I'll have to price it out both ways.
 
Ugh as you have found nothing free (or cheap) ends up being either. The rotten transom is a warning sign that the boat is in poor condition and will cost the moon to put right.
 
After close examination of the transom, the lower bolt holes have a small amount of softness around them (in the core) and an additional amount of softness around the transom drain. The transom drain is bonded to the hull shell proper, making a transition from the liner to the hull shell, just under the engine. Unfortunately, there's no way for any moisture between the hull shell and the liner to get out from between them, which places the stringers in jeopardy. There's no softness in the sole, the forward engine mounts are solid, so I think the damage is limited to the lower portion of the transom, encompassing about 8 - 10 square inches. The cutout has no serious damage around it's perimeter. There's nothing in "poor condition" about this boat. It's essentially brand new, with about 100 hours on it. The damage occurred in the last few years, as the bilge filled with water occasionally, the transom plug was left in place, which permitted water to collect against the lower portions of the transom plate.

The repair will be to remove the rot around the holes, with an "L" shaped tool on a laminate trimmer, which will dig about 1.5" around each hole, back into good, solid core material. The same will be done to the cutout, then the whole shooting match, back filled with thickened epoxy (milled fibers and silica), after cured, the holes and cutout will be redrilled/opened and then no way for water to get at the transom core again, unless other penetration are preformed. The area between the transom drain and the lower bolt holes/cutout will also be backfilled with thickened epoxy, essentially making the lower parts of the transom a solid hunk of plastic, without any plywood.

Currently the transom is under a "vacuum bag" taped to both sides of the transom. He's sucked it down to boil off the moisture and said we'll check it in about 24 hours. I didn't think this bag thing would work, but the pump sure does draw off the moisture, as you can see steam coming out of the pump's outlet. I didn't think this was much vacuum, but he explained this is about a ton per square foot, which apparently is quite a bit. I also doubted it could hold a vacuum for a day, but it hasn't come on in awhile (pressure switch set at 15 PSI), so maybe he knows what he's doing. He did say this was the first treatment, once the holes and cutout are cleaned out, he'll bag it again, before the epoxy work. He also mentioned the epoxy will also get this treatment as it cures, which I'm looking forward to seeing.
 
I think you'll be fine with this project. The only special tools I can think of ya might need is a alignment tool that goes through the gimbal bearing to the flywheel, a tool to pull the gimbal hing pins, and maybe a expander for the exhaust bellows if ya don't convert to a 'dry' exhaust that doesn't go through the outdrive at all.

The transom needs to be solid- especially the lower part. The forces & weight is pushing down (gravity) and prop thrust is pushing in, mostly at the bottom.

The only places water can come in, and possibly soak the transom is through is the drive shaft bellows and the shifting cable bellows.
The exhaust bellows is 'wet', as for causing a transom leak, its isolated and doesn't even have to be installed.
Water can also get in where the gimbal housing goes up aginst the outside of the transom. I always put a bunch of silicone sealer on both sides of the rubber gasket for it,
and even around the outside edge of it after installation..
Last is the bolt holes themselves that go through the transom, I use a big blob of silicone on them too.

Something that can leak water, but just into the bilge is where the exhaust goes out into/through the outdrive at the bottom of the inner transom plate.
Also going on in the out drive is: it's the tail pipe and muffler. There is no (sealing) backflow preventer. If you could look down through the top of the exhaust pipe,
you'd see the water level being the same as your hull's water line inside there.

Good luck with it, and most critical is the alignment of the drive shaft through the gimbal bearing. Its gotta be perfect.
 
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