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Leaking right here! Picture included

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halltrail

New member
Hey all, I posted this on another forum...but due to upgrades it was lost....anyway Ive searched all over on this topic. Im leaking right where the arrow is in the picture below, Marina says that my drive and shift cable bellows where dry. They may need to pull the engine to find the leak.

Im wondering if the Y pipe gasket or pipe itself is corroded...would the water actually come out of the top of the Y pipe? There is no water leaking when on the muffs only when in the water. While in the water, it leaks with both engine off and on. From looking at all the pictures of the outdrive parts, I would think this would have to be one of the bellows or possible something else like shift shaft???

This is a 4.3l mercruiser with alpha one gen2 drive. Motor and outdrive have only 20hrs on them. A repower was done in 2000 and the boat has sat in storage since 2001. The transom is in excellent condition. Not my pic below...but shows perfectly where i saw the water leaking in at:

outdrive plate inside boat.jpg

Im sure the Marina will figure it out...but im in suspense waiting to hear and was hoping to get some expert opinions from here.
 
Typically when water leaks into the boat when the boat is only in the water it is the u joint bellows or shift cable bellows.

Shift cable bellows will allow a small amount of water (typically) and the U joint bellows allows a lot more.

one sure sign of water in the u joint bellows is a water wet u joint assembly or a rusted u joint assembly and any grease will be very very liquefied.

If you wanted to determine this yourself you could jack the front of the boat up very high on the trailer and fill the boat with water and see where it drips out being very careful not to allow the water to get over the starter and dip stick tube.

Otherwise just replace both bellows and be done with it.............
 
From my original post: "Marina says that my drive and shift cable bellows where dry" I would have thought it was the drive bellows as well....but doesnt look like it. That is why I was asking about the Y pipe.
 
Y pipe won't leak in where you are pointing. I have hung upside down in many a bilge with mirrors and lights. To say that's where the water is coming in exactly can be difficult.
I have had to pull the engine, reinstall drive and relaunch a boat before to see where the water was coming in for sure.
There are half a dozen places. The manifold where the trim hoses go out has a gasket that can leak in on top of the Y pipe. The foam seal around the drive upper bearing nose and transom is what stops water from coming in if the horizontal shift shaft bushing is passing water. it will come in through the d/s bellows opening
If your Y pipe is leaking, dry the bilge and run the engine -the bilge water will be warm if it's the Y pipe oring.
 
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Thanks Hystat, There is no leaking on the muffs with engine running. And she leaks while in the water even before turning on the motor. I really dont think it is the y pipe....hoping for something simple.
 
It`s either :
A corroded hole thru the housing
A busted shift bellow
A busted main bellow
A leaking Y pipe, I see a busted stud in the pic
 
Hopefully the trim manifold gasket- definitely the cheapest and easiest fix. but unfortunately about the least probable. They don't leak that often but if someone whacked that manifold on the trailer power loading...
 
Thanks all, I should know soon. Was just hoping it wasn't the Y pipe. Anyone ever find a ujoint bellows dry on the inside...but was still leaking?

By the way, BT doctor, that pic is not my boat. I just used it to pinpoint my leak. :) Mine looks to be in much better shape. It only has 20 hrs on it...but sitting for 13 years. So hopefully it is not a corroded hole.
 
halltrail said:
Thanks all, I should know soon. Was just hoping it wasn't the Y pipe. Anyone ever find a ujoint bellows dry on the inside...but was still leaking? .
Click to expand...

If the inside of the U joint bellows is dry then you do not have a leak from it.

The bellows has to fill up enough to leak through the gimbal bearing so there would be water inside the bellows.
 
kghost said:
If the inside of the U joint bellows is dry then you do not have a leak from it.

The bellows has to fill up enough to leak through the gimbal bearing so there would be water inside the bellows.
Click to expand...
.

That's right, I remember reading that somewhere and makes complete sense. Thanks for the follow up.
 
My 3.0L, Alpha outdrive had water coming from the same place as your arrow indicates, and it was not the drive bellows or shift bellows, it was the large "O" ring that is placed on the u-joint shaft housing....The very very large foam like "O" ring, however, my u-joint bellows was not dry, but not very wet either. Replaced the "O" ring, no more water coming from that little hole. Anyway, let us know what your fix is. Rick
 
RicardoMarine said:
That was my first thought as well.

.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that would suck. The whole outdrive was new in 2000 and only has 20 hours on it...it has been sitting since 2001 in storage. So I was hoping not...but i guess if it wasnt stored properly or water was sitting in there it could be....Marina is going to pull the engine today or tomorrow. Getting impatient waiting.
 
Fastatv said:
My 3.0L, Alpha outdrive had water coming from the same place as your arrow indicates, and it was not the drive bellows or shift bellows, it was the large "O" ring that is placed on the u-joint shaft housing....The very very large foam like "O" ring, however, my u-joint bellows was not dry, but not very wet either. Replaced the "O" ring, no more water coming from that little hole. Anyway, let us know what your fix is. Rick
Click to expand...

That would be better than a corroded hole. :) Thanks for the reply..i will mention it to the marina. I had not read about that seal anywhere. Unless that is what Hystat was talking about in his post.
 
halltrail said:
Oh wait, probably not 16...since that is inside the boot right?
Click to expand...
I dont think the seal is shown in the pic you provided. The large seal ( square "O" ring ) is installed on the u-joint carrier housing. Its in the kit you would purchase if you pulled the drive out....to service the u-joints for instance. I will try to find a pic of what I'm talking about. Anyway, the Large foam like "O" ring got rolled up when I re-installed the outdrive...this caused lake water to leak into the u-joint bellows....which found its way out of the bellows weep hole...inside the boat. Clear as mud...lol
 
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Seeing as you have dropped the boat off at a service shop, why are you asking all these questions?

The large soft (square) oring does go on the carrier hoising and is contained in the kit mentioned.

It will not have anything to do with water intrusion into the bellows. There is a gasket between the outdrive and gimbal housing, this keeps water out from between the two parts.

Stop reaching for straws............

If you want to answer where the water is coming from, As I said earlier and have done myself numerous times,

Lift the boat while on the trailer, or park on a very steep hill, fill the baot with water from the inside and see where it leaks out on the outside.
Keep it away fromt he dip stick and if possible from covering the starter.
 
kghost said:
Seeing as you have dropped the boat off at a service shop, why are you asking all these questi

One, Im impatient and want to know what the possibilities are for the water leak; two, so I dont get BS'd from a shop; three, I like to learn and ive learned a lot by asking questions and then further research; four, If the shop doesnt get to look at the damn thing by the end of this week, Im going to go get it and do it myself.

The large soft (square) oring does go on the carrier hoising and is contained in the kit mentioned.

It will not have anything to do with water intrusion into the bellows. There is a gasket between the outdrive and gimbal housing, this keeps water out from between the two parts.

Ok, good to know and thank you for the info

Stop reaching for straws............

If you want to answer where the water is coming from, As I said earlier and have done myself numerous times,

Lift the boat while on the trailer, or park on a very steep hill, fill the baot with water from the inside and see where it leaks out on the outside.
Keep it away fromt he dip stick and if possible from covering the starter.[/Qoute]

If i find out they haven't even looked at it by tomorrow, I will do just that.
Click to expand...
 
Verdict is in, stopped by marina. Engine pulled, stern drive completely removed. There was corrosion around the transom plate and the transom plate seal was leaking. Not too bad...just needs to be cleaned and re painted and a new gasket installed.

The showed me the transom and the wood is a little soft around the stern drive hole..but otherwise in good shape. They recommended re-installing the transom plate with glue/epoxy? along with the bolts. Disadvantage is that when it goes on...it is on for good. To pull it off would be difficult and probably pull off the gel coat. They see tons more boats than me...so im going with there recommendation.

Not what I was hoping for...but not the end of the world I guess. The tech and myself are a little surprised at the transom as it looked and sounded very solid. But it is almost 30 years old. I weigh about 220 and hopped on that stern drive and there was no deflection at all.

Any thoughts/concerns?
 
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kghost said:
None....

Use it until it is over.............cant keep a boat forever, until then, enjoy it!
Click to expand...

haha, copy that. ill let you all know how the first run goes. Should have it back early next week. I guess i could always start reading up on transom replacement. Although, the tech said ill be fine for years to come and could still sell it off. But it would make for a good winter project I suppose.
 
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