Alpha 1 Gen 2 - leak & transom service questions

Bondo said:

Ayuh,..... If the transom bolts are loose, it's because the transom is Rotten,....

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well, I guess I find that out soon enough. Not sure if you saw the part about striking the drive in the driveway when reversing. Perhaps that jarred it enough, but the salt water intrusion for the season may have caused its own damage.

Update:
I pulled the engine, reinstalled the drive and submerged my boat at the ramp. As before, the water accumulated in the trim hose cavity at the bottom of the transom bracket. I found that the lower transom nuts were not-tight and movable.

I pulled the boat out and could observe water leaking out from the bottom of the gimble housing to transom connection, behind the trim manifold, on the exterior.

I snugged the nuts. There was no cracking, crunching sounds or play. I then re-submerged and there was NO LEAK. I poked around the bracket and inside the cavity and all the wood feels solid. *I REALIZE THAT THERE COULD STILL BE ROT*, and I will do some test bores to verify. If there is rot, I'll get that resolved first. if not,

My plan is to remove the Y-Pipe and replace the gasket, and while I have it off, check for rot, then torque the bracket bolts to specification.

I will be replacing the bellows and trim sensors, and trim manifold gasket when I rebuild, so the bell housing is coming off. This is a 25 year old boat with original bellows (which were not leaking). I'm also replacing all water hoses, and the front timing cover and seal while the engine is out.

Question: should I loosen the transom bracket bolts, flush with salt away (salt water has been introduced), and either replace the bracket ORING or (don't shoot me) apply a marine silicone sealant before torquing the bracket down? I'd like to avoid tearing out the transom assembly but will, if that's the best approach. Can I replace the seal without ripping the transom assembly apart?

Are there other parts I should look to replace while the engine is out and bell housing disassembled? I have a replacement shift shaft bearing, but mine is not leaking. I replaced the shift cable and cable bellows a couple years ago.

Thanks!

I snugged the nuts. There was no cracking, crunching sounds or play. I then re-submerged and there was NO LEAK. I poked around the bracket and inside the cavity and all the wood feels solid. *I REALIZE THAT THERE COULD STILL BE ROT*, and I will do some test bores to verify. If there is rot, I'll get that resolved first. if not,

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Ayuh,..... Anything is possible, but of the 100s of boats I've crawled through, the only cases of those bolts/ nuts getting loose, is because the wood it rotten,.....

Bondo said:

Ayuh,..... Anything is possible,

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drilled 7 holes around sides and under bracket. all within 1/4” of bracket. Up 2” above where water sat in cavity.. Shavings are clean. no sign of rot.

I scraped the surface inside the cavity and the wet material is < 1mm. clean and hard underneath.

my instinct is to loosen the transom brackets, scrape wet surface to hard wood, clean rinse with salt-away, and Let it dry out before resealing.

I’ll fill these bore holes with silicone before rinsing.

i could remove the whole bracket to bore underneath, but that seems like overkill at this point. I think that I have plenty of solid wood for the Bracket to torque down Against a new o ring

May want to consider filling your drill holes with resin or 5200. Either would provide a good seal and last for the life of the boat.