BELLOW HEADACHE

[kevk]

alpha 1, gen 2////// About four weeks ago boat took on a lot of water,,sure enough shift cable bellow had a tear in it..(keep in mind this was my first time ever doing bellows..) Replaced all three bellows (did not use adhesive), backed the boat down the ramp,,and sure enough water was coming in faster than the first time.. Pulled boat, removed drive, was a little water in exhaust bellow. Bought bellow adhesive, replaced bellow, back to the ramp I went and sure as S#$%,, water still pouring in,,this is not a small drip...Just removed the drive and no sign of water in the 2 bellows. Water has never leaked in the transom..

 

[tpenfield]

Maybe it is not the bellows . . . .

 

[poconojoe]

First off, water will not leak into the boat through the exhaust bellows. But adhesive is needed on all bellows. The shift bellows needs adhesive only on the transom side and the smaller side needs the crimp clamp only.
You need to get mercruiser manual #14 and follow the bellows job step by step.
Go to the site boatinfo. The manuals are free.

 

[alldodge]

alpha 1, gen 2////// About four weeks ago boat took on a lot of water,,sure enough shift cable bellow had a tear in it..(keep in mind this was my first time ever doing bellows..) Replaced all three bellows (did not use adhesive), backed the boat down the ramp,,and sure enough water was coming in faster than the first time.. Pulled boat, removed drive, was a little water in exhaust bellow. Bought bellow adhesive, replaced bellow, back to the ramp I went and sure as S#$%,, water still pouring in,,this is not a small drip...Just removed the drive and no sign of water in the 2 bellows. Water has never leaked in the transom..

:welcome: to iboats

Don't know what engine you have but my guess is you have a bad Y-pipe. If this is a V8 or V6 you have a Y-pipe, if this is a 4 or inline 6 cyl you have a single exhaust pipe. Pics below are similar and not necessarily what you have. If you provide a year or engine serial number we can help a bit more



Sorry for your trouble and :welcome: to iboats

 

[poconojoe]

Good point alldodge! If his exhaust pipe is rotted, water WILL come in the boat through the exhaust bellows!

 

[poconojoe]

Kevk, keep us posted on your findings.
As you already know, that little shift bellows can let a lot of water in. It's notorious for that. Make sure you glue that one and the big u-joint bellows.

 

[kevk]

Thank you for all the response,,here's a kicker,,its a 21ft Baja with THRU-HULL EXHAUST..like I said before,, no water was coming in the boat before the rip in the shift cable..Now for the shift cable..i couldn't make the shift bellow stretch all the way to the end, (I don't even know if it is supposed to stretch that far,, but I did get it 3/4 of the way down and crimped it..Also put some adhesive on the shift cable..Even if that was leaking,, there is NO WAY that would let that much water come into the bilge..

 

[alldodge]

A shift cable will not leak that much, even if no adhesive was used. If you do not have a Y-pipe (you still have not said what engine you have or the year) there is a block off plate which could also have rusted through

 

[kevk]

Sorry ALLDODGE,,its a Merc 350,,the block off plate looks good..I didn't put adhesive on the u joint bellow because I didn't have any, but I did put silicone. Plus there was no water inside the bellow when I took the out drive off..

 

[alldodge]

Sorry ALLDODGE,,its a Merc 350,,the block off plate looks good..I didn't put adhesive on the u joint bellow because I didn't have any, but I did put silicone. Plus there was no water inside the bellow when I took the out drive off..

You were leaking very little, then boots were replaced and more water starts coming in. Boots were removed and adhesive used and made no change. There is no Y-pipe on the V8 engine, nor is the block off plate leaking. Only thing left is either your transom plate has cracked (very unlikely), your transom is shot, or you did something really wrong when putting the boots on.

So I would first grab screw driver and try very hard to push it into the inside of the transom around the transom plate. If you cannot push the screw drive into the transom wood, then brake out a camera, put the boat in the water and find out where its leaking with the camera

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... The Best way to find a leak, is to back the boat in at the launch, throw open the hatches,....

'n Look,.....

Use a digital camera to see where yer head won't fit,....
Use a mirror,...
Use alotta Light,...
Water flows downhill, look Up wherever ya see water,....

Ya can't fix a leak til ya find it,..... sounds like there's several possible options,....

 

[kevk]

Will do ALLDODGE, Thank you...

 

[kevk]

UPDATE,,Gimbal housing has cracks and holes in it......

 

[alldodge]

UPDATE,,Gimbal housing has cracks and holes in it......

Bad news, sorry to hear that. Guess you need to pull the engine and remove the transom assembly