Leaking Alpha 1 Gen 2

[cnadler3]

Hello Everyone!

I just noticed the leak in the attached photos on my garage floor. Obviously not a big leak as it's been all winter since I've taken the boat out. A few questions....where is this leaking from? How difficult is it to repair? Is this gear oil? Lastly, can the boat be safely used prior to fixing? I ask the last question because I have a half day lake trip planned with family on Sunday and hoping I won't have to rush around prior to fix. Also, the reason I asked if it is gear oil is because if so, I presume I can keep an eye on the gear oil reservoir to ensure it doesn't start leaking larger volumes if in use.
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Please let me know if you have any questions. Thanks!

 

[Rick Stephens]

no way from your photos to know whether it's gear oil or hydraulics.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... My guess is it's trim fluid,.... Try to tightin' the fitting at the leak,.....

 

[harringtondav]

Based on the fluid color and location, I'd go with Bondo. A common leak location for gear lube back there is the lube line under the bell hsg. You can do a visual with your drive up in trailer. Its on the starboard side. If you are using Merc's gear lube, it would be blue/green in color.

 

[achris]

Anything leaking is an issue. Using the boat while there's a known problem is not the wisest course of action. If nothing else, you'll be knowingly adding a contaminate to a waterway. And that's not very responsible. Cancel the trip, fix the problem. Chris...

 

[Bondo]

Anything leaking is an issue. Using the boat while there's a known problem is not the wisest course of action. If nothing else, you'll be knowingly adding a contaminate to a waterway. And that's not very responsible. Cancel the trip, fix the problem. Chris...

Ayuh,..... 'n if I'm right, the trim system will be contaminated with water, in short order,....
The trim system is tough to get the water out of,....

 

[cnadler3]

Found where it's leaking from, see attached pics. What needs to be done to fix and what's a fair price for a repair shop based on parts and labor?

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[Rick Stephens]

I can't tel whether it is from a loose connection or leaking from the packing. If the packing, cost depends on condition of the cylinder. You might try tightening the fitting, use a wrench made for that though or you'll round off the nut.

 

[cnadler3]

What do you mean by packing? I showed the pictures to a local boat mechanic and they said it needs a ram seal kit....$60 for the kit and $150 to install for each side. Does this sound accurate?

 

[rickasbury]

Sounds like you need to turn some wrenches. If your going to own a boat better start learning how to fix stuff you can your self.. have never done this but I would think with the help here and go check you tube- probably will see how tare one down and do the seals....

 

[cnadler3]

Your response isn't at all helpful, as I'm not interested in watching YouTube videos to fix the boat. I'm simply looking for guidance to ensure the local mechanic seems accurate in their assessment.

 

[wellcraft-classic210]

Most of us are fixing things ourselves and have spent a lot of time and effort honing those skills.

Marina pricing is not an area of typical expertise as its what we are trying to avoid. And it can vary widely by area and shops.


You might want to call a few shops in your area to compare pricing for the repair & write back for any help & advice if you decide to do this yourself.

 

[Rick Stephens]

Most of us are fixing things ourselves and have spent a lot of time and effort honing those skills.

Marina pricing is not an area of typical expertise as its what we are trying to avoid. And it can vary widely by area and shops.


You might want to call a few shops in your area to compare pricing for the repair & write back for any help & advice if you decide to do this yourself.

That's a really good answer!

 

[Rick Stephens]

What do you mean by packing? I showed the pictures to a local boat mechanic and they said it needs a ram seal kit....$60 for the kit and $150 to install for each side. Does this sound accurate?

Packing = seals and other parts needs to rebuild a hydraulic cylinder. No idea without looking in the cylinder whether it will take $150 worth of labor. Again, depends on condition inside. If it is all pitted then replacement of the cylinder would be more appropriate. And if it is leaking from the line, then $10 is more appropriate. Bet the marina charges you $150 either way.

 

[Bondo]

Your response isn't at all helpful, as I'm not interested in watching YouTube videos to fix the boat. I'm simply looking for guidance to ensure the local mechanic seems accurate in their assessment.

Ayuh,..... This is a "Diy" site, not a "keep yer mechanic honest" site,...... sorry,......

 

[cnadler3]

Understood. I'm just not interested in tearing apart the cylinder myself as I'm not confident I'll put everything back together correctly, just like the remote control.....end up with extra parts and not be able to change the channel anymore. :noidea:

I'm now contemplating replacing both trim cylinders with SEI for $320:

https://nuwavemarine.com/sei-mercru...m-pair-815935a7-8m0118958-815954a7-8m0118959/

I'm thinking, does it really make sense to pay $310 parts/labor to replace just the seals on both 20+ old trim cylinders compared to installing new aftermarket for about the same price? I found that I can also save some money by removing the cylinders myself and taking them to a different mechanic, but still looking at $210 to end up with old trim cylinders with new seals.

A brief search of using SEI as a replacement for Mercruiser seems to have pretty good acceptance. In addition, pretty sure I can handle installing the new trim cylinders myself. Thoughts?

 

[Bondo]

Thoughts?

Ayuh,..... Sounds reasonable, 'n cost effective,.....

 

[harringtondav]

Purchase a flare nut wrench to get the tube fittings off your old cylinders. Worth the cost vs. stripping the flare nut flats and the aftermath. Also a good size oil pan to catch the oil. You'll loose a lot of the trim fluid, and want to pump out the rest. It;s likely contaminated with water. There are a lot of posts here on bleeding the air from the system after the change-out. You'll need a helper who knows how to crack and tighten a flare nut, or run the trim on command. Purchase an extra quart of 30W oil or ATF. Bleeding uses a fair amount of fluid.

 

[Rick Stephens]

I'm kind of cheap myself. If I can't do it myself, it usually didn't need doing. Always figured I was a couple UTube videos away from being able to do neural surgery :^) This ain't neural surgery. And since you know it costs ~$320 to replace the cylinders, what is the harm in pulling one apart and seeing if you can repack it? That's the really cheap solution and a guy'd learn something in the doing. He who learns the most stuff before kicking the bucket wins..

 

[harringtondav]

He who learns the most stuff before kicking the bucket wins..

Classic comment. My mantra. I'd rather eat a bar of soap than pay someone to do what I can figure out. It's called OCDIYD: Obsessive Compulsive Do It Your Self Disorder.