New water leak

[Slice of Life]

Found a new water leak the other day in my Mercruiser Alpha 1 Gen 2, 350 Mag. I changed all of the bellows at the beginning of the season, along with shift cable, trim sender & limit switches, gaskets/seals, impeller etc. Confirmed leak is not from new bellows, it is near the top of the transom plate where the steering arm comes out of. Research so far looks like the upper swivel shaft seal is causing the leak. Either removing the engine and transom plate assembly or a simpler procedure involving the JRMarine kit that's specifically designed for this near the gimbal ring looks like required repairs for it, if that is indeed causing the leak.

It's a very very slow leak, maybe a few drops a day, if that. Not sure how fast and how much worse it can develop.
It only leaks when we take the boat out. After leaving it in the slip for a week the area where the water comes in is dry, no water at all. I suppose it's only leaking when I turn the steering wheel. Here's a pic of the area. Thanks.

 

[Speakrdude]

I cant see from your picture where the water is leaking from, however, that is the general area is where the hose fitting for the water intake is. If it is only leaking while the engine is running, that's where I would check first.
If you can see very well that it is dripping from the shaft seal, That will only get worse and rust everything.
I have used that kit before, but is really a hack job. If you want to do it right and your sure its leaking from there, pull the drive, pull the engine, pull the gimbal housing, fix it right.
That way, you can catch anything else that needs to be repaired while your in there.
Just my $.02 worth. ($.00125 after taxes)

 

[Bt Doctur]

That's because its missing a grease fitting that merc discontinued. I would put in a new fitting while being repaired. Not hard to do.