Quick Water Tube Question

[CFM56-7]

Hello all,

After replacing the water tube, bellows, and gimbal bearing on an Alpha One Gen 2, I was getting ready to reinstall the outdrive. I did a quick inspection of all the components prior to doing so, and the water tube has developed a sharp bend in it. It looked great right after I installed it, but after several weeks of sitting there, I guess the bend set in.

Here's the question: How much of a bend is tolerable? The bend is pretty close to the attach point on the bell housing and I can shine a light in there and confirm that a passage still exists, but would be restricted. Air still flows freely, but is obviously far less dense than water.

Do I need to tear it all apart and replace the tube before moving forward or is it possible I am good to go.

Thanks for sharing your expertise!

CFM

 

[muc]

Re: Quick Water Tube Question

When you say bend. Do you mean kink?
If there is a kink, it will get worse and create overheating problems.
Most common causes of a kink are the hose is too long or wasn’t pushed far enough on the hose barbs.
The only bend that’s tolerable is one that doesn’t restrict flow.
Might want to do that job over?

 

[Fun Times]

Re: Quick Water Tube Question

Most common causes of a kink are the hose is too long or wasn?t pushed far enough on the hose barbs.

Also in most cases when you buy a new hose, most of the time the hose will need to be trimmed down a bit to help avoid the kink you seem to be experiencing. The correct length of the hose can be found in the OEM service manual. You'll want to figure out how to remove the kink. The water hose can be a pain in the tail to get just right at times so be patient with it. Good luck.

 

[CFM56-7]

Re: Quick Water Tube Question

Deep down I guess I knew it needed to be redone. Thank you both for confirming. New tube ordered....

CFM

 

[Fishermark]

Re: Quick Water Tube Question

Having just done it myself I can testify that it also really depends upon how you install it. Twist the hose to conform to the bend and right angle turn. There seems to be a "sweet spot" where it goes right without any kink at all. Easier to do than to describe. Also - you are removing the upper metal or plastic tube completely right? Then installing it as a unit? Nearly impossible to install correctly without doing it that way.

 

[CFM56-7]

Re: Quick Water Tube Question

While I had the UJoint bellows off, it went right on the upper tube without difficulty using the Power Tune spray. I had read up on all the procedures to do it and used the curve to my advantage. It looked great right after the install.

Looking back though, my setup was horrible. I used the tube that came with an after market bellows kit rather than OEM and I assumed it would be sized correctly. Like the newbie I am, I didn't even measure it. Not enough research on my end prior to the job so now I pay the price. On a positive note, if I ever have to do all this again I'll be pretty good at it!

 

[CFM56-7]

Re: Quick Water Tube Question

Having just done it myself I can testify that it also really depends upon how you install it. Twist the hose to conform to the bend and right angle turn. There seems to be a "sweet spot" where it goes right without any kink at all. Easier to do than to describe. Also - you are removing the upper metal or plastic tube completely right? Then installing it as a unit? Nearly impossible to install correctly without doing it that way.

Fishermark, you may have saved me a great deal of work. I was ready to dissassemble everything again, but you got me thinking. After looking at the manual, it looks like you can remove the plastic water tube that the rubber attaches to, and swap out the water tube without all the dissassembly. Is that the case?

 

[Fishermark]

Re: Quick Water Tube Question

I have never tried replacing just the water hose without the bellows. (It's kinda one of those things... while I'm there, I may as well replace the part). But I have also never tried replacing the hose without removing the upper copper (or plastic) tube. It's just too easy to remove it to try it any other way. Plus, that way, you can turn and twist the hose to get the optimal placement to avoid kinks.

But try it and let us know if it works!

 

[bspeth]

Re: Quick Water Tube Question

I did mine with the drive off. remove the bellhousing side of the exaust bellows,and fish it into the transom after removing the bushing from the inside.Fish the entire hose with the barb already on itback through.After checking length of course,itll tuck right in.

 

[CaptainMak]

Re: Quick Water Tube Question

Not sure if you did the job yet or not but here's what saved me the hassle to disassemble everything.

Find the spot where it's kinked. Take a regular worm-gear type stainless steel clamp and tighten it over the spot that's kinked. Don't overtighten. Just enough pressure so it firmly "hugs" the hose. If you get the drive over to the right all the way, you can easily slip it over the hose and tighten with no problems. Hope this helps.

 

[CFM56-7]

Re: Quick Water Tube Question

I appreciate the tip CaptainMak! I already have a replacement tube in hand and I figure while everything is still partially disassembled, I'll get the job done right.

CFM

 

[CFM56-7]

Re: Quick Water Tube Question

Just wanted to thank everyone for all their advice. This afternoon I got the water tube swapped out. I am a devout believer in going OEM from this point forward. I didn't do enough research the first time and installed an aftermarket water tube that was too long (my fault entirely). The difference in being prone to kink when compared to the OEM tube was significant though.

I ended up removing the hinge pins, the bell side housing of the exhaust bellows, the upper shift shaft, and the plastic water tube with grommet that passes through the transom. I honestly thought I'd be redoing all the bellows along with the shift cable.

This forum is most excellent!