water intrusion after gimble bearing replacement

[rpatton]

Mercy 120 Alfa drive 1986. After I replaced my gimble bearing I noticed water trickling in my transom around the water pump supply hose transom fitting. Any idea where this could be from the bellows are good.

 

[rpatton]

Any one?

 

[Rick Stephens]

Any where behind the gimbal can allow water in. The bellows, the bell housing gasket, the shift shaft seal, the o-ring for the water passage. All of them. Get water in one, get water in your bilge. Open it up and start looking and replace the gasket, o-ring and input shaft ring carefully.

 

[rpatton]

Thanks. You are correct. When I took it back apart I noticed the bell gasket was not where its soppesed to be. It had a blown in section about 3 inches long. Don't know how I did that but I did. Hopefully that's the issue. Just stinks cause that was a new bearing.

 

[rpatton]

Ok i replaced all the gaskets and seals and water is still streaming in around the water line on the transom plate. Enough to run my bildge every 5-10 minutes. Heres whats wierd that i noticed, it only comes in when someone is siting on the back to make it a little lower in the back. I looked and felt the bellows and felt no holes but it hard to tell but its gota be the bellows theres nothing else write? Are bellows hard to replace? I know theres special tools but which ones do i realy need and which ones can i make do without. Im very good with mechanics as in diesels and auto but only ever did the more non envasive repairs on the boat. I might add as far as i know the bellow where never changed. Please someone chime in thanks

 

[sharkin95]

bellows replacement is a pain first time I did mine took 6-8 hrs. now I do it in 3-4 hrs. The only special tools you need are a hinge pin tool to unscrew the side hinge pins that hold the bell housing and if you take off the exhaust bellows a bellows extender, one extremely important thing I can say is use the BELOWS ADHISIVE as directed there is a ton of info on this including you tube videos so TAKE YOUR TIME.My suggestion is if you change the universal bellows I would change the exhaust bellows also

 

[rpatton]

Thanks .the tool that take out the hinge pin to me on videos looks like a torx socket is that right. And what's so special about the exhaust bellows verses the ujoint bellow that you need a extender. Or is it a expander