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bravo outdrive leak

mjc

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My outdrive seems to be leaking from around the seal. I have check some of the nuts I can see and they needed some tightening(about a turn). Is there anyway to fix this without removing the motor?
 

DaveH

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leaking water inside the boat? the most common issue is the tiller pin......to fix that properly you have to pull everything apart. drive off, motor out, remove gimbal housing and rebuild it. not rocket science but a bunch of work. if you see rust on the pin.....thats the smoking gun water is coming in from there.
 
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mjc

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leaking water inside the boat? the most common issue is the tiller pin......to fix that properly you have to pull everything apart. drive off, motor out, remove gimbal housing and rebuild it. not rocket science but a bunch of work. if you see rust on the pin.....thats the smoking gun water is coming in from there.
when is was parked I could see little drips coming from down real low at the bottom of the transom assembly. so not sure where tiller pin leak shows up.
 

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What engine model do you have? Is there an exhaust Y-pipe or block off cover bolted to the transom assembly?

Image result for mercruiser exhaust y-pipe diagram

Image result for mercruiser exhaust y-pipe block off cover

Image result for mercruiser exhaust y-pipe diagram
 

DaveH

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the tiller pin is at the top. its kinda hard to see. just look where the steering cable connects to the tiller arm.....it behind that.

when you beach the boat, it pushes the nose up and the transom down. this is usually when they leak as the drive is deeper under the water compared to the boat floating on its own or under way.

and thats another tell-tell sign.....if you see more water in the bilge after it been beached for a while as compared to normal use......thats the tiller pin. the leak just runs down the inside of the gimbal housing from the top and drips out the bottom.

some people have replaced the pin from the outside of the boat without tearing it all apart. this is done by carefully cutting a hole in the flat surface of the transom assembly at the top to acces the pin. you ten have to machine a cover plate to seal up the drive. not the way i would do it.
 

mjc

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guest hs

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Probably the transom seal is leaking and that would be a good time to reseal the swivel shaft too while it’s apart
 

mjc

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Let's not jump to conclusions guys. It could be something as simple as a dry rotted shift cable bellows as well. Don't immediately assume the worst
how can I check that? The transom bolts I can get to are not very tight and can't get to the rest to chrck
 

Shlbyntro

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Best way to leak check a boat is fill it up with water on the trailer with the bow as high as you can get it. Fill it up to just below the starter. DO NOT get the starter wet. Then sit and wait from the outside. Where its leaking should show its ugly face within a few minutes.

If its the tiller there will be a limescale stain at the top of the transom assembly on the inside

If its ujoint bellows, it will be obvious as it is holding water inside the bellows when you take the drive off
 

mjc

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When's the last time you pulled your drive?
One way to check transom seal is to have your boat on trailer or in the water and put it in reverse and see if the leak increases
If it leaks more then it's your transom seal

Drive was rebuilt last year. I think i will take it to the lake tomorrow before rain come and check all these thing out.
 

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The shift cable boot can be found on the outside of the boat on the starboard side with the stern drive raised up you ought to be able to kneel down with a flashlight to inspect the rubber boot for any tears, etc., etc..

The following is of some places to look for water on the inside of the boat. The u-joint bellows might have water coming in just above the drive shaft from the drive. The shift cable bellows would be leaking in on the starboard side just above the exhaust collector pipe. The bright red arrows and the red lines show where water could be coming in.
graphic


To get an idea of the shift boot, the first minute or so of the following video the guy is talking and prying on the shift cable boot of a Mercruiser application,

Image result for Mercruiser bravo shift cable location

Image result for Mercruiser bravo shift cable
 

mjc

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Best way to leak check a boat is fill it up with water on the trailer with the bow as high as you can get it. Fill it up to just below the starter. DO NOT get the starter wet. Then sit and wait from the outside. Where its leaking should show its ugly face within a few minutes.

If its the tiller there will be a limescale stain at the top of the transom assembly on the inside
If its ujoint bellows, it will be obvious as it is holding water inside the bellows when you take the drive off
Did this and I get this, so out the motor comes
20200406_105749.jpg
 

Shlbyntro

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Did this and I get this, so out the motor comes
View attachment 863281

Yep that would be a transom gasket. Make sure the transom is good hard and dry, especially around where the assembly is, before reinstalling everything

On the up side, it is only a $12 part plus I like using a tube of life caulk for good measure.

Merc Part #: 43713

You're also going want a tube of bellows adhesive to help glue the new gasket in place
Part #: 92-86166Q4
 
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Done-it-again

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Yep that would be a transom gasket. Make sure the transom is good hard and dry, especially around where the assembly is, before reinstalling everything

On the up side, it is only a $12 part plus I like using a tube of life caulk for good measure.

Merc Part #: 43713

Nothing like a couple of G's to fix a $12 part....
 

Shlbyntro

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I like to look at it more like now would be a great time to install that Teague motor you always wanted :)
 

mjc

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I like to look at it more like now would be a great time to install that Teague motor you always wanted :)
motor was rebuilt last winter and then drive blew up and was rebuilt in june. Only thing left is the transom to work on. May see what a new Ebay transom cost and get everything new that way.
 

Shlbyntro

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motor was rebuilt last winter and then drive blew up and was rebuilt in june. Only thing left is the transom to work on. May see what a new Ebay transom cost and get everything new that way.

Magnum transom #
6-6311002NZ. MSRP: $3250 and comes with trim rams

For your reference.
 
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farmo83

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Do these commonly go out or is it basically winning the bad luck lottery ?
 

Shlbyntro

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Gimbal rings are common. especially on heavy singles or anything with twins when there isn't external steering.

Transom gaskets are usually because of a rotten transom or a drive strike at some point in time.

Bellows are usually every 4-7 yrs depending on care and use
 

CobraDave

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I did a transom seal on the Cobra awhile back. I believe it was about $1000. But after a new one with extra silicone or whatever it should last a lifetime.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 

185EZ

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Replace your drive and shift cable bellows as well as your shift cable while you're in there.
Saves you a lot of time if you have to replace them later.
Also replace the upper steering pivot with a stainless one.
It's a fraction of the cost of the mercruiser steel one
stainless steering pivot
 

Kbach

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Yep that would be a transom gasket. Make sure the transom is good hard and dry, especially around where the assembly is, before reinstalling everything

On the up side, it is only a $12 part plus I like using a tube of life caulk for good measure.

Merc Part #: 43713

You're also going want a tube of bellows adhesive to help glue the new gasket in place
Part #: 92-86166Q4

Hey @Shlbyntro it's a kinda old thread but I've got a question. I'm in the process of rebuilding my transom on my 21' Ultra and am wondering if I should apply any sealant to the Merc gasket (43713) when I bolt the asy to the transom. It didn't have anything on it from Ultra...but there also wasn't much wood left because it's been leaking so long and the entire transom was rotted to mush. After cutting/scraping/grinding/sawing/glassing it all back to "like new" I'd like to do it right and not have to go through this again in the near (or distant) future.

I get conflicting info everywhere I look...some say just the gasket, some say sealant as well. Even saw somebody recommend 5200 on the foam seal but if I go that far I might as well just epoxy the drive on and not install any bolts 😄

Any help would be appreciated.
 

Shlbyntro

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Hey @Shlbyntro it's a kinda old thread but I've got a question. I'm in the process of rebuilding my transom on my 21' Ultra and am wondering if I should apply any sealant to the Merc gasket (43713) when I bolt the asy to the transom. It didn't have anything on it from Ultra...but there also wasn't much wood left because it's been leaking so long and the entire transom was rotted to mush. After cutting/scraping/grinding/sawing/glassing it all back to "like new" I'd like to do it right and not have to go through this again in the near (or distant) future.

I get conflicting info everywhere I look...some say just the gasket, some say sealant as well. Even saw somebody recommend 5200 on the foam seal but if I go that far I might as well just epoxy the drive on and not install any bolts 😄

Any help would be appreciated.


Officially from Merc the answer is no sealant.

However most mechanics including myself would say absolutely use sealant. I wouldnt go as far as 5200. I personally use Life Caulk. Just a small regular sized bead on the gasket and also a small ring of sealant around each stud.
 
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