Water dripping thru lower shift cable

[tlcausey]

Hello, I've got a '96 Mercruiser 5.7 Alpha II, started it up on muffs on the trailer and noticed water dripping from the lower shift cable on top of the engine. Any idea as to what I need to check to find where it's coming from. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

 

[Rick Stephens]

Seems pretty obvious it is coming from somewhere else, on muffs no part of the cable is in any water. Check your risers, internal rubber bellows to the y pipe, the Y pipe itself. Any water hose high enough to leak on the shift cable.

 

[superbenk]

Isn't the lower cable the one that runs to the outdrive? If so, you may have a leak in the drive-to-bell housing gasket. I had that problem once when my gasket didn't line up properly around the hole where the fresh water passes from the drive into the bell housing. Replaced the gasket & the problem went away. I was warned that the shift cable could corrode from the water that did get into it but I haven't had a problem yet (it was fresh hose water).

 

[Bt Doctur]

more likely the water inlet O ring is missing or damaged

 

[superbenk]

more likely the water inlet O ring is missing or damaged

You're right, that's the part that got messed up. Happened the first time I tried to put my drive back on after pulling it. I've since figured out how to "glue" that o-ring in place to keep it where it belongs now.

 

[Rick Stephens]

more likely the water inlet O ring is missing or damaged

Doh. . . . . . Obvious answer once you mentioned it.

 

[tlcausey]

Thanks for the replys, going to pull the outdrive off and check the o-ring and gaskets. Thanks again.

 

[tlcausey]

Thanks for the help, turned out to be just what you guys said. There was no o-ring, put new gaskets and o-ring seems to have fixed the problem. Thanks again.