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[nitedmn]

I've been having some shifting problems so today I pulled the lower unit off so I could pull the old shift cable out and find a replacement. I disconnected the trim rams, removed the nuts off the 6 retaining bolts, started to wiggle things apart. As soon as the seal opened up, I saw a small amount of water spill out followed by a few, non-repeatable, words spilling out of my mouth. As I pulled the drive off, the large rubber o-ring/gasket fell out in several pieces (see picture below).

Once everything was apart I proceeded to inspect everything and clean up all the water to prevent any rust from forming. From what I can tell, there wasn't a lot of water in the unit. The one picture shows the small puddle of water that drained out, and part of that is water that was slowly dripping from my bilge. The bellows seem to be in good shape with no signs of rips or cracking (still very flexible) and everything else appears to be clean and in good condition.

If I replace the bad gasket is this likely to solve the water issue or should I also be looking for other sources? Is there a better way to inspect the bellows other than simply looking at them?

Here's some pictures of the unit after it was removed
https://goo.gl/photos/hWWtA3GcxK6gzNxx9

This is on a 1972 Marlin Leo with a Mercruiser 888 drive.

Thanks

 

[NHGuy]

Check the universal joints. They must be free of play, can only pivot.
That square cut ring is replaced each time your drive is installed.So don't sweat that it needs to be replaced.
More importantly, there should have been no water in the bellows. The broken ring gasket is probably your culprit..

 

[nitedmn]

U-joints, and everything else, appear to be fine. No signs of rust on anything and everything moves easily. Looks like my bad shift cable may have saved me some money on some more costly repairs.

 

[JASinIL2006]

It would be smart to buy an extra gasket kit and pull the drive after a few outings just to make sure you don't have a problem with the bellows. A gasket kit for the drive is a lot less expensive than new u-joints, gimbal bearing, erc.

 

[nitedmn]

Good idea. I will try to do that.

 

[JASinIL2006]

I had a similar phenomenon with drive when I pulled it at then end of last year. I would have sworn my bellow were still good, but after running the boat this Spring, I pulled the drive again and found a little water. Turns out the bellows were starting to fail -- I just got lucky and caught it before any damage to the gimbal bearing or u-joints occurred. Hope that's not the case for you!

 

[redmen62]

you have everything off and you're seeing water, might want to consider doing the bellows since you're in there