Water in Drive Bellows

mbram

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Apr 28, 2015
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I pulled off the drive (2004 SX-M) to do some maint and found some water in the u-joint bellows. I had no apparent rips in the bellows and had just replaced last fall (maybe the problem). There was about 1 cup of water in there. There was also sand on the bearing housing.
Couple questions: Does the bearing housing seal that connection by tapering into the upper gear unit or do the two edges that meet up? I didn't have a ripped O- ring- but could it be coming from the water outlet? I need to check to see where I have the hose clamp screw positioned--with that in the wrong spot, could water get in very slowly there? I don't have water in anyplace else it shouldn't be and it did not look like the water had been in there for very long (no rust and grease was still there).
It is a trailered boat that does not sit in the water.
If anyone has any ideas- please let me know. I am going to do some more inspection before I put it back together and then maybe pull back apart when I am winterizing.
thanks
mike
 

bruceb58

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Mar 5, 2006
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Did you use OEM bellows?

The seal is done with the nose of the drive pressing against the bellows.

Did the water ever get high enough in the bilge to allow it to enter the drive from the inside?
 

mbram

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I did use OEM on both. But I was thinking about two things that could be the culprit. 1. Last year when I did the bellows, I bolted everything going back up but did not put sealant around the bolts. That should have created a problem earlier. 2. Is there a certain time way the bellows go in? Looks like there are grooves that maybe the bearing housing lines up with? Lastly, --boat is usually in the garage but a couple weeks ago we were on vacation and the thing was outside overnight and it rained a lot- couple inched overnight. I went out in the morning and pulled the plug; but I don't know how much needs to be in the bilge and created that problem. Any thoughts. Thank you for the help.
 

bruceb58

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No sealant needed on bolts. There is a groove on the housing that the bellows needs to line up with. If you didn't get that lined up, that could be an issue.

If you didn't put the worm gear of the clamp in the correct place as specified in the manual, it could hit the bellows during a hard turn or full tilt.

The water in the bilge would need to be up to the crankshaft of the engine.
 

dypcdiver

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As bruce58 said there is a groove on the outside of the gimbal bearing housing that must line up with the protruding bit on the inside of the bellows.
At the other end of the bellows the moulding must be pulled through the Gimbal housing and seated correctly over the "V" that faces aft.
Do not over tighten the clamp as they can both pinch a hole through the rubber or create a ruck.
 

mbram

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I don't think the water got as high as the crank. I got the idea on the sealant on the studs from the Volvo manual- shouldn't matter if the bearing housing is what creates the seal on the bellows. I am thinking I a have the bellows misaligned so those tabs aren't lined up and we got a little water in there. I will check it out. Thank you for the help.
 

BRICH1260

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Lack of lube around the bolts would have nothing to do with the water in the bellows. That is merely to make sure that the next time that you remove the drive that the nuts come off easy.
 

bruceb58

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Another thing you should make sure of is that the nose on the drive is clean of any corrosion. It also wouldn't hurt to smear a small amount of grease on this so that the nose seals against the bellows with out pulling at it.
 

mbram

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Apr 28, 2015
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I had some time to look at it last night. There are 4 grooves or indents on the nose for the bots that attach it to the lower unit. There are 4 corresponding notches or higher parts on the bellows that take up that space. Were those notches on the bellows there when it was new or are they from the nose pushing on the bellows? From the picture, it looks like just a smooth surface all the way around. If it is smooth is there anything to line up (clockwise/counterclockwise) with the notches on the nose. Hope that question makes sense.
 

dypcdiver

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Notches in the bellows are created by the shape of the nose that they butt up against. The rubber face is flat when new. No need to worry.
 

mbram

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Apr 28, 2015
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problem found- before I put the drive back on, I thought check the bellows again--pushed, pulled and saw that I did indeed tighten the clamp too tight and created a hole--$50 lesson
 

dypcdiver

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Fingers crossed that your Universal joints and Gimbal have not been affected with the water. Mine needed replacing, they felt smooth but when I re-launched the gimbal started to groan after a few hours, so had to lift her out and replace gimbal bearing, gimbal seal and the rebuild the universal joints. Took about 5 hours on my own, re-launched the following day and 12 years later I still have not needed to do anything other than pull the drive and grease every end of season.
 

mbram

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Apr 28, 2015
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I re-greased the u-joints that I had replaced last year- we will see there. I was in there to do the gimbal anyways- that is how I saw the water. We have maybe another 3-4 outings. I will pull again and see how things are looking. thanks
 
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