Possible water leak

[popo4fun]

OK I know this isnt the propper repair but not sure it wont work....so I wanted some of you guys advice. I have a water leak...and I cant find it anywhere. My bellows look great for the drive shaft....the exhaust doesnt really matter....and the shift cable is in pretty good shape. If any one is the culprit its the shift cable bellow. I was wondering if i overlapped it with another bellow and sealed it with fusion tape (the $40 role kind) if it might work. ONly other places I can think of is there has to be some type of seal for the entire outdrive area and maybe it has went bad? Does silicon work for resealing that? It is a 1993 RInker 260vee with a bravo two outdrive. Any advice. If I can find the leak then I fel that myself and a buddy who is a mechanic could fix it. I talk to the local shop and since the holiday they have like 4week waiting list to get a boat in for repairs, so trying to do it myself. Thanks in advance guys.

 

[popo4fun]

Re: Possible water leak

anyone?

 

[shopboy]

Re: Possible water leak

If your shift cable bellows is leaking, you should take the time to replace it properly with an oem bellows.

Its not that difficult of a job, and you will be much better off than trying to tape it.

If the rest of the bellows haven't been changed in the past couple years, this is the time to do those too.

And from what I understand Silicone should Never be used below the waterline.

Good Luck

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Possible water leak

Exaust Y pipe corroded?

 

[popo4fun]

Re: Possible water leak

It doesnt appear to be...and the mechanic that inspected it noticed the recirculating pump needed to be changed just because he noticed it had a bot more play than he thought. Once he took it off you could tell it was in its last days. I inclcude that just because I feel like he did a pretty good job inspecting that part but obviously not perfect.

TO address my other idea about the bellows and fusion tape...I am not sure if you guys know what I am talking about. This is a military spec compound that actually fuses with itself and seals. If you took a shift cable boot and adjusted it so that you could pop it over the old one then completly wrapped it in the fusion tape so that it sealed I dont see how or why it wouldnt work. I bring it up again so that maybe someone here can tell me why it wont work....not just the stardard answer of you shouldnt do it cause everyone says you shouldnt. I have made a living off of thinking outside the box and this idea popped in my head as i thought how much i disliked the idea of removing my outdrive..lol. ONce again thanks in advace for all input. I promise i can take advice just wanting someone to explain why my idea wouldnt work cause in my mind it just might be something lots of you could do and save some serious money and time. Thanks

P.S. This don guys seem very very informed on the subject maybe I can get him to weigh in.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Possible water leak

It`s almost impossable to do unless you do this first
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=220416

 

[popo4fun]

Re: Possible water leak

Hope you didnt take any offense Bt Doc i can tell with over 3,000 posts you def have some serious experience here. Like i said I am a stubborn person but not to the point that I cant learn from people that know more than I do. WIth that said what do you think about the fusion tape. It waterproof once it seals and it would cover from one clamp to the other.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Possible water leak

Without knowing what your working on , how can you expect the correct answer.
There are various types of shift cable boots,most if not all are glued on and clamped. There not designed to piggy back.

 

[popo4fun]

Re: Possible water leak

Sorry it is a 1993 rinker 260vee it has the 350 engine with a bravo two outdrive. I tried the whole fill it up from the inside a few min ago and i filled it up as far as i was comfortable with and nothing leaked out from the back. Beginning to think the seacock might be the culprit and neds to be resealed. going now to use the search engine to see how that is done.

 

[nola mike]

Re: Possible water leak

I dont see how or why it wouldnt work. I bring it up again so that maybe someone here can tell me why it wont work....not just the stardard answer of you shouldnt do it cause everyone says you shouldnt. .

because you don't have a time machine. water is already in the bellows. your shift cable, if it isn't already, will corrode. if you do this repair, it may work, but probably not long term. it will cost you an hour of time to remove/replace the outdrive, and you'll better be able to check for other problems. if you don't mind trying it and possibly wasting your time, go for it.

 

[popo4fun]

Re: Possible water leak

that is a valid point that i had not considered. You know this had to happen near the holiday when 50 percent of boats are now going in the shop..lol. I called my local mechanic and he is at least 3 weeks out on repairs. I am really intimidated about pulling my out drive off. Never tried to do it and afraid might not get it back on right. PLus i have read about the special tools that i dont have. Only good news is that its looking like its not the bellows. Might be the seacock...who knows. You gotta love boating!