Hole in outdrive

[Brandon5778]

Okay, so I could only find one post about this issue and it only had 2 replies without a conclusion to the problem..

1975 Mercruiser 888

On the starboard side of my upper outdirve, right behind the sticker there is now a big perfectly round hole the size of my thumb. The only info I found was this thread.
https://forums.iboats.com/forum/eng...per-unit-hole-cover-what-is-this-thing-called
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And there was no answers to the guy's next questions on repair, so here are my questions.

1. I only ran the boat once, is there any chance my shift cable is not shot? My dad thinks it'll be fine, I think its only a matter of time before it seizes if water got in there. I just replaced it and it was a PITA....
2. How do I plug the hole? I have never seen this in my service manual and again, cannot find info about it. Could anyone provide me with a part number?
3. Is it pressed in? It looks like there are not any threads. How do I replace it?

Thank you for reading, any help is appreciated.

 

[Brandon5778]

[No message]

 

[alldodge]

The welch plug is item 4 in link below (19-32652)
http://www.mercruiserparts.com/bam/subassembly/30852/1579/5

Clean the hole, use some form a gasket sealer or other gasket sealer. To install find a socket which just fits inside the plug, then tap it in place

 

[Bt Doctur]

guessing you dont have a official manual
photo hosting sites

 

[Brandon5778]

Actually I have every manual. Just overlooked it! Thanks for the info guys.

 

[alldodge]

Dang you have some I don't but that's not that hard to do

 

[Brandon5778]

AllDodge Anything you need, I'd be happy to upload and send you a message. It took me awhile to find them. I have #1-#41 and all the supplements. Just let me know. :joyous:

​​​​​​Can anyone else weigh in on if you think I need to go ahead and order another shift cable? I'm thinking if water got into it, it's only a matter of time before it seizes... I just want someone who agrees with me before I do that.. Anything else that could have been damaged by water getting in there?

 

[alldodge]

Have not dealt with this issue and water in the shift cable, but what I might do is, pull the core out of the cable. Then spray WD40 thru the jacket, this should take care of the moisture. Then blow it out with air, then put some motor oil in the jact and put it back together.

 

[nola mike]

Don't know if it's the same size, but on an alpha 1 a half dollar and some epoxy does the trick. And the irony is that using actual money to plug the hole costs less than the actual part...

 

[jimmbo]

deleted

 

[muc]

If your in fresh water the cable should be good for many more years.
If your worried, follow the advise AllDodge gave you.

 

[Brandon5778]

Just following up on this post.. Been a really busy past 2 weeks for me as I just started a new job at an auto mechanic's shop. I haven't felt this tired at the end of every day in a long time, lol.

I finally pulled my outdrive and checked it all out. A 16mm socket was perfect for tapping in the new Welch plug, and I sealed it nice and good with permatex black.

The hole lets water in everywhere you don't want it, my u-joints bellows had water in it, shift cable, ect. If this happens to you, make sure to re-grease everything! Water came squirting out of my u-joints and gimbal bearing when I greased them, and I had just serviced everything last year when I winterized it. I'm only in freshwater, but I'm sure it wouldn't have been good if I had ignored it. I'm now at ease though, and ready for a fun season! Thanks to everyone who helped, I really appreciate it. To thank you I will post a beautiful picture of the sunset I took last night off my buddy's new-to-him pontoon. It was her maiden voyage and the boat ran fantastic!

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[muc]

if you had water in the u-joint bellows, it WAS NOT because of the missing welch plug!
The water came from somewhere else. You need to find out where that is.

 

[Brandon5778]

muc , could it have been the large o-ring that goes just at the base of the u-joints, on the outdrive? I found this to be in terrible condition, and replaced it. My bellows are new last year. It would seem if to me if water was in that cavity and that large o-ring was no good, it could have let the water in through there.

 

[muc]

yes the large o-ring is a very common place to leak