Transom Leaking-Please Help!-

[Boater31]

Since the boats not in the water, pulling the drive will tell if water is in bellows

 

[a8218]

Yes there is definitely water coming in through the steering pin seal. It may have just been getting worse since I bought it. i have never noticed a water leak until now though.

At the start of this post I thought that there was just a small amount coming in through the pin seal and that the majority was coming from the y pipe. Since then I have stuck it back in the water with a marine mechanic and he pointed out that it was actually flowing in through the steering pin seal and the water was running down between the transom plate and the transom itself. Then dripping off of the bottom of the Y pipe. Not even a minute after backing it in, the water starts to form on top of the steering shaft.

I originally installed all of the bellows but had problems keeping the exhaust bellow on. I then decided to take it to a mechanic to ensure it stayed on. thinking it was something I was doing or not doing causing it to keep slipping off. He just pulled it off completely and installed the modern type of exhaust bellow. not sure if there is actually a name for it.

I pulled the drive last night and there was no water in the u joint bellow. im waiting for my neighbor to get a little free time as he is usually the one who helps me pull the motor. I have a few come-a-longs a chokers and he has a fairly large tractor. Makes pulling the motor quite easy. I'm hoping for good weather tomorrow and we will be able to pull it.

will the Y pipe need to be broken loose to remove the transom plate? should I replace the seal in there as well? Im going to use the bellow adhesive on the transom seal to keep it in the groove. Ill also add a small amount of 4200 to the other side as well. The U joint bellow tool I have, I just printed on my 3d printer. It worked surprisingly well when I installed the bellows. most of these specialty tools I normally make myself as I have a couple hobby type cnc machines in my garage I toy around with. I can make most of the specialty tools within a couple hours if I can find prints and dimensions on them.

 

[Rick Stephens]

I like your plan with bellows adhesive and 4200. Should work a charm. Don't need much.

Yes, you need to pull the Y pipe to remove the transom plate and gimbal housing. I would purchase all new seals and o-rings for anything that I am disassembling. I also strongly recommend pulling the exhaust riser/elbow and getting new gaskets. Makes pulling the engine so much easier and no risk of breaking a Y pipe.

I have never seen the top pin worn out. So I will be interested in hearing what you find. I also have lathe and mill in my shop, one way or the other I'd figure a fix, even if it meant finding an ebay gimbal housing to swap mine out. Don't half fix it! Just make it right, enjoy yourself while you do it, and go boating feeling comfortable that you're mechanically sound.

Rick

 

[a8218]

Well me and my 15yr old son got to tear into it yesterday finally. we got the motor out and the transom tore apart in about 5 hours. There wasnt any water in the u joint bellow, but there seemed to be some kind of oil. not really sure where it came from. i paid last summer for the main seal and u joints to be changed in the outdrive. i cant really tell where it would have came from. anyone have any idea?

 

[Scott Danforth]

input shaft seal on the drive is where the oil came from

 

[a8218]

ok so the larger bushing for the steering pin is a loose press fit. i can press it in and out by hand. now the one i pressed out was a little tough but i would guess it was corroded in place. should i use some kind of Loctite? or use a punch in the bore to slightly tighten it. any suggestions?

 

[a8218]

input shaft seal on the drive is where the oil came from

so the oil im seeing is the drive oil from the outdrive?

 

[Bt Doctur]

Post some pics, I had to make a new bushing oversize OD for a customers boat due to a severly eroded area where the bushing and seal went. May also want to add that missing grease fitting to prevent this from happening again

 

[a8218]

the first 2 are the bore. cleaned it up with a wire brush and wd. the new bushing isn't loose enough where it falls through. but i can press it out with 2 fingers.

 

[a8218]

its kind of hard to explain the fit. im used to press in, or tap in bushing and bearings. so this type of lightly pressed in fit seems off to me. never doing this job before im not sure if this is how it should fit or if it is to loose. should it seat and not press out by hand? it looks like after everything is put together it cant come back out but i would feel better if it was a tighter fit. unless someone says that's how its supposed to fit. if you need different pictures or angles let me know.

 

[Bt Doctur]

a firm press fit not by hand or slightly driven in.

 

[tank1949]

That $10 POS foam rubber Mercruiser transom gasket should definitely be glued in, like with 4200 or better.

How many rotted transoms do you think this gasket is responsible for ? It should be a formed rubber o-ring like the y-pipe gasket.

I have pulled 6 MC transom assemblies and every o-ring looking gasket was flattened. As added precaution, I add 5200 to the new O-ring and an addition bead of black 5200 around where transom gimbal housing bolts to transom. Unless you rebuild at least one transom, you will NOT know where I am coming from.

 

[tank1949]

Yes there is definitely water coming in through the steering pin seal. It may have just been getting worse since I bought it. i have never noticed a water leak until now though.

At the start of this post I thought that there was just a small amount coming in through the pin seal and that the majority was coming from the y pipe. Since then I have stuck it back in the water with a marine mechanic and he pointed out that it was actually flowing in through the steering pin seal and the water was running down between the transom plate and the transom itself. Then dripping off of the bottom of the Y pipe. Not even a minute after backing it in, the water starts to form on top of the steering shaft.

I originally installed all of the bellows but had problems keeping the exhaust bellow on. I then decided to take it to a mechanic to ensure it stayed on. thinking it was something I was doing or not doing causing it to keep slipping off. He just pulled it off completely and installed the modern type of exhaust bellow. not sure if there is actually a name for it.

I pulled the drive last night and there was no water in the u joint bellow. im waiting for my neighbor to get a little free time as he is usually the one who helps me pull the motor. I have a few come-a-longs a chokers and he has a fairly large tractor. Makes pulling the motor quite easy. I'm hoping for good weather tomorrow and we will be able to pull it.

will the Y pipe need to be broken loose to remove the transom plate? should I replace the seal in there as well? Im going to use the bellow adhesive on the transom seal to keep it in the groove. Ill also add a small amount of 4200 to the other side as well. The U joint bellow tool I have, I just printed on my 3d printer. It worked surprisingly well when I installed the bellows. most of these specialty tools I normally make myself as I have a couple hobby type cnc machines in my garage I toy around with. I can make most of the specialty tools within a couple hours if I can find prints and dimensions on them.

If this is a salt water boat, inspect y-pipe and gimbal housing mating. Unfortunately, I have had to replace y-pipes too many times.

 

[Rick Stephens]

I have pulled 6 MC transom assemblies and every o-ring looking gasket was flattened. As added precaution, I add 5200 to the new O-ring and an addition bead of black 5200 around where transom gimbal housing bolts to transom. Unless you rebuild at least one transom, you will NOT know where I am coming from.

That's crazy! 5200 is intended only for permanent installations - using it to glue in something that might one day have to be pulled back apart is definitely contraindicated. You will never get the 5200 back out of o-ring grooves. Please don't recommend using it for that type of purpose. Someone else might actually do it.

 

[a8218]

y pipe seems to be in good shape. the boat has only ever been in fresh water. The baffles in the y pipe also seem to be in good shape. I have a new o ring for the y pipe when i install it. although the old one didn't seem to be in bad shape. i have 4200 to for the transom o ring seal. I was going to use it between the o ring and the transom. Then bellows adhesive to hold the o ring into the groove.

I ended up using red Loctite on the steering shaft bushing that was a light press fit. I would guess .002 - .003" would have made it a firm press fit. I also put some onto the seal as well. was this a mistake? if so its not to late to pull it back out and try something different.

 

[tank1949]

That's crazy! 5200 is intended only for permanent installations - using it to glue in something that might one day have to be pulled back apart is definitely contraindicated. You will never get the 5200 back out of o-ring grooves. Please don't recommend using it for that type of purpose. Someone else might actually do it.

Razor knife can cut through outside bead. The weak o-ring material will break apart from the 5200 in the grove or channel. The 7/16" bolts can be removed by installing a jam nut behind the regular nut. I had to remove rusted bolts in this manner to remove more than one gimbal housing. Every time the O-ring was FLAT too.

 

[tank1949]

y pipe seems to be in good shape. the boat has only ever been in fresh water. The baffles in the y pipe also seem to be in good shape. I have a new o ring for the y pipe when i install it. although the old one didn't seem to be in bad shape. i have 4200 to for the transom o ring seal. I was going to use it between the o ring and the transom. Then bellows adhesive to hold the o ring into the groove.

I ended up using red Loctite on the steering shaft bushing that was a light press fit. I would guess .002 - .003" would have made it a firm press fit. I also put some onto the seal as well. was this a mistake? if so its not to late to pull it back out and try something different.

You might want to install y-pipe or any SS bolts with never seeze for salt water applications. I have never had to install steering seal/bushing, YET. It is my understanding that bushings fail and then you have up and down or vertical slop in the outdrive as indicators. If slop and you replace, be sure to align couple. Good luck!

 

[a8218]

Correct tank, i had a little slop as well as leaking. the bushing wore out and then the seal failed. everything is tight now though. im getting ready to install the transom assembly. Would it be ok to use 4200 on the transom seal? on both sides of it? i just realized my bellow adhesive is still not here. Wont be until Tuesday. i still have about half of a tube left from the bellows install a few months back. i tested it by just pouring a little out to make sure it will still set up. seems like its fine. Just dont have enough to put on the transom seal and the 2 bellows.

 

[a8218]

stick with the bellows adhesive to hold your transom seal in place. i used 4200 and it ended up being a mess. got it on finally but bellow adhesive would have worked a lot better.

I got the transom plate mounted along with the power steering, y pipe and a few other small things. i was going to go ahead and drop the motor in tomorrow but can i float without the motor? the y pipe should keep the water from coming in through the exhaust right? if i mount the outdrive on it should be water proof, or am i missing something? that way just incase it leaks which it shouldn't, i don't want to bother the neighbor again to re pull the motor.

 

[Rick Stephens]

Bellows adhesive on the housing side of the transom seal will keep the seal in place. 4200 takes a long time to cure and you'll be waiting on it. 4200 on the transom side is a good idea.

Yes, you can float the boat motorless. Problem is it won't sit very low since it will be light. Might keep the upper half of the transom high and dry ruining your test.