Alpha Gen 2 transom leak

[Striker36]

I have recently done shift, u-joint and exhaust bellows, and I know these are all well sealed. Still seeing a small trickle of water getting in somewhere around the transom. Is there anywhere else that it could be coming from that I missed?

 

[Bt Doctur]

Well, could be a few things
does it come in on muffs or in the water
does it leak water out the drain plug running on muffs
have you ever had a strong bottom strike or destroyed a propeller

 

[Fishermark]

If your transom is sound, and not rotten, then a common area is the seal at the bottom where the hydraulic lines go to the the trim. But unfortunately a more common area is the seal around the transom assembly itself - which almost always signals a soft transom.

 

[Striker36]

Transom seems very sound, and I'm only seeing the leak in the water, not on muffs. Could it be the shift shaft bushings up closer to the u- joint bellows? Would that let water in?

 

[Bt Doctur]

exaust Y pipe leaking, the shift shaft bushing woul not let water into the boat ,just the shift cable cavity

have you ever had a strong bottom strike or destroyed a propeller

This could dis-lodge the transom seal at the very bottom of the housing. try inserting a business card around the transom

 

[Striker36]

If your transom is sound, and not rotten, then a common area is the seal at the bottom where the hydraulic lines go to the the trim. But unfortunately a more common area is the seal around the transom assembly itself - which almost always signals a soft transom.

Didnt realize there was a seal here. Mine is just the 4 way block that gets covered by the anode, with the four braided trim lines that screw into it at the base of the drive assembly.

 

[Bt Doctur]

the connector block uses a gasket between it and the housing

 

[Striker36]

the connector block uses a gasket between it and the housing

Wow, I never heard of that one leaking before, maybe thats my issue. Also, looks like an easy change out without having to dump all the trim fluid.

 

[Striker36]

I assume if its not leaking on muffs that that would rule out the y-pipe too? Its a fresh water boat so I kind of doubt its y-pipe corrosion.

 

[Striker36]

the connector block uses a gasket between it and the housing

Can you drop the connector block far enough out of the boat to detach the two inside hoses running to it to get the new gasket on?

 

[Bt Doctur]

you need to understand "back pressure" .on muffs there is none to speak of and in most cases it goes out the exaust pipe.in the water the exaust must force its way out because the exaust cavity is filled with water . A leaking Y pipe will leak with or without the motor running in the water.
Heres a link to the transom http://www.boatfix.com/merc/Servmanl/14/14b4.pdf

 

[Striker36]

Ok, here's an update. Hopefully this picture works. The water is dripping down from above the area where the water pickup tube goes through the transom. Cant see in there to see much more, but its a pretty steady drip coming down, pools on the inner transom assembly and then runs down into the bilge.
Having trouble posting pics so heres a link ;
http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o715/Striker3636/image_zpsybvvveks.jpeg

 

[Striker36]

And here's a pic of my outer gimbal. Looks like someone has done the access port mod at some point. I cant slide even my thinnest feeler guage in between the gimbal and transom anywhere, and my transom seems hard as a rock all around so I'm doubting that is the issue.
Ive read about leaking swivel shaft seals, would that cause the leak that I'm seeing? When I changed out the bellows I noticed it seemed like there was a little play in the vertical axis.
http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/...sbxhkwx3u.jpeg

 

[Striker36]

I guess another option based on location is that my trim sender and limit wires arent seated properly at the compression seal?

 

[Bt Doctur]

depending on the work performed a drip above the water inlet is usually the frim wire bushing or they only put in the bottom bolt and skipped the top one.
Thoses plugs are evidence the upper seal/steering pin/ yoke have been repaired/replaced. Do a search for "installing the missing mercruiser grease ftting"
It will help prevent that repair in the future

 

[Striker36]

depending on the work performed a drip above the water inlet is usually the frim wire bushing or they only put in the bottom bolt and skipped the top one.
Thoses plugs are evidence the upper seal/steering pin/ yoke have been repaired/replaced. Do a search for "installing the missing mercruiser grease ftting"
It will help prevent that repair in the future

My trim wire retainer only has one bolt, its designed that way.

 

[Striker36]

Im really thinking its the steering seal, I think its getting in at the seal, then leaking down between the transom plate and the transom, and coming out above the water tube.

 

[Striker36]

Just in case anyone's following this with the same problem... Turned out to be the steering shaft seal, it was completely shot and fell out with the shaft when I removed it. See pic.

 

[AndreyCat]

How hard is it to remove that steering part?

 

[Striker36]

How hard is it to remove that steering part?

Its not easy. If you don't have the access hole modification kit done, you actually need to pull engine and whole drive assembly to get it out. If you have the access holes cut in the top of the gimbal housing, its still tough, not a lot of room to get in there with tools. Doable if you're experienced with repair work and have the right tools, if not, might be best left for a mechanic.
My steering shaft was in there pretty tight due to corrosion and needed some convincing with a slide hammer to come out. I replaced it with a stainless steel aftermarket version from NuWave Marine.
If you look up JR Marine there is a couple of videos on there showing how to do it, although they dont replace the upper most shaft bushing, which I did, and it was a major PITA to get out.