3.0LX alpha one Gen II - Leaking yoke Seal

[richardfaust]

1995 Mercruiser Alpha One 3.0LX (Gen 2)<br /><br />Gear oil leak diagnosis: <br /><br />- The boat has a leak around the yoke seal. <br />- Also missing "o" rings on shaft.<br />- Shaft is missing some "o" rings and the oil that leaks past the yoke seal is passing into the bellows, it then overflowed into the bilge.<br />- Some water in gear oil.<br />- Gimble bearing worn.<br /><br />All this is probably the result of faulty work done by another shop (note missing "o" rings). I had them replace the water impeller (nothing was wrong with it, just thought it would be good insurance since I didn't know the condition). The second time I took out the boat the thing started leaking oil from the yoke seal like crazy.<br /><br />Their recommendation:<br /><br />1. Replace U-joint<br />2. Replace gimble bearing<br />3. Replace bellows.<br />4. Complete tear down and replacement of all seals ( upper and lower). <br /><br /><br />The first two items I'm confident need to be done however, I am dubious about the second two. The bellows were only saturated with oil for two weeks, so I wonder if I could just get away with cleaning them. Replacing the seals would be about $500 more.<br /><br />My questions:<br /><br />How important is it to replace bellows if they've been saturated with oil. Do they NEED to be replaced or is it just good insurance for the future?<br /><br />Is it worthwhile to replace all the seals? I was hoping I could replace just the upper seals as I think a impeller replacement would not affect the lower seals at all.<br /><br />The shop and the mechanic seem very professional and I don't think they are trying to screw me on this. I think they are just trying to cover their butts. In fact they said if I didn't get the whole thing resealed they couldn't warranty their repair job. <br /><br />Comments and advice appreciated

 

[mrtim1]

Re: 3.0LX alpha one Gen II - Leaking yoke Seal

If there was alot of water in the drive ,yes reseal it this way all the gears and bearings can be inspected for damage.As far as the bellows go for the cost and time it takes to replace on a genII go for it, also this way you got the warranty from them.

 

[Walter]

Re: 3.0LX alpha one Gen II - Leaking yoke Seal

How long you planning to keep this boat? If for more than a few years...then my advice is to buck up and shell out the $$ and do it all. Each time that outdrive comes off...at the very least you're paying for labor and a gasket kit. Might as well only do that once. Besides, I don't know how you could thoroughly clean the oil from inside your boot...for one thing it's ribbed...for another it's vertually impossible to access unless removed. Heck...so why not just replace it. Should your original boot fail...you'll be looking at replacing the gimble bearings and u-joints in short order anyway! And finally...the warranty is worth something!<br /><br />It bites that you got burned in the first place. Not knowing it's age...what you did by replacing the impeller as a p.m. measure was a good call. You might consider at least informing whoever did the impeller exchange what you're now up against. Maybe they'd be willing to help ya out. It's worth a try anyway...<br /><br />Good luck...<br /><br />Walt

 

[clanton]

Re: 3.0LX alpha one Gen II - Leaking yoke Seal

You dont have to remove outdrive assy to replace waterpump, only the lower gearcase. Seals a lot cheaper then gears. 1995 boat probley time for bellows change, water intake hose, and check shift cable, and bellows.

 

[ODDD1]

Re: 3.0LX alpha one Gen II - Leaking yoke Seal

Richard, I seriosly doubt you got 'taken' on the work...the ONLY thing I have ever saw destroy a gimbal bearing is water....water that gets into the bellows from the vent hole INSIDE the boat...water from a boat that over filled with rain water or didnt have a drain plug remembered at launching...because the vent hole is at the top of the bellows chamber, water will fill the bellows and not run back out, it sits in there and rusts the gimbal bearing, the u-joints and the input shaft seal surface...when the input shaft rusts, it acts like sand paper on the seal and quickly destroys it, causing gear oil to vent into the bellows and eventually into the bilge...<br />Now, if the bellows were bad, the gear lube would drain into the lake, and you would have a constant water leak into the boat...so, i assume the bellows are not holed...Dont get talked into changing them because of lube contamination, OIL DOESNT HURT THEM...make sure they change the gimbal bearing, check an GREASE the u-joints,dont change the bellows [they are good for 10+ years on a trailer boat] change the input seal an possibly the input shaft... the complete teardown/reseal/inspection is dependent on how badly water contaminated the gear lube was.....water aint a good lubricant....you may call it "covering their butt" maybe they wanna keep you out on the water for awhile...happy customers spend more money on their boats..

 

[BajaMan]

Re: 3.0LX alpha one Gen II - Leaking yoke Seal

ODDD1, can you answer a related question for me? I believe I'm having the exact same problem with gear oil in my bellows. I have a 1986 Baja Force 250 with the 454 magnum & Alpha 1 outdrive. When on the lake last week I was feeling a lot of vibration when I made a hard left or right. The same vibration when I trimmed the prop up. When I took off the lower & upper units to inspect them the bellows was full of water & the u-joints were covered in gear oil. Also when I drained the lower unit there was some water in the bottom of it. There doesn't appear to be any damage to the upper unit gears & the lower unit shifted fine in the lake. In addition there was no noise from the outdrive while running. No water drained from the boat after 6 days in the lake but as I said above the bellows were full of water (it gushed out when I pulled the upper unit from the gasket). The u-joints move freely and are tight with no play in them. Do you think they are OK & only need regreased? Would a bad gimble bearing create the vibration that I felt during sharp turns? Where is the water in the bellows coming from? We did have a hard rain here. Thanks for your help!<br /> BajaMan