baffled at the bellow!!!

[Sailormoon]

replacing the bellows on my 87 4.3 cobra outdrive. Got it all apart but theres no bellows at all on the shift cable???? doesnt appear like it was ever there. All im seeing is a red jacketed cable going from the shift mechanism in through the transom. Is the bellows on the inside?? Dont see anyway it would attach where i thought it would attach outside. Mystery.....
The boat was leaking somewhere, about 3-4 gallons in about 3 hrs.

 

[JAB702]

replacing the bellows on my 87 4.3 cobra outdrive. Got it all apart but theres no bellows at all on the shift cable???? doesnt appear like it was ever there. All im seeing is a red jacketed cable going from the shift mechanism in through the transom. Is the bellows on the inside?? Dont see anyway it would attach where i thought it would attach outside. Mystery.....
The boat was leaking somewhere, about 3-4 gallons in about 3 hrs.

It goes on the inside over the end of the hose thats around the lower shift cable.

As long as that hose sits above the waterline you wont get a significant amount of water through even without a bellows. With that much water its probably not the cable bellows thats the problem.

 

[Sailormoon]

FOUND IT . It was hiding on the inside!!!!! cant see why this would require a boot/bellows. It is positioned about 16" up from the carpeted floor. Can water still get in when its sitting that high? The boot/bellows is zip tied onto the sleeve/connector assembly but is loose on the other end, so if water can travel up to that height it would get into the boat due to its not being zip tied onto the cable itself!? any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[bruceb58]

I got water shooting out though mine when a wave would hit the back of the boat. Was out fishing and after a couple hours had water all the way up to my starter!

 

[jerryjerry05]

It's supposed to be routed up so it doesn't feed into the boat.
Seal it.
Pull the drive and see if there is water in the bellows.
They can leak into the boat and sink you.

 

[Sailormoon]

I decided to change the bellows after inspecting the old and seeing dry rot cracks in the valleys of the bellows. I pulled the drive but no water in the bellows at all. Its nice to have the peace of mind knowing that the bellows are now new and arent going to send me to Davy Jones Locker. Im new to boating and aquired the boat about a month ago. After looking and looking at different used boats we decided on this one. Excellent condition (compared to what we've seen). 87 Doral Grande.

 

[carrier82]

If there was no water in the bellows the leak must be somewhere else. Perhaps your transom is shot and leaking between the gimbal?