Cobra sx outdrive

Dan01543

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Apr 19, 2022
Messages
84
Hi so I have a water leak somewhere in the back of my boat. I recently did my bellows and gimbal bearing and thought my bellows were leaking but I was wrong. Is it possible that water could be coming in where the y pipe goes out through the transom. I can't see any drips or water trickling in.i have a 96 wellcraft excel 21sl boat with a volvo penta 5.0fl motor. So is there any way to tighten my y pipe bolts from inside the boat. And would I be able to see and tighten my transom bolts as well. I know the top I can get to but are the lower bolts hidden somewhere. Again no drips,water trickling in.i can go the rest of summer if need be but I'd like to try and get this fixed.so if any may have some answers for me ot maybe had the same boat with the same problem im open to listening either way. Thank u
 

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
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Jul 23, 2011
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49,566
if you remove the motor, yes, you can tighten the y-pipe. however they dont just loosen up by themselves.

check the transom.
 

Dan01543

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Apr 19, 2022
Messages
84
I checked my transom and so far I don't see anything wrong with it but I either have water leaking in from the transom seal or were the y pipe connects to the transom there are 4 bolts that hold that y pipe in place at the bottom where it mounts to the transom and there's a o-ring that goes between the y pipe and transom to make a seal and it could be leaking right there. That o-ring might be bad. So I can't get to the 4 y pipe bolts where it mounts to the transom without pulling the motor is what your saying. Or I have to pull the motor to get at the transom bolts?
 

cptbill

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Oct 6, 2012
Messages
762
You'll probably need to pull the motor as was said, 99% of the time that's the only way to get to it. there's an O ring in there but you should check to mahe sure the mating surfaces are ok, I had one that was corroding and needed to replace the Y pipe
 

Dan01543

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Apr 19, 2022
Messages
84
So thank you for the information u gave me im gunna look at my y pipe when the boat is in the water with my Milwaukee camera and see if that is what's leaking. It doesn't hurt to look but it will also tell me what's going on if I can find out where the water is coming in.as far as pulling the motor ill wait to the end of the season to do that. And when the water does come in it comes in to a certain point and then stops leaking in.i was on my boat all this past weekend and my bilge pump turned on twice between Friday and Sunday night. So that's the other thing is when the water comes In it comes in to a certain amount and then no more water leaks in. So maybe this information I just told you might help answer some other questions.thank u again for the information u gave me already I appreciate it. Thank you dan
 

Horigan

Senior Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 12, 2016
Messages
673
That inspection camera should really help you find it. Another potential source is where the trim sensor wire comes through the transom. There's a rubber grommet on the wire that pushes into the transom from the outside and held in with a clip on the inside. At least that's the case with my joint venture SX drive ('94-'96).
 

nola mike

Vice Admiral
Joined
Apr 22, 2009
Messages
5,363
If it's the Y-pipe you'll get water in the boat when running on muffs. If it's the transom seal/bellows/trim wire it will only leak in the water.
 

Dan01543

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Apr 19, 2022
Messages
84
If it's the Y-pipe you'll get water in the boat when running on muffs. If it's the transom seal/bellows/trim wire it will only leak in the water.
Only leaks when it's in the water but the bellows are brand new done 2 weeks ago and the water comes in to a certain point and then stops.
 
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