Cracked bell housing? Please see pic

[fulano]

Hi guys,

So I fired up the boat in the driveway..(cause I love that smell) and I was checking the earmuffs to make sure they stay on, and I notice that water is coming out of the bell housing. There is a crack there, maybe the guy who sold it to me tightened down the bolts to hard when he replaced the gimble bearing.

The pic was taken with the motor running. you can see where the water is leaking. The crack is exactly where the sticker is, which is prob why I never noticed it before.

The engine has never gone above 150 degrees. I'm still a rookie though and I just want to ask you guys a few things:
1.) How serious is this?
2.) Could I cause other damage by running it like this?
3.) How much does a new bell housing cost? Just the part.

Thanks!

 

[Fun Times]

Re: Cracked bell housing? Please see pic

3.) How much does a new bell housing cost? Just the part.

Thanks!View attachment 203043

We will need the transom assembly serial number to help with this question.

 

[fulano]

Re: Cracked bell housing? Please see pic

Oh ok. Where could I find that number? Is it the same as the hull number?

 

[DXN]

Re: Cracked bell housing? Please see pic

Right under the Mercruiser name



Is not 100% clear in the Pic but It says SERIAL NO. #####...

 

[Don S]

Re: Cracked bell housing? Please see pic

Google 806031A 2 Your drive serial number in your signature worked.

Pull the drive off and get a better look at the crack. It may be possible to weld it, if the gasket surface can be kept flat.

 

[fulano]

Re: Cracked bell housing? Please see pic

Thanks guys for all the replies. I was able to find a few, but they are ranging around 400-600 bucks. Maybe it can be welded like you said Don. I was planning going through everything on the boat this winter and just enjoying it as much as possible this summer. Do you know if running it like this will damage anything?

 

[Grub54891]

Re: Cracked bell housing? Please see pic

Looks to me that someone is re-using the gasket on there. The red silicone gives it away. Them gasket set's are cheap,not worth the risk of letting water in there and freezing in the cold,let alone everything else in there getting ruined.
Grub

 

[fulano]

Re: Cracked bell housing? Please see pic

Looks to me that someone is re-using the gasket on there. The red silicone gives it away. Them gasket set's are cheap,not worth the risk of letting water in there and freezing in the cold,let alone everything else in there getting ruined.
Grub

Thanks for the insight. Yep the guy I bought it from is a mechanic and did the work himself. I'm not surprised if he reused the gasket. What is that gasket's job?

 

[Don S]

Re: Cracked bell housing? Please see pic

What is that gasket's job?

Quite honestly, not much. On your drive it seals around the oil passage for the reservoir. But on older models it mostly kept exhaust gasses out of the shift cable area. The old shift shaft seals in no way kept the water out of the area.
There is an oring on the water passage as well, and the large quad ring keeps the water out of the bellows.

Bravo drives don't use a gasket either, and Volvo never used one on the SX drives (Same as the old Cobra drives) that did use one.

 

[thumpar]

Re: Cracked bell housing? Please see pic

It is really easy to pull the drive and inspect it to see what is going on. 6 nuts on the drive and the trim anchor pin nut on one side to remove it. Make sure it is forward and pull it off.

 

[Fun Times]

Re: Cracked bell housing? Please see pic

Google 806031A 2 Your drive serial number in your signature worked.

Thanks Don, Somehow I missed reading his signature line.:redface:

 

[fulano]

Re: Cracked bell housing? Please see pic

Thanks Don, Somehow I missed reading his signature line.:redface:

hey guys, is the transom number the same as the drive number?

 

[Don S]

Re: Cracked bell housing? Please see pic

hey guys, is the transom number the same as the drive number?

No, they have different numbers. Did make a few assumptions that it was the same vintage as the engine and drive.

 

[fulano]

Re: Cracked bell housing? Please see pic

Quite honestly, not much. On your drive it seals around the oil passage for the reservoir. But on older models it mostly kept exhaust gasses out of the shift cable area. The old shift shaft seals in no way kept the water out of the area.
There is an oring on the water passage as well, and the large quad ring keeps the water out of the bellows.

Bravo drives don't use a gasket either, and Volvo never used one on the SX drives (Same as the old Cobra drives) that did use one.

Don, do you think I will damage anything by running it this summer like it is?

 

[achris]

Re: Cracked bell housing? Please see pic

Err, that water is leaking out of the shift slide cavity (there should NEVER be any water in there). The bell-housing may be weldable, or the whole thing could be fixed with just replacing the bell-housing, but until the drive is removed and the damage assessed...

At a quick guess, I'd say that the slide cavity filled with water, then froze over winter....

Chris..........

 

[04fxdwgi]

Re: Cracked bell housing? Please see pic

I would tend to think that replacing the bell housing with a good used unit (can be had for a "C" note) would be a better bet (or even cheaper) than trying to get it welded, since it should be removed to get a good weld on it to begin with. Actually, not that bad of a job to do yourself.

 

[ricohman]

Re: Cracked bell housing? Please see pic

I would tend to think that replacing the bell housing with a good used unit (can be had for a "C" note) would be a better bet (or even cheaper) than trying to get it welded, since it should be removed to get a good weld on it to begin with. Actually, not that bad of a job to do yourself.

I agree with this^^^^
As a guy who also welds in his spare time I can see the finicky little angles inside that peice. It could take hours to weld it up and finish it properly.
If it were my boat, and I can weld aluminum, I would replace it.

 

[fulano]

Re: Cracked bell housing? Please see pic

Err, that water is leaking out of the shift slide cavity (there should NEVER be any water in there). The bell-housing may be weldable, or the whole thing could be fixed with just replacing the bell-housing, but until the drive is removed and the damage assessed...

At a quick guess, I'd say that the slide cavity filled with water, then froze over winter....

Chris..........

Hmm. Thanks guys. What is the slide cavity for? And where do you think I could find a good bell housing for a c note?

 

[04fxdwgi]

Re: Cracked bell housing? Please see pic

Hmm. Thanks guys. What is the slide cavity for? And where do you think I could find a good bell housing for a c note?

Just saw some on Fleabay.

 

[fulano]

Re: Cracked bell housing? Please see pic

Thanks, yep I saw those but they're over 500 bucks