cracked sx drive ???

[aerobat]

hey gents !

i now started to make my boat ready for the summer and also am repainting my sx drive. at this occasion i found first time that in the vicinity of the bolts for pulling the drive, exactly between the two "parts" that come apart when you pull it, on the right side of the drive there is a dent facing to the outside and maybe also a little crack.

what the hell is this ?

i can say that the boat run well last year and i for sure never hit something underway, i also fully lowered the drive to let the water flow out before winter.

can it even be possible to get a freezing damage at this position ? there are no cracks or damage on the lower parts of the drive.

i must say i never looked that closely at my drive and i did not pulled it last year , but can it be that this is from the previous owner and i drove a season with it ?

thanks for any hints !

 

[Don S]

Re: cracked sx drive ???

Post a picture

 

[aerobat]

Re: cracked sx drive ???



don, exactly between the two upper and the one lower bolt on the starbord side. sorry for the bad quality , this is just a quick cellphone shot and i,m just in the process of priming the drive.

do you think there is even a possibility of a freezing crack in that position ?

and further - when this position is not 100 % watertight, will i have just water in the bellows or will water enter the boat ?

i,m asking because last year the boat was in every case watertight from the drive. so, im questioning myself if it could be that i drove with it a season just not realizing it.

 

[Don S]

Re: cracked sx drive ???

I think you have more problems than you realize right now. From the looks of that picture, that drive has never been off. Looks like a body putty patch of some kind, hard to tell from that angle.
I would sure be taking the drive off (if it will come off) and seeing what is in there and finding out what all is wrong.
No, it's probably not freeze damage because that cavity is open on both sides of the cable.

 

[aerobat]

Re: cracked sx drive ???

ok, thanks for you reply.

i will try to pull the drive and let you know what i further found .

sorry for my ignorance since i come from outboards :

- when i pull the drive, do i have to drain the gearoil in any case?
- assuming it was alligned correctly, do i have to allign the drive again ?

thanks much for your help !

 

[Don S]

Re: cracked sx drive ???

- when i pull the drive, do i have to drain the gearoil in any case?
No, the oil is all inside the drive....... or at least it should be.


- assuming it was alligned correctly, do i have to allign the drive again ?
The alignment is checked any time the drive is removed, it's not necessary to realign each time. It's just how you check things to make sure it's right.

You also need to grease the splines that go into the coupler. That should be done every 100 hours or yearly which ever comes first.
Same with the gear lube in the drive.

Sterndrive R&R

Gear Lube Change

 

[aerobat]

Re: cracked sx drive ???

ok, i pulled the drive.







the inside is dry, the u-joint is not rusty and appears to look good, the gimbal bearing also. so there seem to be no indication there was water inside, and i still have no idea how this dent came in.

i start to believe i drove a season with it and overlooked it , the dent might be a damage from pulling the drive by the previous owner.

but you are right that the drive was not off a long time, especially removing the trim cylinders was not easy .

so what should i do now ?

my plan is to carefully dent it back and treat with liquid metal from both sides, then of course grease the gimbal , u joint and the shaft and reinstall it. what do you think ? do you have an idea for the "dent" repair ?

 

[Don S]

Re: cracked sx drive ???

Personally, I would knock the bent piece back into place, V it out and weld it.
Then clean everything up and put some paint on it for protection. You don' have water in that bellows right now, I would sure be putting a new OEM ujoint bellows on now before you do have problems.

Make sure you put grease on those studs before you put the drive back on. I would also check the alignment too, and do not forget to grease the coupler splines.

 

[aerobat]

Re: cracked sx drive ???

although i,m afraid to finally break the whole piece off when knocking the dent back in place i have no other option and will try carefully. when it comes to welding - do you know what material the drive is ? alluminium alloy ? i thought about welding it but i have to look for a company who can weld such an alloy - if its aluminium i cannot by myself .

i hope i do not bother you to much with questions but,

-the sx seems not to incorporate any gasket between the drive and the bellow housing but only sealant is to be put on the surfaces - correct ? the only true gasket i found was for the water inlet passage .

-do you have some material on changing an u-joint bellow - is it much work ? i agree its a good idea to change it to keep out of trouble.

tomorrow i will go to a VP dealer and order new parts .

-new self securing nuts for the main bolts and the pivot rod
-new gasket for water passage
-new u-joint bellow
-marine grease for the splines , u joint and gimbal bearing

we have at our marina an allignment tool for a mercruiser alpha - will it work also on my drive ? otherwise i have to talk the dealer he borrows me one if he has one.

do i miss anything ? does VP maybe offer a "kit" for pulling the drive ?

don, i cannot thank you enough for your help already given !

cheers

 

[skydiveD30571]

Re: cracked sx drive ???

There's no gasket or sealant used between the drive and bellows. Just grease that lip of the bearing carrier so it slides in easily...it seals up against the bellows to prevent water intrusion.

Head over to boatinfo.no and find the SX repair manual. Its the OEM service manual and is free. It describes replacing drive removal and bellow replacement in detail. Fairly straightforward stuff.

Yes a mercruiser alignment will work perfectly fine on your sx drive.

 

[aerobat]

Re: cracked sx drive ???

ok, i greased everything twice with marine grease and reinstalled the drive . i learned that the sx in indeed designed to seal on the bellows and not the housing, so truly no sealant and no gasket on this housing ! hopefully i will have peace now !

don and skydive : thanks again for your help , its a superb forum with superb people !