Replacing gear lube hose between transom and bell housing

[platon20]

This is a 2017 Bravo 3.

When removing the stern drive, all of the videos I've seen tell you to cut the gear lube hose. Seems pretty stupid that you have to destroy something in order to remove the sterndrive but all the sources I checked said to do that so that's what I did.

Now the problem is removing the old pieces and installing a new one.

The old hose is very much stuck on to the adapters. I've heard that the transom adapter is very finicky and easy to break which can cause a nightmare to replace, so I'm being pretty gentle. But I've worked at it for an hour now and it's nowhere close to coming out. So before I start using some real force or using a small crowbar to pry it off I thought I would check with you guys.

The piece of the hose that's attached to the bell housing is also stuck, but it will rotate. There's a nut at the very bottom but can't get a wrench on it because the metal bell housing is too tight. But since the hose rotates it should just pull off right?

 

[tpenfield]

Removing the drive . . . or disassembling the bell housing from the gimbal?

I'm not thinking videos about removing the outdrive would even mention the gear lube hose. Got any links to those videos???

Now that you are in a heck of a mess, attaching a new length of hose is a PITA . . . BTDT. IIRC, I had to carefully cut the old hose at the barb fittings in order to get them off. Putting on the new hose was no picnic either.

 

[platon20]

Removing the drive . . . or disassembling the bell housing from the gimbal?

I'm not thinking videos about removing the outdrive would even mention the gear lube hose. Got any links to those videos???

Now that you are in a heck of a mess, attaching a new length of hose is a PITA . . . BTDT. IIRC, I had to carefully cut the old hose at the barb fittings in order to get them off. Putting on the new hose was no picnic either.

Well it's actually both removing the sterndrive and dissassembling the bell housing. I had to replace my water hose.

What's weird is that in all the videos I watched, they said to simply "cut the gear lube hose so you don't break the plastic housing on the gimbal ring" but then they never show how to install a new one, they just skip that part and move onto something else.

Here's one video, I think it's great overall but it doesn't show he got the old hoses out and putting the new one in.

 

[Bt Doctur]

/connect a razor knife to something to get in there and slit the hose on the transom side. Be very careful not to break the plastic fitting and make the new hose 2 inches longer

 

[platon20]

What about using a rubber or plastic fitting as a quick connect between the two sides of the broken hose?

That way the next time I have to disassemble the bell housing/gimbal ring, I can just pull both ends off the fitting instead of cutting the hose again.

BTW, surely there's a way to take off the gimbal ring without cutting the hose in the first place, right? I find it hard to believe that the engineers who designed the Bravo 3 stern drive would tell their mechanics/technicians to "cut gear lube hose to separate bell housing from gimbal ring"

 

[metsfan3197843]

You do not have to cut the hose, it’s just easier. You run a strong likelihood of breaking the plastic fitting on the transom if you try and remove it without cutting it. Depending on the engine bay space you have, it’s potentialy a huge nightmare to replace that fitting

 

[blamtro]

Slice the hose along then length to get off of barbed pieces, use new piece of hose. The only way to do it.

 

[Fun Times]

Lube the inner side and/or lightly warm the new hose to help slide it on the plastic fitting a bit easier.

Gear Lube Monitor Components

Gear Lube Monitor Components

www.mercruiserparts.com

7

32-8M0040618

HOSE, (54.00 Inches Bulk) (Cut to 9.5 Inches and 36 Inches)

1940971

SS/ACT

$24.25

$23.82

20y old Bravo 3 Broken plastic nipple

It took some time installing that new brass nipple into the old plastic through hull valve but I got it done. The new brass fitting appears to be secure with numerous coats of marine tex I'm giving it ample time to dry before replacing the reservoir extension line to the outdrive. Would anyone...

forums.iboats.com

 

[platon20]

Thanks for the help guys. I'm actually going to engineer this thing better than mercruiser did and use a hose adapter with hose clamps that connects the split hose from each side.

That way the next I take off the bell housing, I can just remove the clamps and the adapter instead of cutting the hose again or having to deal with that pain in the ass adapter thats mounted into the transom.

 

[tank1949]

This is a 2017 Bravo 3.

When removing the stern drive, all of the videos I've seen tell you to cut the gear lube hose. Seems pretty stupid that you have to destroy something in order to remove the sterndrive but all the sources I checked said to do that so that's what I did.

Now the problem is removing the old pieces and installing a new one.

The old hose is very much stuck on to the adapters. I've heard that the transom adapter is very finicky and easy to break which can cause a nightmare to replace, so I'm being pretty gentle. But I've worked at it for an hour now and it's nowhere close to coming out. So before I start using some real force or using a small crowbar to pry it off I thought I would check with you guys.

The piece of the hose that's attached to the bell housing is also stuck, but it will rotate. There's a nut at the very bottom but can't get a wrench on it because the metal bell housing is too tight. But since the hose rotates it should just pull off right?

Just use a sharp knife (scripto or razor) and cut vertical slice on hose just enough to bend hose and pull off. I replaced a couple a few months back. I believe hose is 1/4" ID and will be difficult to squeeze cam-latch nylon hose clamps back on but it can be done. The one on transom was the easiest for me. Make sure that when you remove old hose to cut new hose the same length. Too much might crimp lub off. Good luck!

 

[poconojoe]

You dont want to break that transom fitting!
Been there done that!!
Why the heck is that thing made of plastic anyway???
Brass would have been much better.
It was nearly impossible for me to reach the fitting's "E" clip behind the engine. I was barely able reach one hand back there and practically working blind.
Mine is a 4.3 Mercruiser.

 

[tank1949]

You dont want to break that transom fitting!
Been there done that!!
Why the heck is that thing made of plastic anyway???
Brass would have been much better.
It was nearly impossible for me to reach the fitting's "E" clip behind the engine. I was barely able reach one hand back there and practically working blind.
Mine is a 4.3 Mercruiser.

My bravo hose barbs were brass or bronze, except hoses and plastic/nylon hose clamps. I guess I was lucky. No "e clip," instead a lock nut. Luck again???? Maybe can be re-troed??????

 

[crabpoter]

how do i get the hose barb out of the bell housing can i pry it out

 

[poconojoe]

how do i get the hose barb out of the bell housing can i pry it out

Mine is an Alpha 1 Gen 2 and the hose barb is held in with an E clip from the inside of the boat. A real difficult place to reach in my boat behind the 4.3L.
I believe there are some that have a nut holding them from the inside.

 

[auger406]

Yes this is a pain. I have smaller hands, however I struggeled to get this back on. I read some stuff on how to do it the easy way. It took a lot of prep time but this is what I did:
1) Dawn dishsoap on the barb, not in hose
2) A hair dryer or heat gun, get it good and hot
3) Might take two time to get the timing down after heating it
4) I got mine fairly warn, like really hot to the touch
5) Applied soap to barb twice too, second time it slid right on
I too was very aware of not breaking this barb so if I have to remove it again I will cut the hose. Just my two cents. It will surprise you how much the heat makes a differnce.

 

[poconojoe]

As I said earlier, it's very difficult to change out that (barb) transom bulkhead fitting, at least on my boat.
With a long thin screwdriver, reaching one arm in there, barely seeing what I was doing and contorting my body I was able to pry the "E" clip off, then the fitting pulled right out (from the outside of the boat). That was the easy part.

The hard part was getting the "E" clip onto the new fitting. I tried a trick I read about, but it didn't work. They said to solder the "E" clip to the tip of a screwdriver, then get the clip in place and break off the screwdriver. Like I said, that didn't work for me. I think it was because the clip is stainless steel and the solder wouldn't stick to it. The fact that it's stainless steel, a magnet won't help.

Anyway, I contorted my body and could only reach one hand in there, but eventually got it on. I had ordered extra "E" clips in case I dropped them.
At one point I almost gave up and just plugged the port on the drive and went without a drive fluid monitor. I'm glad I got it fixed. It's a plus to see the level of fluid at a glance.

 

[crabpoter]

Mine is an Alpha 1 Gen 2 and the hose barb is held in with an E clip from the inside of the boat. A real difficult place to reach in my boat behind the 4.3L.
I believe there are some that have a nut holding them from the inside.

Thanks alot

 

[Tim Gardner]

I looked this subject up again to see if there was any new and less troublesome way of doing it this task. Four years ago I replaced that fitting on my Gen 2 out-drive after breaking off that ridiculously under-engineered fitting.
I had to remove the port side exhaust manifold to be able to get my head in there to see the location of the fitting. I couldn't get my fat hands in there to remove the snap-on connector button, so I drilled off the exterior side of the fitting with a 1/2" drill and pushed the remaining section through to the inside.
I installed a new hose on my new fitting, used carb cleaner to clean the transom side and the new nylon fitting, mixed up some epoxy putty, applied it as a thin ring on the large half-hex side and re-inserted it into the transom as normal from the outside.
After a day's cure time, and to cool down my aggravated slow burn temper fuse, I purchased a nylon spacer/filler washer the same OD as the e-clip and the same thickness of the space between the push-on connector and the transom, drilled out the ID to fit, slid it on to replace the space e-clip occupied, pushed on the connector, and the hard part was over. The epoxy and the connector hold the fitting in place, no e-clip used.

No problems for 4 years, but I broke it again, dangit! (stronger language used) I have to kill all those pesky muskrats chewing on my bellows.

Had to replace it again, used the same technique, the only issue was cleaning the epoxy off the exterior with a Dremel tool before refitting the whole unit.