UPDATE! Transom seal

[mikel1291979]

I am fairly certain my transom seal is leaking. After installing the new motor I went to put it in the water yesterday. 5 minutes in the water and I had several gallons of water in the bilge. I never even started the motor. When I pulled the boat back out of the lake, water was coming out of the transom assembly area. Hard to explain exactly, but just above where the trim hoses bolt in there are holes on either side of the assembly. Looks like they are vents of a sort and they seem to be inline with the exhaust boot.
It looks like if I pull the drive, motor, and steering off there are only 4 main bolts and a handful of smaller ones holding the transom assembly on. Does anyone know if this is the case? If so it looks like a fairly easy job once the motor and drive come out.
The transom is good. I core sampled it and went after it with an awl. No soft spots anywhere.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Transom seal

Re: Transom seal

Looks like they are vents of a sort and they seem to be inline with the exhaust boot.

Ayuh,... Those are the exhaust idle relief ports...

It looks like if I pull the drive, motor, and steering off there are only 4 main bolts and a handful of smaller ones holding the transom assembly on. Does anyone know if this is the case? If so it looks like a fairly easy job once the motor and drive come out.

Pull the Drive 1st, then the motor, 'n it's 6 or 8 bolts/ studs...

 

[mikel1291979]

Re: Transom seal

Re: Transom seal

Pulled drive and motor to discover my exhaust where it bolts into the transom was finger tight and it was sans 1 bolt. Replaced bolt and tightened with some lock tite. Threw the drive back on and dropped in lake to check for more leaks. Water is coming in from the shift cable bellow.
to make matters worse I had oil and water in my drive bellow. I will drain the lower unit oil later and see if it's milky, but does anyone know what size job it is to replace the upper gear case seal to stop the oil leak? I'm at work posting from my phone and don't have a manual in front of me. Don't need specifics, just how many hours and any special tools? It's an 89 alpha 1 drive. I'm beginning to look at ski boats with outboards with a wistful expression...

 

[newbieboater1]

Re: Transom seal

Re: Transom seal

I just replaced the seal on my alpha one and it was rather easy. If you go to this link: http://www.mercstuff.com/yokesealreplacement.htm you will have a step by step guide on the tools and the job. I replaced the yoke, seal, and o-ring due to large amounts of gear oil in my bellows. I ordered the new yoke and the seal as a kit because many times the yoke is grooved due to the seal. If you order a seal without the carrier you will have to press the old seal out of the carrier and press the new one in. I used a c-clamp and various junk around the house to do this. The job took some time to complete but it wasn't too difficult. If you need more info just send me a message and I can tell you more. It can Prolly be done rather quickly under most circumstances and with the proper equipment.