Very slight whirring noise from transom and water in bellows.

[cecho]

I had a bit of trouble trying to install the bellows when I did it the first time and I'm now thinking I may have done the job incorrectly the first time, so it looks like I'll be doing it again. Can the bellows be cleaned and reused or do I need to buy new ones? They are only about 2 months old. I thought it was good at the time, but now I'm thinking I may not have fully seated the forward side of the u-joint bellows. I did use bellows adhesive and I did let it get tacky before installing. I've done a LOT of reading on this subject and I think I had trouble installing it because it was tacky. I seen a few posts where people recommend putting the bellows on with the glue still wet for this reason.

The semi-constant whirring/growling/groaning noise is very slight and not always present, but a good way to get it to appear is after idling for a minute I put the engine to 2500 RPM while in neutral and after a few seconds the noise usually starts to appear. Only my mechanic's ear can seem to hear it. It sounds similar to a differential going out but it's much quieter and not as high pitched. The sound it is making also reminds me of a small high speed motor with bad bushings. The bearing still feels smooth, but since it's had water get to it for a second time I'm thinking it's now on its way out and should probably be replaced.

 

[Don S]

Re: Very slight whirring noise from transom and water in bellows.

Water in the bellows means you have water in the gimbal bearing and the ujoints. Which creates rust. Rust destroys bearings.

As far as the bellows, if they aren't damaged you can reuse them, but you can't always see the problem, so how many bearings and ujoints do you want to trust to the old bellows?

 

[cecho]

Re: Very slight whirring noise from transom and water in bellows.

The bellows are only 2 months. Do you think there could be a manufacturer defect though? Do you think I should just replace the u joints along with the bearing?

 

[Don S]

Re: Very slight whirring noise from transom and water in bellows.

I had a bit of trouble trying to install the bellows when I did it the first time and I'm now thinking I may have done the job incorrectly the first time,..........

The bellows are only 2 months.

Age doesn't mean much if they have a hole in them.

Do you think there could be a manufacturer defect though?

Anything is possible. You didn't install clamps wrong and punch a hole in it did you?

Do you think I should just replace the u joints along with the bearing?

They aren't going to heal.

 

[cecho]

Re: Very slight whirring noise from transom and water in bellows.

I really doubt I punched a hole in them, and they looked fine when I put them on. I thoroughly inspected them. I'll check and see though. I installed the clamps as the manual recommended.


I know the u-joints won't heal, but will they at least give me any sort of warning before giving out? or will they just explode one day? I'd imagine using them until they start to knock would be okay, but I'd like an opinion on that.

 

[cecho]

Re: Very slight whirring noise from transom and water in bellows.

Meh, I just ordered two new u-joints. They are cheap. Better safe than sorry.