water and oil mix in u joint bellows

[husaburg560]

I pulled my pre alpha drive today and discovered a good bit of milky oil in u joint bellows. If I over filled the stern drive would that cause this problem? I have took the boat out twice this year and it ran great. Pulled stern drive to replace shift cable and bellows only to discover a big mess inside. Where should I look first on correcting this problem?

 

[Don S]

Re: water and oil mix in u joint bellows

A hole in the bellows would be the first bet. Once water gets into the bellows it gets in the drive because the seal isn't designed to prevent water entering the drive. (That is the Bellows job), it then is over full and forces oil out into the bellows. The big oring between the drive and the bellows could also be the reason for the water, but you now need to change the gimbal bearing, ujoints, and front seal on the drive. The bearings just don't last long when run in water, especially if it was salt or brackish water.

 

[i72dobber]

Re: water and oil mix in u joint bellows

I overfilled my sterndrive oil and had the same problem i dont know if it hurt anything i changed the oil and seems fine for now.

 

[Don S]

Re: water and oil mix in u joint bellows

If you overfilled your drive oil, you should have only oil in the bellows. To have MILKY oil as husaburg560 was asking about you need to have water involved. And unless you overfilled your drive with a water and oil mixture, it shouldn't be milky.

 

[flashback]

Re: water and oil mix in u joint bellows

The bellows are a 4 inch hole between dry land and wet land... they keep the air in and the water out.. like don said, if you have milky oil in the bellows, it has mix't with water.. did you let the bilge fill up enough to enter the bellows from the inside? or is the bellows cracked?? and letting water in from the big lake...... it would be good to know....if in doubt, replace the bellows, bearing, and grease the u-joints, at the least... good luck.......