Water in bilge? Bilge pump runs too often.

[Baylinerchuck]

Sure, you can run it on muffs. It would eliminate the water pump hose and exhaust, though from the video, the water was leaking and motor was off. Start narrowing it down.
I had to put my boat in the water and follow the leak. Chances are you won’t find anything with the bore scope while it’s on dry land.

 

[Wildey]

A temporary internal wetting while on the trailer likely won't hurt anything.
Park it bow up on an incline, fill the bilge with a hose until you can see where it runs OUT. (keep it hooked to the vehicle, or it might updump)

 

[Scott Danforth]

A temporary internal wetting while on the trailer likely won't hurt anything.
Park it bow up on an incline, fill the bilge with a hose until you can see where it runs OUT. (keep it hooked to the vehicle, or it might updump)

dont do this.

besides adding hundreds to thousands of pounds of weight, you will fill your starter up with water and get water in areas that should never get water.

 

[Wildey]

Yeah, probably best off not to do that. The video is hard for me to make out clearly, but it looked like the leak was quite low ... near the keel.
A steep incline and minimal water might have exposed the culprit without filling the boat or soaking any electrical components.
I'll retract that suggestion anyway.
Carry on folks.

 

[Chadbud]

Sure, you can run it on muffs. It would eliminate the water pump hose and exhaust, though from the video, the water was leaking and motor was off. Start narrowing it down.
I had to put my boat in the water and follow the leak. Chances are you won’t find anything with the bore scope while it’s on dry land.

Well I’ve found where the water is getting in!! Although I don’t really know what I’m looking at! Here is the videos, guys! One is with my phone but you can’t see the exact spot where it’s coming in… and the second is with borescope where I can see the exact point it’s coming in. It looks like a small little hole.

 

[kcassells]

Cool... Time to get to work. I have no clue where it is at though based on vid. I suspect you have a better grip on it now.
Bore scope did the job. Nice!

 

[Baylinerchuck]

It looks to me like that is a vent for the gimbal housing. That hole on my transom plate is completely dry. It’s below the wiring pass through for the trim/ tilt senders. At this point you have to remove the outdrive from the boat to investigate further. You have it isolated to the gimbal housing. Water obviously should not be coming in there.

 

[Chadbud]

It looks to me like that is a vent for the gimbal housing. That hole on my transom plate is completely dry. It’s below the wiring pass through for the trim/ tilt senders. At this point you have to remove the outdrive from the boat to investigate further. You have it isolated to the gimbal housing. Water obviously should not be coming in there.

That is very odd! Is this something I could seemingly fix myself? I have a vacation to Lake Erie planned for August 22nd I can definitely plan a whole day to remove the outdrive (probably tomorrow!) and see what I can find from there. I’d like to get more opinions on what this hole/vent is, it’s function, and if it’s leaking.. what that necessarily means.

I’d hate to remove the outdrive to find that this is an issue outside of my skill set and thus leaving me to having to bring the boat to my mechanic after my vacation. Perhaps I should start a new thread with just the videos asking if more people could identify it? Would that be poor use of the forum?

Thank you so much everyone who’s took to the time to help me this far!!

 

[kcassells]

Have fun.

 

[Scott Danforth]

If you have been keeping up with the annual maintenance of the drive, the drive will only take 15 minutes to remove. 5 minutes according to @achris

 

[Grub54891]

Yup, looks like bellows leak. Time to pull the drive.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

That is very odd! Is this something I could seemingly fix myself? I have a vacation to Lake Erie planned for August 22nd I can definitely plan a whole day to remove the outdrive (probably tomorrow!) and see what I can find from there. I’d like to get more opinions on what this hole/vent is, it’s function, and if it’s leaking.. what that necessarily means.

I’d hate to remove the outdrive to find that this is an issue outside of my skill set and thus leaving me to having to bring the boat to my mechanic after my vacation. Perhaps I should start a new thread with just the videos asking if more people could identify it? Would that be poor use of the forum?

Thank you so much everyone who’s took to the time to help me this far!!

The outdrive is pretty easy to remove, just watch a YouTube video for tips. This is really something you should do anyway, I pull mine annually. You are most likely going to find that the bellows are leaking. Since water is coming in through the gimbal housing you’re going to want to change the gimbal bearing, thoroughly grease the u-joints, and replace the bellows. If you are not confident you can do these things, take it to a mechanic, or someone who is. Water in your u-joints and gimbal bearing will cause more damage the longer it’s put off. There are lots of videos to show you what lies ahead as far as repairs.

 

[Scott Danforth]

from the mercruiser stickies

MUST HAVE Technical Information for DIYers.

MUST HAVE Technical Information for DIYers. (< An @ Work Safe Search Version Of ^^^) If you have NEVER posted in this forum before, please click on How to ask a question link first. 1. How to Ask a Question .... Please Read This Before Posting A Question... 2. Miscellaneous Mercruiser...

forums.iboats.com

Miscellaneous Mercruiser Information

How to ID an Alpha Style Outdrive, and History. Mercruiser Alpha ID and History.pdf - 4shared.com - document sharing - download - Don S Explainer documents. 'Pre-Alpha' drives Which 'Pre-Alpha' drive? Where to Find Mercruiser Stern Drive and Engine serial numbers. Drive units In-line Engines...

forums.iboats.com

and here are the videos

A couple of new videos.

This post contains Videos I have made. I will continue to add as I make new ones... Setting up the bearing pre-load on later Alpha Ones, Alpha One gen II, and Bravo drives Servicing the water pump impeller in 1966-1991 (MC-1 to Alpha One) drives. Removing Alpha Drive Checking Engine...

forums.iboats.com

 

[Chadbud]

from the mercruiser stickies

MUST HAVE Technical Information for DIYers.

MUST HAVE Technical Information for DIYers. (< An @ Work Safe Search Version Of ^^^) If you have NEVER posted in this forum before, please click on How to ask a question link first. 1. How to Ask a Question .... Please Read This Before Posting A Question... 2. Miscellaneous Mercruiser...

forums.iboats.com

Miscellaneous Mercruiser Information

How to ID an Alpha Style Outdrive, and History. Mercruiser Alpha ID and History.pdf - 4shared.com - document sharing - download - Don S Explainer documents. 'Pre-Alpha' drives Which 'Pre-Alpha' drive? Where to Find Mercruiser Stern Drive and Engine serial numbers. Drive units In-line Engines...

forums.iboats.com

and here are the videos

A couple of new videos.

This post contains Videos I have made. I will continue to add as I make new ones... Setting up the bearing pre-load on later Alpha Ones, Alpha One gen II, and Bravo drives Servicing the water pump impeller in 1966-1991 (MC-1 to Alpha One) drives. Removing Alpha Drive Checking Engine...

forums.iboats.com

Thank you all! Is there any recommendation as to which rebuild kit to buy for this work? I will need it asap and I was able to find this one on Amazon..

GHmarine Replace Mercruiser Alpha 1 Gen 1 w/Gimbal Bearing Transom Repair Kit 30-803097T1 https://a.co/d/hmFHMSJ

 

[Grub54891]

Don’t do that^^^ use genuine quicksilver kit, you will be glad you did. I’m not a fan of doing i again any time soon again.

 

[havoc_squad]

Thank you all! Is there any recommendation as to which rebuild kit to buy for this work? I will need it asap and I was able to find this one on Amazon..

GHmarine Replace Mercruiser Alpha 1 Gen 1 w/Gimbal Bearing Transom Repair Kit 30-803097T1 https://a.co/d/hmFHMSJ

Never buy from anywhere life safety/critical parts that you cannot be 100% sure they are genuine OEM or reliable aftermarket brands that actually warranty the parts & labor to service shops if defective.

Bellows/under water hull fittings and seals designed to keep water out from sinking a boat are a life safety matter.

Keep this in mind also when buying any fuel system parts which are also life safety matter.

Yes a poor quality Chinese copy amazon bellows kit could sink your boat.

 

[Scott Danforth]

base engine stuff you buy from GM or one of the GM suppliers
marinization stuff like drive specific kits, you buy from the OEM

things like deck hardware, radios, etc. stuff that wont sink your boat or strand you if it fails can be bought from a chinesium source.

 

[Baylinerchuck]

Definitely buy the more expensive bellows. Either quicksilver or Sierra are good. If you buy the cheaper versions of these bellows, they are more rigid and more prone to popping off or tearing. Same is true of the gimbal bearing. Use a quality bearing. Also watch some videos so you get an idea of the tools you’ll need.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Bellows are too critical (and too much of a pain to install) to cheap out on aftermarket parts. Do yourself a favor and stick with Quicksilver/Mercruiser.

 

[Grub54891]

Definitely buy the more expensive bellows. Either quicksilver or Sierra are good. If you buy the cheaper versions of these bellows, they are more rigid and more prone to popping off or tearing. Same is true of the gimbal bearing. Use a quality bearing. Also watch some videos so you get an idea of the tools you’ll need.

I personally don’t care for sierra. Having worked with them parts 15-17 years ago, they were not good. I know some of their parts have improved over time but if I need parts that are reliable, I go to quicksilver.