Hi,
During this last season I noticed that some water leaks into the boat. Nothing that could make the boat sink, not even enough to engage the bilge pump. For example, in 3-4 hour fishing trip I would get around half a gallon or so. When the boat was in the water overnight I got close to half bucket. I thought initially that there may be an issue with drain plug, and resealed it carefully. But the problem persisted.
Winterizing the boat I did run it on muffs for 15 minutes and found about half cup of water in the bilge! I looked carefully at all hoses, connections, etc. Everything was dry. However, I found a wet spot on those heavy metal parts attached to the transom, right below the shaft. Most probably the water gets in somewhere just below the shaft. There must be a bearing, correct? How the water from the cooling system (when the boat runs on muffs) gets into the bearing? Does it mean that that corrugated rubber hose (called bellows?) is also full of water? Is it going to freeze in winter and damage the U-joints?
I found no visible water in the outdrive when I drained the gear case liquid. I collected the liquid and let it sit for few weeks – still no sign of water there, although the liquid does not look the same as new (it is not transparent anymore).
My question is: From the symptoms I described, is it possible to narrow down the possibilities of what could be wrong? And what is needed to find this out for sure? [FONT="]Should I entirely remove the outdrive and inspect the bellows from the inside?[/FONT]
The engine is 1993 4.3LX/V6 Alpha One Thunderbolt Ignition, serial number OF0244564. The drive is OD886515.
Thank you for your advice!
During this last season I noticed that some water leaks into the boat. Nothing that could make the boat sink, not even enough to engage the bilge pump. For example, in 3-4 hour fishing trip I would get around half a gallon or so. When the boat was in the water overnight I got close to half bucket. I thought initially that there may be an issue with drain plug, and resealed it carefully. But the problem persisted.
Winterizing the boat I did run it on muffs for 15 minutes and found about half cup of water in the bilge! I looked carefully at all hoses, connections, etc. Everything was dry. However, I found a wet spot on those heavy metal parts attached to the transom, right below the shaft. Most probably the water gets in somewhere just below the shaft. There must be a bearing, correct? How the water from the cooling system (when the boat runs on muffs) gets into the bearing? Does it mean that that corrugated rubber hose (called bellows?) is also full of water? Is it going to freeze in winter and damage the U-joints?
I found no visible water in the outdrive when I drained the gear case liquid. I collected the liquid and let it sit for few weeks – still no sign of water there, although the liquid does not look the same as new (it is not transparent anymore).
My question is: From the symptoms I described, is it possible to narrow down the possibilities of what could be wrong? And what is needed to find this out for sure? [FONT="]Should I entirely remove the outdrive and inspect the bellows from the inside?[/FONT]
The engine is 1993 4.3LX/V6 Alpha One Thunderbolt Ignition, serial number OF0244564. The drive is OD886515.
Thank you for your advice!
