Alpha One Bellows/U Joint questions

[Reorandy]

My '87 Alpha One (0B665929) that I got last year had a slow-medium leak into the bilge last year and I removed the outdrive last fall. Slightly oily bellows. Small "accordion" boot on right side looks fine, no signs of trouble. The water passage O ring was not there, however when I removed the outdrive. Could the absence of the water passage O ring cause the slow leak? Could it be some sort of seal that is letting oil into the bellows? I shined a bright light into the bellows area on a dark night and pulled up the housing and I could see no light shining "through" the bellows, but did notice two round metal pieces on the right side of the inside of the bellows, they looked like some kind of rounded staples or something similar. Are these two rounded metal pieces part of how the bellows is attached or a potential problem? U joint had a slight rusted color, due to the water intrusion. I greased the two zerks that I could find on the u joint with 2 4 C w/teflon (is there another one I missed?) and it came out the bearings, pushing out some kind of brown grease. From the drive spline inward, the first "knuckle" of the u joint flexes in all directions, the second knuckle moves one way but does not swivel the other, causing the shaft to be angled improperly for insertion into the bell housing. The shaft spins when turned and the prop shaft turns, but the u joint spline is askew due to what I believe is lack of mobility in the 2nd knuckle. The u joint and spline is not bent, just rotates funny when the shaft is spun and does not seem to have full range of motion. Is this normal? Does it sound like the u joint is toast/frozen up? 2 4 C seems to be coming out of every housing area on the knuckles when I pump it in. Also, underneath the bellows, directly behind the shift shaft, it looks like an elliptical water entry port or exhaust? This appears to need some kind of tube attached to it that attaches to the bell housing just behind the shift shaft. This "tube" has been missing since I got the boat, with no water intrusion. Just wondered what this is called and what its purpose is and whether its neccessary. Any help is appreciated. I was all set to go with my new gasket kit, synthetic gear lube, etc when I uncovered these other issues...

 

[alldodge]

Re: Alpha One Bellows/U Joint questions

Looks like you need to have your outdrive taken apart, have the impeller replaced and pressure tested. The leaking oil is coming from the outdrive drive shaft seal. Your getting water in and therefore this must be fixed. U-joints should move freely in all directions so they to need replacing. While the drive is off you need to check engine alignment. The boot missing is the exhaust boot and would be a good time to replace all three boots, drive shaft, exhaust and shift cable. While folks can get by without an exhaust boot the systems was not designed that way and can cause premature failure of items around it from hot exhaust gases. The u-clips could be part of the boot but would need to see a pic to be sure.

Welcome to the forum, but looks like you signed up in 2011. Either way welcome aboard

 

[thumpar]

Re: Alpha One Bellows/U Joint questions

I think the clips are the grounding clips that go on each end of the bellows under the clamp. Can't tell for sure without pics though.

 

[ktbarrentine]

Re: Alpha One Bellows/U Joint questions

I dont use 2-4-c on anything related to "bearings" (to include U-joints)....Teflon makes the 2-4-c too "slippery" and therefore is not a good bearing lubricant (actually makes the rollers/balls "slide" versus "roll"). I believe there is a service bulletin on this and Mecruiser changed their manuals to reflect this. I recommend using Quicksilver U-joint/gimbal bearing grease.

 

[Reorandy]

Re: Alpha One Bellows/U Joint questions

Update... After putting the 2-4-C in the zerks on the ujoint and wiggling it around a bit more, it now has full, easy rotation. I just don't know if the temporary "seize" has caused damage or what. Acts like normal now, with no visible damage. Gimbel bellows and small bellows "boot" appear to be totally fine, gimbel bearing inside turns fine, teeth look good further in. See pic of the inside of the bellows, two rounded "clips" protruding on the right side, one toward the transom and one further aft. Kinda hard to see, but wondered if these metal clips are supposed to be there or if these are some kind of damage. Also, when I took the outdrive off, I did not see an "o" ring on the water passage hole. I am assuming this lack of O-ring would definitely cause water intrusion into the outdrive, correct? I am thinking this is likely my cause of water entering, not the bellows, as I cannot spot any trouble there...I will definitely push out the 2-4-c with U Joint bearing grease, thanks for the tip.

 

[alldodge]

Re: Alpha One Bellows/U Joint questions

If you push enough greese in a u-joint you cen get it to move provided you move it around enough. Issue, the bearing did bind because of lack of greese, so if you are willing to take a chance go for it, I wouldn't bu this is your boat.

I don't see any issue with the metal, it appears to be the grounding pieces which are part of the boot.

If the o-ring is missing from the fitting this will cause issue with insufficient water to the engine, it should not have any issue with water entering the boot.

Still suggest you need toreplace all boots and look over the drive.

 

[Reorandy]

Re: Alpha One Bellows/U Joint questions

Thanks for all of the great advice everyone. Really appreciated. I will replace the oil bearing seal, which will stop the gear lube from entering the bellows, and add the water passage O ring, replace the bellows and the small bellows boot. Considering replacing the gimbel bearing as well, if I can get the right tools. Still baffled, however, as to why the water is coming in through the transom area. It comes in regardless of whether the boat is running or not. Trickle to stream of water, amounting to bilge pump kicking on every 30 min or so. From the engine compartment view, I had it narrowed down to the area around the "white" water tube just above the drive housing, which goes to a larger black rubber tube. It did not appear to be coming from the tube, however. Still baffled where the water is getting in from. I will replace these items and keep ya posted. Any other thoughts as to where the water is coming from, I would appreciate input. The pic shows the engine compartment looking at the white water pipe above drive. The water is coming from right in the very center of the pic. Not directly from the water pipe, but kind of above it to the right a bit.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Alpha One Bellows/U Joint questions

Ayuh,... Welcome Aboard,.... I believe there's a rubber crush bushin' right there, 'round that tube,...

You'll have yer fingers in there, if yer doin' a Full bellows job anyways, the water feed hose is in the kit,...

 

[Grub54891]

Re: Alpha One Bellows/U Joint questions

If it sits at rest with the entire gimble housing submerged,it could be the steering pin seal leaking.