Boating taking in water(new bellows this week)

[Maxum21]

New to me 2007 boat with 5.7 volvo/duo prop. I just bought the boat 2 weeks ago. Bellows looked dry cracked & didnt want to chance it, so i had them replaced. Took boat out today for the first time since i bought it and noticed a fast trickle of water under the engine near the transom. I had the boat out for about an hour. I noticed some water in bilge so I peeked behind and noticed the shaft coming out of motor is wet( which would lead me to believe the new drive bellow has a leak). The bellow seems firmly intact with no obvious holes. Are there any other connections/hoses i should check before automatically assuming its the bellow? Unfortunately its not very easy to see back there. Btw, i felt the leaking water and it was cold to the touch which i guess eliminates the probability of a leak from the engine. i'd really appreciate any suggestions....thanks!

 

[bruceb58]

Pull the drive off and see if there is water in the u-joint bellows.

Did you use OEM bellows? Run the engine trimmed up at all?

 

[bajaunderground]

Any comparison to before the bellows replacement? It might be leaking at the Y-Pipe connection as well?

From experience, the bellows can easily be overtightened and cause a leak...

As Bruce stated, pull the drive and inspect! If there's water in the shaft, then, check that it's the right part number and that it's not too tight?!

Post your results!

 

[Maxum21]

not sure if new bellows are oem or not. I had a marine mechanic install them. they appear to have never leaked before as the u-joints were in like new condition. I was also careful to not run the drive tilted up. I haven't pulled the drive yet, but after some more peeking around the engine I noticed some fluid drips. No puddles, but small drips. So i'm now leaking fluid and water which could mean a power steering cooler leak? I felt around the bottom of this cylinder(cooler) and sure enough its covered in fluid. i'm not exactly sure how these coolers work, but I don't see any cracks or holes so not sure where it could be leaking from. Possibly around the hose connections? I was thinking about adding another hose clamp to each hose. Are these coolers prone to leaking? I'm going to run the boat again and look for any obvious leaks but this can certainly be the culprit. keep ya updated. thanks guys

 

[Maclin]

Does it leak at the same rate just sitting in the water with the engine off?

 

[Maxum21]

ok, so i found a loose hose clamp on the cooler. New clamp stopped the fluid leak. But i still have a water leak. It seems to leak the same rate whether the engine is running or not. I haven't pulled the drive yet as i'm waiting for my mechanic who installed the bellows to get back to me.. The water leaking is cold. Its dripping off the bottom of the Y-pipe..Its originating somewhere just above. Can't determine whether its coming in through the drive shaft or possibly an exhaust pipe seal. I attached a picture below.. Its really hard to see much back there. I'm thinking about getting one of those snake cameras

 

[Maxum21]

bottom of y-pipe exhaust

 

[Maxum21]

is there any reason for a y-pipe to leak? its a 40 hour engine/drive with no corrosion. Are these sealed with a rubber o-ring or gasket material?

 

[Senior B]

I would remove the drive quickly. If that's where your water is coming from then it means that your U-joint bellows is leaking and the water is doing no favors to your u-joints and gimbal bearing. If it's dry in the bellows then your water may be coming from a leak at the Y-pipe as you suspect but my money is on a bellows issue. Hope I'm wrong. It isn't at all difficult to remove the drive on these and once you disconnect the both the shift cable linkage and cable from the drive, you can probably loosen all 6 drive bolts and slide the drive back enough on the studs to see inside the bellows area. Good luck.

 

[Benny67]

No Title

Any comparison to before the bellows replacement? It might be leaking at the Y-Pipe connection as well?

From experience, the bellows can easily be overtightened and cause a leak...

As Bruce stated, pull the drive and inspect! If there's water in the shaft, then, check that it's the right part number and that it's not too tight?!

Post your results!

 

[Benny67]

The above pic is from my y pipe that I thought was a lost o ring on the water pump seal...its an alpha one, not a volvo drive.

 

[Benny67]

Although it's older than 40 hours...I guess what I am saying is a y pipe leak can be a possibility old or new so don't rule it out.

 

[Maxum21]

SeniorB: actually i hope your right and it is a bellow issue. Would be much easier to repair. From what i understand, the motor has to be pulled to gain access to this y-pipe. My mechanic who is just installed the bellows is coming back this week to take a look & pull the drive....
Benny, thanks for sharing the pic. Did you have to pull your motor to replace?

 

[Benny67]

Yea....not as bad as you would think though.

Hopefully it won't come to that for you.

 

[Benny67]

Run the motor on the muffs on land (obviously) and see if water comes in then. Feel it to see if it's warm from the exhaust.

or

clog off the drain holes for the exhaust ( I am unfamiliar with volvo drives, if it could be done) and pour some water with dye in the exhaust and see if you see it leaks through.

That's how I confirmed my bad y pipe.

 

[Maxum21]

update..my mechanic came back to check it out. checked the 6 outdrive bolts with torque wrench. checked bellow clamps and visually inspected the rubber. Put boat in water and ran.. still dripping water. shut down motor and water drips start to slow, and eventually seem to stop(while motor is still off).
Turns out these are aftermarket bellows like you guys were suggesting. Our next plan is to pull the drive again and replace bellow with oem.
Stupid question..is there any way the gimbal grease fitting on the side of the transom housing can leak? visually, it looks fine but was wondering if water can seep in some how?

 

[bruceb58]

Yes, that tube has been known to leak.

 

[Senior B]

I've always used Sierra after market bellows and have never had a problem.. One would think that if you have a hole in the bellows, your leak would occur all the time with the boat in the water running or not. I would continue to search for your leak while out of the water, on muffs and at the very least, slide the outdrive back on the studs to check and see if your full of water in the bellows which will be doing you no favors. If it's dry then you don't have a bellows issue and your leak is elsewhere. Good luck.

 

[Maxum21]

thanks for the info. i dont understand why the issues with the sierra bellows. they seem like good quality.. anyways, I just took another look at the grease zerk on the starboard side of outdrive housing. I found that there's some play in it, as in I can wiggle it slightly side to side. I took a socket and carefully tried to tighten it. It turned but didn't seem to tighten up. It looks like this zerk fitting is threaded into a plastic tube that carries the grease to the gimbal bearing. Pretty poor design if you ask me. So at this point i guess this could be my leak. What next? a replacement tube? called my volvo dealer and he couldn't even find this tube in a parts diagram. I'm thinking about pulling tube/zerk out and plugging the hole on the gimbal housing. I'd rather have to pull the drive once or twice a year to grease the bearing than deal with anymore headaches..

 

[bruceb58]

If you do a search through the site, there are pictures of adding a zerk to where the tube hits the bearing housing. Som new bearings aren't even grease able although I prefer bearings that are.

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engin...e-fitting-tube


FOUND IT:
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engi...x-dp-s-gimbal-bearing-grease-tube-replacement