Can I Tell if Water is Getting into the U-Joint Bellows?

[KM7]

Can I Tell if Water is Getting into the U-Joint Bellows without taking the OD off?

I have to replace the gimbal bearing due to water getting into the U-Joint Bellows. I may also have to replace the U-Joints as well. That was caused by a clip from a grounding strap getting loose and wearing a hole in the bellows. See pictures

It would be helpful if there was a plug that I could remove and check for water Before it does all this damage. Is there a way to do that?

Thank you

 

[stresspoint]

gotta love the way people tighten worm clamps .

tip and lesson : tighten the clamp till it makes a consistent contact with hose or whatever > tighten 1/2 a turn after that , check for leakage , no leak leave it be , if it leaks tighten a tad more till no more leak .

there is absolutely no need to tighten a clamp that tight with a breaker bar so the hose is ozzing out all around it .

Op not saying this is the cause , its just something i noticed in your pic ,that hole looks as if its been stabbed in there or possibly some prying has been don at some point to cause a weak area..

 

[Scott Danforth]

You have to pull the drive once a year to inspect the alignment, U-joints and gimbal bearing along with the bellows

Just do the full annual maintenance routine

 

[Lou C]

Can I Tell if Water is Getting into the U-Joint Bellows without taking the OD off?

I have to replace the gimbal bearing due to water getting into the U-Joint Bellows. I may also have to replace the U-Joints as well. That was caused by a clip from a grounding strap getting loose and wearing a hole in the bellows. See pictures

It would be helpful if there was a plug that I could remove and check for water Before it does all this damage. Is there a way to do that?

Thank you

Unfortunately there’s no way to know if it’s going to leak. While it can be a pain that’s why pulling the drive at the end of each season helps to make everything last longer.

 

[KM7]

gotta love the way people tighten worm clamps .

tip and lesson : tighten the clamp till it makes a consistent contact with hose or whatever > tighten 1/2 a turn after that , check for leakage , no leak leave it be , if it leaks tighten a tad more till no more leak .

there is absolutely no need to tighten a clamp that tight with a breaker bar so the hose is ozzing out all around it .

Op not saying this is the cause , its just something i noticed in your pic ,that hole looks as if its been stabbed in there or possibly some prying has been don at some point to cause a weak area..

I'm not sure how the hole got in the U-Joint bellows. It might have been the clip to hold the ground wire on the hose clamp somehow got pinched in there.

I don't believe I over tightened the hose clamp. I also smooth out the mating surface with a Scotch Brite pad before putting on the bellows.

You suggest checking for a leak after tightening the hose clamp onto the shield (If that is what it is called) How can you check for a leak except by removing the OD ??

 

[stresspoint]

""You suggest checking for a leak after tightening the hose clamp onto the shield (If that is what it is called) How can you check for a leak except by removing the OD ??"""
my comment was in general on the tightening ( yes i know you cant see in there ) , as posted " it was probably not what was causing the water intrusion.
the overnighted hose clamp was an observation that i notice only too often .
when people tighten these thing.
example :i once saw a $500 replacement intercooler pipe destroyed when than incompetent idiot service **** used a impact to tighten it.

sorry if you were offended by my pointing out that your bellows was overly squashed by the clamp.

 

[KM7]

@ Stresspoint I'm glad to learn to do this better. What makes you think that I over tightened the hose clamp?

 

[stresspoint]

@ Stresspoint I'm glad to learn to do this better. What makes you think that I over tightened the hose clamp?

it appears to be squashing the rubber on the bellows a little much for my liking , in an area like that it is critical to have thick rubber making contact with the metal surfaces , a squashed surface reduces the thickness of the rubber .this can also make the clamp act as a knife as the bellow works .
could be that it is a bellows that was reused upon assembly and it was already squashed.
either way , the bellow needs to be replaced with a new one , take care when tightening .

 

[tpenfield]

The short answer to your original question is no. There is not a good/easy way to check for bellows leaks, other than to remove the outdrive.

You may see some seepage of water coming through the gimbal bearing/drive shaft area.

Usually, once the bellows starts to leak, the ball game is over. Your best approach would be to have routine inspection of the bellows (before & after boating season) and annual drive removal. (as mentioned)

The issues with bellows is kind of fact-of-life with I/O engines.

 

[KM7]

I spoke to a boat mechanic and he thought that if water gets into the u-Joint bellows it would also get into the bilge through the gimbal bearing.

I'd like to hear from some of the guys on here. Do you agree?

Thanks

 

[Lou C]

Sometimes yes but by the time you notice it you have a bigger problem with rusty gimble &u joints. It’s a misconception that a leaky bellows will sink the boat with the I/O. With the OMC Cobra & Volvo SX drives a small amount of water can get past the gimble bearing but there is a seal behind it. This can happen on the old OMC Stringer drives with the big rubber boot and on the Mercruiser drives with the boot on the shift cable. The Cobra and SX use a totally different shift cable design with the boot inside the boat & these rarely if ever leak.
Honestly if you want to totally get away from this problem don’t buy another I/O powered boat. It is part of the compromise of using a car engine in a boat. Outboards are the way to go today if you want low maintenance!

 

[KM7]

I'm not worried about sinking the boat. I just want to be able to tell if I'm getting water onto the U-Joint bellows. This is a 91 Four Winns with an OMC Cobra OD.

 

[Lou C]

Unfortunately the only way to do that is to pull the drive. Now as a practical matter I have only had water in the bellows once, that was way back in 2005 before I took over the maintenance on the sterndrive. The shop I was using installed a new bellows & gimble bearing. After that I built a drive stand and started pulling it at the end of each season. By 2016 I noticed some small cracks in the folds of the bellows so I installed a new one. That one was still fine as of this season; I’ll check it again before the boat goes back in the water. So using OEM bellows & installing as per the OMC shop manual I have not had problems with that.
However, I would not buy another I/O boat for that & a number of other reasons….

 

[kenny nunez]

There should be a vent hole at the top of the housing. That is where the water will start to appear.

 

[KM7]

There should be a vent hole at the top of the housing. That is where the water will start to appear.

I'm not sure where that is. Can you post a picture?

 

[kenny nunez]

The hole can only be seen with the drive off or the engine removed.
Was you able to install the bellows like I told you in the PM I sent?

 

[KM7]

The OD is off the boat in order to get better access to a stuck gimbal bearing.
I will have another post about getting a stuck bearing out. I'm still not sure where the vent hole is. A picture would sure help.

I have not installed the bellows because I have to replace the bearing and do the JB Weld / Marine Tex repair first, but thank you.