outdrive bellows alpha one drive

[dhoptay]

i was recently out with my boat and the bilge pump keptrunning about once an hour. i removed the engine cover to see if i could find were the water was coming from and it appears it is from the outdrive. does this mean my boot is cracked and leaking? should i replace it? how hard is this to do? i'm pretty good mechanically i've done alot with cars and feel i should be able to do it on my own. if not what isthe normal chargee to do this job? i'll by the materials needed. thank to all that reply....Dan

 

[hoot]

Re: outdrive bellows alpha one drive

go to search and type in bellows replacement, search in I/O forum. you will get 3 pages of topics to read thru. should give you an idea of what your headed for. search is located at the top of the page in red letters.

 

[jeff13601]

Re: outdrive bellows alpha one drive

You can get a complete transom seal kit for aroung 150. While your doing it you might as well change the lower shift cable if it hasnt been done in a couple years <br /><br />iboats sell the kits<br /><br /> http://www.boatfix.com/merc/Servmanl/6/6B4R3.PDF

 

[cosander]

Re: outdrive bellows alpha one drive

there are 3 bellows (boots)there are also gaskets that can fail. My shiftcable bellow was leaking I changed them all along with the shift cable and gimble bearing. I purchased a transom repair kit and the shift cable with an alignment tool, shift cable tool, hing pin tool all for $244. look up transom repair kit on yahoo. It should take you to aftermarket . com

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: outdrive bellows alpha one drive

If you have water entering your boat through the drive, you need to pull the drive off right away. Drain it first to see if the drive has water mixed with the gear oil. Next grease the U-joints and see if the're rusty. Grease the gimbal bearing. If this is salt water, you will probably have to replace gimbal bearing and U-joints. It really depends on how long the condition has existed. If the bellows is cracked or leaking it must be replaced. It's a pretty involved process but doable if you are mechanically inclined. It is quite expensive to have a mech. do it.You didn't say what year. Good Luck!

 

[Trent]

Re: outdrive bellows alpha one drive

web page

 

[cosander]

Re: outdrive bellows alpha one drive

where are you located? I have all the tools you'll need

 

[tommays]

Re: outdrive bellows alpha one drive

http://www.iboats.com/cgi-bin/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=24;t=010458#000000 <br /><br /><br />its a Knuckle Buster and you need to be willing to take as long as it takes<br /><br />tommays

 

[dhoptay]

Re: outdrive bellows alpha one drive

cosander i'm located in Edison NJ. i'm willing to take the time and save the money and do it myself just a little worried about breaking a bolt.

 

[dhoptay]

Re: outdrive bellows alpha one drive

thanks guys for all the quick respones. think i'll try it this weekend. Cosander thanks for the tips to locate kits lots on ebay.

 

[novicetech]

Re: outdrive bellows alpha one drive

I did mine last weekend, all bellows, shift cable and qimble bearing. Bellows and gimble bearing 80.00 from Sterndrive engineering. And shift cable kit from local merc dealer 65.00. I will tell you that I have a new respect for marine mechanics like rodbolt, DonS, and Bondo etc. It was a pain in the arse.

 

[elpaso]

Re: outdrive bellows alpha one drive

This site will show you everything about <br />changing bellows<br /><br /> http://www.mercstuff.com/howdoi.htm

 

[Limited-Time]

Re: outdrive bellows alpha one drive

First timer also. Just did my 96 Alpha 1 Gen II, all 3 bellows, gimbal bearing & seal, took me 5+ hours. Not a lot of fun but doable. BTW the only "specialized tools" I used were the alignment tool and the hinge pin tool...both a must. Good luck.

 

[dhoptay]

Re: outdrive bellows alpha one drive

hey thanks guys i found the hole. it's in the drive bellows. can anyone tell me wer to get the tools i need for this job. and is the shift cable change out the nightmare that the mechanics tell me its going to be?

 

[cosander]

Re: outdrive bellows alpha one drive

here as long as you are methodical there is plenty of step by step procedures on the web to get it done. you'll need an alignment tool and a hinge pin tool. I bought the shift cable socket but some say you dont need it.

 

[dhoptay]

Re: outdrive bellows alpha one drive

hey cosander you seem to know quite a bit about boats. is the steering cable really as hard as the mechanics say? or is it just so i'll have them do the job? what could really go wrong, i had one guy tell me that you could do the job and test it on land and shift fine then get it in the water and have a problem shifting. as long as i get it close to the old cable adjustment shouldn't i be fine and then make my fine tune adjustments inside the boat? also if the ujoint look fine, i'll take them apart, should i just repack them or buy new? also question your an rf tech? work in cable? i'm a fiber/line tech myself