four winns 214
Senior Chief Petty Officer
- Joined
- Oct 25, 2008
- Messages
- 770
1) To facilitate painting it over the winter, I had the Alpha 1 outdrive removed from my 1984 Sea Ray cuddy last fall. When the technician pulled it, we discovered some oil in the bellows. The shop recommended that the drive be resealed and I agreed. I haven't had the opportunity to use the boat this summer and the reseal (along with impeller replacement) was not accomplished until July. When I picked up the outdrive, the shop placed it on it's side in the bed of my truck. The next morning, there was oil on the bed of the truck and it appeared to be leaking from around the prop shaft. I returned the drive to the shop for investigation. They were baffled because the drive had been sitting vertically for a couple weeks after they worked on it and no oil leaked. I'm going to pick it up tomorrow and I am curious as to what they found. So that I may understand some of the possibilities, has anyone out in iBoats land experienced this or have a guess of the cause? I've owned this boat for six years and it has never leaked oil or had any water in the oil.
2) When I took the drive back to the shop, I also took the boat and had them change the bellows. The bellows seemed to be in good condition, but they've not been changed in the time I've owned the boat and I have no idea of their age. I didn't want to wait to change them until there were problems with them.
3) I'm planning a 600 mile trip on the Tennessee River in September and I plan to put some hours on the boat before taking it on this journey. Obviously, there's been some fairly involved work done on the outdrive. During this confidence run-in period, what sort of failure issues should I be looking that relate to the work done? I know to look to make sure no water is coming in the boat through the bellows and to check the drive oil for water. Besides these items, any other suggestions? This old outdrive has performed flawlessly for 1,300 miles of river trips over the last four years. I just hope I haven't screwed up a good thing!
2) When I took the drive back to the shop, I also took the boat and had them change the bellows. The bellows seemed to be in good condition, but they've not been changed in the time I've owned the boat and I have no idea of their age. I didn't want to wait to change them until there were problems with them.
3) I'm planning a 600 mile trip on the Tennessee River in September and I plan to put some hours on the boat before taking it on this journey. Obviously, there's been some fairly involved work done on the outdrive. During this confidence run-in period, what sort of failure issues should I be looking that relate to the work done? I know to look to make sure no water is coming in the boat through the bellows and to check the drive oil for water. Besides these items, any other suggestions? This old outdrive has performed flawlessly for 1,300 miles of river trips over the last four years. I just hope I haven't screwed up a good thing!
