Small leak after trim sender/bellows replacement

[sprobst]

I replaced all three bellows on my alpha 1 gen 2, this fall. In addition, I also replaced the trim sender/limit switches and lower shift cable. All went well. I tested it on the water, today and I have a very small leak coming from somewhere. I had a small amount of water in the bilge that was rising very, very, slowly. Running the bilge pump every 15 minutes yielded only about 1 cup of water.

I brought it home and pulled the drive immediately. There was no water in the U-joint bellows. That's good. That leaves either the shift bellows or the trim sender wire plug. The shift bellows looks good. The clamp is tight. I did use bellows adhesive on it. I used a zip tie on the aft side of the shift bellows (as many people do). That is tight, too.

I am leaning toward thinking it's the trim sender/limit plug not being tight enough. When I tightened that bolt, I didn't torque it down. I just tightened it by feel, although, I thought it was tight enough. I did use aviation form-a-gasket on the bolt threads.

How should I troubleshoot this? I certainly cannot see that far under and behind the engine to troubleshoot. Perhaps I could use a bright light and mirror while I have it in the water to try to see where it's coming from. I'm not sure I could see a dribble without feeling for it and I cannot reach the shift cable entry. I may be able to reach the trim wire entry.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,...... How old is the hull,..??..??

Could be a rotten transom,......

 

[sprobst]

I don't think it's the transom. It's a 20 year old boat but well taken care of and I didn't have this problem before the bellows/trim sender replacement. Before I replaced the trim sender/limit wires and bellows, I could spend the whole day on the lake without running the bilge pump at all and almost no water came out after removing the plug at the end of the day.

What is your best guess? Should I remove the shift bellows clamp and feel for moisture inside? It might have dried by now, anyway. I'm not sure. I could also try to torque the trim sender wire plug to the proper spec.

 

[harringtondav]

Assuming your bilge was dry before your maintenance, something happened during that maintenance. The only leak points you touched are the drive shaft bellows, the shift cable bellows, and the sender wire's split grommet. Your drive shaft bellows seems OK. The instructions state to have a helper pull the sender's wires from inside of the transom while you start and tighten the clamp cap screw. From my experience this is to give you a fighting chance getting the clamp cap screw started, and to insure the grommet halves are properly seated.

Before you go thru the misery of resetting the sender wire seal, check your shift cable bellows. The aft crimp clamp should be snug, but still allow the cable to slide in and out, which it does. If you got it too tight the bellows may have pulled off the gimbal plate boss, or tore. My first and only transom leak was from a torn shift cable bellows.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,...... No guessin',..... Just make it leak, 'n crawl in there with yer eyes, 'n a camera to pinpoint the location,......

 

[poconojoe]

Get yourself one of those borescopes. They can view things you'll never get your phone camera or mirror near. They are $20-$50. I got a decent one for $47 which connects wirelessly to a phone, tablet, etc. The lesser expensive ones only have a focal point of 1". Mine has 2MP camera and can view from 1"-16" with a 33 foot long stiff wire.

 

[poconojoe]

You also need to determine if your water intrusion happens when just sitting in the water or if it only happens under way. And engine running or engine off.

It could also be just a coincidence and not something you did with the repairs. You never know...

 

[sprobst]

thank you all for the responses. The small leak happens when I am stationary. I plan to get a camera and take it out to the lake in a few days to see where the intrusion is coming from. I will report back when I figure it out.