U joint bellows inspection Alpha one Gen one

[Chuckles88]

I double checked mine last night in the dark with a flashlight. Just turn the drive and you should be able to see. That is of course if the boat is out of the water.

 

[Chuckles88]

1 vent just above the gimbal bearing inside the bellows. You can see it on the transom plate from the inside just above the drive dead center

 

[tfret]

I finally made it to the lake alone today. With the *** end stuck in the water at the boat ramp, I took some photos. actually before and after putting it in the water. Appears to be a perfectly round hole at 12 o’clock directly above the drive shaft. It’s a tight space and dirty so I apologize for poor photo quality. Is this the bellow vent, confirmation that the drive shaft bellows is bad? Photos on next couple of posts, hopefully you can see it.

 

[tfret]

[No message]

 

[tfret]

[No message]

 

[achris]

With the boat out of the water, did you actually look at the bellows?

 

[tfret]

Yes. Looks like new. Felt around and don’t feel anything wrong although it’s hard to really reach everywhere. But when I squeeze it I hear air exhaust somewhere. Does that make sense?

 

[tfret]

Has anyone seen this before? If that is in fact a bellows vent hole, then I guess the bellows is leaking. Just seems like I’d be getting water though the gimbal bearing and out the drive shaft hole.

 

[DouglasW]

Has anyone seen this before? If that is in fact a bellows vent hole, then I guess the bellows is leaking. Just seems like I’d be getting water though the gimbal bearing and out the drive shaft hole.

When I pulled my drive off for the first time for this used boat, I couldn't even see the gimbal bearing for all the grease. Also, keep in mind that normal installation procedure is to coat the driveshaft with grease before insertion. With grease all around the shaft at the outside of the bearing and grease covering the bearing, I couldn't imagine mine ever leaking much water into the boat even with a torn bellows. Could be that the vent is the only indication in some cases.

 

[Lou C]

Ahh, never had a Merc but it almost looks like the rubber grommet for the trim sending unit is suppose to be fitted into that hole. The Cobra has a hole just like that, in about the same spot and if not fitted for sure water would come in there....

 

[tfret]

No sir, both trim switch wires exit through a separate hole up above this area. I'm fairly confident this is a vent hole for the U joint bellows and water coming from that hole is clear indication of a bellows failure. I was just hoping for one of those "oh yeah, seen that a hundred times" kinda responses before I commit to pulling it all apart. I figure I'll pull the drive off to gain better access. I should be able to see all around the bellows at that point and decide for sure if its got a problem. The U joints need to be greased anyway.

 

[tfret]

I believe this "vent" hole is actually a tell-tale hole put there to let you know when the bellows is leaking. Otherwise you would have no way of knowing until something else fails.

 

[StinkinRenken85]

I had a similar problem, put a new gasket on the trim manifold, checked the bellows and still was taking on water. Turned out I had a hole from corrosion eaten through the gimbal. Fixed it with fiberglass we'll see how long that holds up.. when i was checking my drive bellows i tried pouring some beer in it to see if it leaked out. it never did so i jacked up the trailer to get the beer back in my mug. by the way make sure you wipe the grease out of there before you try this or you may have a leak of yer own stern.