I really appreciate the time that you have taken, you have given me some good information. Before I tackle this job, I do have a few more questions. The bellows that we are speaking of, I presume that’s normal to have water in it, does it hurt or is it a sign of a problem if water is leaking from it as mine is? Given the information that I have provided so far, the engine appears to cool just fine with the water hose hooked up, so that tells me that the impeller is not pulling seawater from the out drive pickup. So I am assuming my problem is somewhere between the impeller and the out drive pickup? You mentioned a connection that usually goes bad, is there a high probability that that is where my issue is since everything else appears to be flowing properly? And yes I am old so I will build a support for the outdrive once it is removed. Lol Once this is done, is there a kit with any special gaskets or O-rings that need to be replaced when I put it back together?
OK you have 2 bellows, the upper is the driveshaft bellows, there should never be water in that one, if there is it is cracked or torn and must be replaced, and you likely will have to replace the gimble bearing and maybe the u joints due to corrosion
The lower one, is the exhaust bellows, that is normal to have water inside, these don't really have to be replaced periodically but the upper one, as soon as you see small cracks in the folds, its time to replace it pre-emptively before it fails and costs you $$$. I've had them last 10 years but 5 is a safer interval. If you can store the boat with the drive level, the bellows tend to last longer than if the drive is left up.
There should be a V/P transom kit with the 2 o rings for the driveshaft and that odd shaped gasket that goes between the drive and transom mount. I use OMC gasket sealer on the 6 studs to keep the nuts from seizing up.
Other reasons why your impeller may not be picking up water:
1) there is a plastic water nipple in the transom mount (pivot housing is what I think they call it) if this cracks, due to improper winterization, it can suck air there
2) inside the drive there are 2 water tube grommets, if these are rotted, or burned from an overheat the impeller won't get enough water. There is a pipe that connects these 2 grommets, there was a member on here, who had the same problem, it turns out that there was a hole rotted in that pipe! But if he never split the drive he would have never found it. Once found, simple solution. For the water tube grommets the drive must be split (upper and lower gear housings) and it is really a job for a mechanic. I've done it on my Cobra just getting the bolts out and getting the upper gear housing off can be difficult. I have a trick for that problem though....salt water teaches you many tricks.
