Water in blidge - could it be my bellows?

[larivies]

Hi, my boat is now out of water for the season. I'm owning a Doral 250.

Now my sterdrive have been remove. Gimbal bearing look good, i've lubrificate it just before the picture.



In the u-joint bellow, there is 2 pieces of metal that are coming off. Is this a normal situation?
On the shift bellow, it looks that someone had use a regular electronic zip-tie to hold it on the shift cable. What do you think about that?

Here is pics of my bellows

U-JOINT BELLOW:

SHIFT CABLE BELLOW:

SHAFT

 

[Bondo]

Re: Water in blidge - could it be my bellows?

Ayuh,.... If the problem was the drive bellows, it woulda been Full of water when ya pulled the drive, 'n I see No rust....

Ya, a cable tie is an accepted method on the shift cable...

 

[Don S]

Re: Water in blidge - could it be my bellows?

In the u-joint bellow, there is 2 pieces of metal that are coming off.

There is a long spiral wire in the pleats of the bellows. It keeps the bellows expanded so it doesn't touch the ujoints inside when turning and trimming. Those loops are the two rounded ends of that spiral.

 

[MarkSee]

Re: Water in blidge - could it be my bellows?

This summer, bilge pump was pumping water out 2 times per day.

Since there is no apparent signs of water getting into the bilge through the ujoint bellows or shift cable bellows, seems like you're in for some investigation work when the boat gets launched again to trace down where that much water is coming from.

Not sure where the pump is located on your cruiser but for the bilge pump in my 270 to actually come on since it is located near the front of the engine comparment, it would take quite a few gallons of water to fill up the lower spots of the bilge under the engine, then fill up all the area between the stringers.

Before launching in the spring, is it feasible to put it on some muffs and run it out of the water and test any water systems to see if that provides any idea on the source of the water?


Mark

 

[04fxdwgi]

Re: Water in blidge - could it be my bellows?

Your gimbal area / input shaft shows no signs of water infiltration at all. Zip ties are used from time to time, but that one looks a tad lame. Replace it w/ 2 beefy ones, 180 deg from each other, to make a more secure connection and go from there.

You need to see where water is coming in. Since on the hard, fill bilges w/ a graden hose (not too much) and see if any water comes out and where.

Pump 2x a day is a heafty amount of water. Is that just sitting, or while running? If only while running, I would check for leaks on the raw water lines / cooling system / "freeze plugs".

If it's leaking while just sitting, I would be checking the hose from the transom raw water fitting to the raw water pump. If that's it, it's an easy fix. And check the transom plate o-ring to see if water is coming in around there. If it is, you have some major work to do.

Hint: I bought a "borescope". A camera on a flexible cable and lights w/ a display. Makes checking impossibly inaccessible areas for leaks and such a breeze. Best 100 bux I spent on fleabay for troublshooting where the head / eyes can't get.

 

[larivies]

Re: Water in blidge - could it be my bellows?

Replace it w/ 2 beefy ones, 180 deg from each other.

ok I will do

Pump 2x a day is a heafty amount of water. Is that just sitting, or while running?

just sitting at the dock, if I run my boat on muff, there is no water coming in bilge at all.

I never think about borescope. It is really a good idea. I will get one for sure.

thanks everybody for your input.

 

[Don S]

Re: Water in blidge - could it be my bellows?

just sitting at the dock, if I run my boat on muff, there is no water coming in blidge at all.

Set the boat in the water at the dock and run it, then look for leaks.

Just an FYI, it's bilge, not blidge

 

[larivies]

Re: Water in blidge - could it be my bellows?

There is a long spiral wire in the pleats of the bellows. It keeps the bellows expanded so it doesn't touch the ujoints inside when turning and trimming. Those loops are the two rounded ends of that spiral.

good information to know.

Just an FYI, it's bilge, not blidge

:facepalm: correction done

 

[dingdongs]

Re: Water in blidge - could it be my bellows?

obviously being up in Canada the boat is not likely to see much water anytime soon but as stated by all the others it does not look as if these bellows were the problem however are you sure there was no leaks from around the transom area or the manifolds upper elbow rubber hoses.Spreading talcom powder over everything may have found the source but if it was only when the engine was running i would suspect a loose clip,hose or even the water circulating pump. also check the hull too that no damage to the hull is the cause.
make sure the clips are god and tight on the remaining bellows and the gear shift bellow too.

 

[04fxdwgi]

Re: Water in blidge - could it be my bellows?

Maybe it's something as simple as the garboard (transom) plug / fitting is leaking.

Another good place to start is where the exhaust "Y" pipe connects to the transom plate. Have seen them get holes in them when an exhaust flapper support rod falls down there and wears a hole in the aluminum pipe. If the bolts aren't tight or the "O"ring leaks, a good amount of water can come in. If it's the "Y"pipe, then the engine needs to come out to fix, 99% of the time.

Again, tilting the trailer / bow way up and filling bilges w/ a garden hose will show these ones too. Just don't put in enough water to submerge the starter.