Water in Gimbal Bearing??

[rmurray]

VP SX-M outdrive. Does this look like water intrusion? I think it does. This gimbal bearing is 2 weeks old. When I installed the new bellows, I used bellows adhesive and it was a bit messy. I think I didn’t seal it completely. Does my outdrive need bellows adhesive or something else? Please let me know if I can save the gimbal bearing and how to properly seal the bellows on the outdrive end. Should I pull the gimbal to try and dry it out? Is there anything else I should do to fix this? Thanks.

 

[rmurray]

Additional comment: there was no water in the bellows, although they looked a little “wet” on the bottom in some of the ribs. When I wiped it out, it was brown grease, not red like it probably should be. I wiped off the bearing and it looks ok. There could be some water in it though. That’s my concern. Will pushing new grease in get the water out? Should I let it sit before reinstalling the drive? Am I being paranoid?

 

[harringtondav]

From your narrative it sounds like you pulled your drive two weeks after a new gimbal bearing. True? If so, why?

I've found oily gook in my drive shaft bellows. Always outdrive lube coming past the gear U joint shaft seal (on a Merc). I'm thinking you are OK since you found no water. Your grease looks OK, but give it a few more pumps and see if discolored grease pushes out.

I don't know VP very well, but on a Merc adhesive is a must on the gimbal plate hub under the hose clamp. If your VP has a hose clamp at the bell/pivot housing hub, use adhesive. ...I'm thinking that you are over thinking a bit. Pull your drive again at the end of the season and check for water in the bellows and also gimbal bearing condition.

 

[rmurray]

I pulled it due to an overheating issue. I installed the o-ring incorrectly on the inlet tube fitting. While there, I noticed the bearing grease looked kinda funky, so I’m concerned my bellows seal job was no good. I used some old bellows adhesive and it was a sticky mess. Now I’m just concerned the bearing might have gotten wet. I’ll leave the drive off for a week just in case and then re-grease everything before reassembly. Hopefully I’ll be ok. Thanks for the reassurance.

the transom plate end has a clamp, the pivot housing end does not. I did not use adhesive on the transom end since the old one did not appear to have any. I’m going to get a fresh tube of adhesive, but would love to confirm if I need it at all, and on which ends. Thanks.

 

[rmurray]

According to the manual, it looks like you are supposed to use sealing compound on both ends of the u-joint bellows, not adhesive. Hopefully someone can confirm this for me? Thanks!

 

[muc]

According to the manual, it looks like you are supposed to use sealing compound on both ends of the u-joint bellows, not adhesive. Hopefully someone can confirm this for me? Thanks!

That is correct.
If you used adhesive, I wouldn't worry as long as you got both ends of the bellows seated into the grooves correctly. A lot of my co-workers use bellows adhesive when they do a Volvo bellows job. Haven't seen any come-backs on them.

 

[rmurray]

That is correct.
If you used adhesive, I wouldn't worry as long as you got both ends of the bellows seated into the grooves correctly. A lot of my co-workers use bellows adhesive when they do a Volvo bellows job. Haven't seen any come-backs on them.

Thanks Muc! I found an old "Don S" posting and he recommended nothing but a little grease on the nose of the bellows just to help get it installed. According to Don, the rubber groove in the bellows will seal it tight without the need for sealant or adhesive. I think I'm going to go with that. I'll pull it at the end of the summer and see how it worked. Thanks!

 

[rmurray]

"Thanks Muc!"

Duplicate post, sorry. Getting error messages this morning.

 

[muc]

Thanks Muc! I found an old "Don S" posting and he recommended nothing but a little grease on the nose of the bellows just to help get it installed. According to Don, the rubber groove in the bellows will seal it tight without the need for sealant or adhesive. I think I'm going to go with that. I'll pull it at the end of the summer and see how it worked. Thanks!

Is it possible you found a post for a different model drive?
Volvo didn't recommend sealant on some of their bellows. They do recommend it on yours.