water inlet O ring in alpha one outdrive

[JoeRJGR]

All,

When I put my outdrive back together the other day, the replacement gasket was a little wider than the gasket that came off, and it pushed up against the water inlet o ring a little. Not so much that it came out of the cavity it sits in, but enough so that on the right side of the cavity the o ring was on the outside wall, and on the left side it sat on the inside wall....so not perfectly round. I had some issues with pitting and such on the outside of the case so having a slightly larger gasket was ok with me. I also remember that the water inlet coming form the outdrive was not a perfectly circle either, almost shaped like a D....

Is there anyway to check to make sure that o ring is making a good seal and not leaking? I dont see that water could make its way up to the gimbal bearing with the large seal in there, but it could leak down to the lower unit.

Just wondering is there is a way to check on muffs before I put it in the water.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Bt Doctur]

mercruiser or sierra mounting kits dont have that problem,

 

[JoeRJGR]

Understood, but they do incorporate an additional hole in the upper part of the gasket which the alpha one gen one does not need. On my unit, because that extra hole reduced the amount of gasket material towards the outer end of the case, water was getting into the case and sitting in the extra hole. This allowed for pitting on the edge of the case and on the surface of the mating surface where the extra hole was.

I ordered a mercruiser part from my dealer. The old part number was still in the system, but they shipped the new part number...they don't make the old part number any longer, nor does Sierra.

 

[JoeRJGR]

If someone could answer my question about if there is anyway to check if the seal is working correctly I would really appreciate it.

Thanks

 

[Bondo]

If someone could answer my question about if there is anyway to check if the seal is working correctly I would really appreciate it.

Thanks

Ayuh,..... In my experience, if that o-ring is leakin', the water travels up the lower shift cable, into the boat,.....

 

[JoeRJGR]

Thanks Bondo...and what if the gasket between the outdrive and the gimbal housing was leaking...how would you know that? Thanks again for all your assistance..