75 cuddy I/O taking water..HELP?

[Crifasinator]

Hi all,
I've had my 75 V20 cuddy with a 165 mercuiser I/O for a couple months now and have had it out a for about six trips. Each time out it has took water and I assumed it was normal. My last trip out was a long one and it took on a ton of water. I now am convinced it isn't normal and want to figure out how it's getting in. The guys at my local marine shop showed me what to look for and I haven't found it yet. I put a hose in it and filled it up almost to the bottom of the motor and the only place i could find anything was right at the bottom of where the gimbal housing goes through the hull just a small but constant drip. I also dried out the bilge and ran the motor on muffs to see if that would generate any thing and it did not. My next step is to put it in the water and look for intrusion running and not running. I had put a new water pump kit and checked the bellows(looked good) I also caulked where the gimbal meets the hull with life caulk because the housing was somewhat eaten away. Is there other areas I should be looking? Thanks
Anthony

[spareparts]

trim teh drive up, turn it to port and look at the shift cable bellows(starboard side, small tapered bellows). push back and forth on the corrugations in the bellows, odds are, its rotted. Look hard at all your bellows, stick your finger in them and poke on it, keep looking, your find something. If that's not it, you may have an issue in the exhaust system

[macojoe]

the only place i could find anything was right at the bottom of where the gimbal housing goes through the hull just a small but constant drip

I had a 1/8 inch hole in my hull, when the boat is in the water the weight of the boat pushed water in like a fountain!! Could not believe the amount that came in in such a short time!
Also check around the rub rail, mine use to allow all kinds of water in there as the caulking was all gone!

you want to stop that water as you do not have a self baling deck, all water goes to the bilge, and needs to get pumped out, all that splashing salt water will kill the starter and rot out the oil pan fast!! ask me how I know.
also when changing the starter you will find it to be a *****! one thing that helped me was to put a mirror under the motor, now the bolts could be seen in the mirror on the floor!!

[Crifasinator]

so I still haven't got it in the water yet but have found some things... there are a few spots the caulking is failing under the rub rail, I applied more caulk around the gimbal housing, there are a few holes in the shift cable bellows someone had put silicone on, also i bought two new bilge pumps the tusanami 1200's.
I want to try and patch up the bellows if possible I'm thinking some flex seal- as seen on tv or some type of sealing tape or both?
I only have access to the bilge area where my motor is so I guess both pumps are going in there I have a float switch for one.

[smokeonthewater]

there isn't supposed to be any caulking around the gimbal housing... It has a rubber seal... if it's leaking then the transom is probably rotten (Lets hope not)... the bellows should be replaced every few years... they are not fixable, just put new ones on

in order to seal under the rubrail you will need to remove it... not NEAR as hard as it sounds

use 3m 4200 or 5200.. silicone won't last

[Crifasinator]

since the the other two are okay I was thinking a temporary fix on the shift bellows only cause it seems a big expensive job too do them all. the gimbal housing had some corrosion that ate the aluminum away down at the bottom ears by the zincs affecting the seal. guys at my local marine shop recommended the life caulk there. so im sure that will be if the future where all that gets addressed. how do i tell if my transom is rotten?? it looks like the rub rail was caulked top and bottom with maybe Life caulk? there is only a few places it looks failed.

[Crifasinator]

here are some pics
http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m367/crifasinator/IMG516_zps6127b48c.jpg

http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m367/crifasinator/IMG512_zpsc8ba92e3.jpg

http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m367/crifasinator/IMG517_zpsb597f37f.jpg

http://i333.photobucket.com/albums/m367/crifasinator/IMG513_zpsa5b8af03.jpg

[spareparts]

go ahead and replace all three bellows(not that easy) and the shift cable. when you pull the drive, you'll probably find the gimbal bearing bad as well.

[cmoney]

I don't know if your boat has a livewell pump, but if it does check it and the seacock. My pump separated when we were 15 miles out and i could hear water coming in and I was like oh s*&@. Popped the access plate and turned the lever on the seacock and all was good took 15 min to pump all the water out. when i replaced the pump i noticed there was a small leak in the thru-hull had to reseal it and no more leaks.

[smokeonthewater]

your bellows are done... even if you didn't have a hole they are YEARS past replacement time....

Personally I would get serious w maintenance... A fellow with basic tools, and a mechanical aptitude could pull the drive, engine and transom assembly, check the transom out, replace the rubber seal on the transom assembly and put it all back together with new bellows, shift cable, shifter seal, gimbal bearing, impeller, and gear oil in a weekend for a few hundred dollars.

Example, if you have a way to lift it, one experienced guy can pull the engine in 15 minutes and an amateur can do it in an hour.


A little crying today followed by a rough weekend can make for much safer and more enjoyable boating for years to come.

[macojoe]

Listen to all!! The last thing you want is to be offshore when the boat fills with water and sinks!
They are right with about 1 hour to pull the motor, what I did when I did mine was put a piece of ply down on the deck, rented a motor lift for the day and put right in the boat, Lifted the motor and rolled it back a hair, did all my work and lowered it back in, Done!!
But be ready for a few things, one the motor mount holes in front of motor will be rotted! You will need to replace the wood there when you have the motor out, not hard, but just another part of the job.
To check the transom take a 1/8" drill bit and drill the transom from inside, if wood is clean your good if it black or dust like dirt its rotted! start at the top and go down with a few holes to see if or how high its rotted. if its just wet way down the bottom you have time, and i would not worry right away!
The bilge pumps, first silicon a piece of 3/4 wood to the floor and after it drys screw the pump to it so as not drill a hole in boat, 2nd pump do the same but use a 2x4 and up on the curve a little, this will allow the first pump to pump the water and if it gets to bad and goes higher the 2nd one will help it, also keeps the pumps from sucking sand and crap to jam the impeller and burning out the pumps.

[Crifasinator]

got it... so obviously I need to learn how to do this it seems like if i am going to do the bellows I will need to see about getting a new gimbal housing. so does that mean I will have to pull the motor?

[macojoe]

Not really but I am sure them bolts are welded together so it would be easier. Snap them off, and drive them out. If using SS bolts use some never seize on the bolts, this way you can get them off again and it will stop the corrosion from different metals.

[smokeonthewater]

the engine has to come out to get to the bolts holding the gimbal housing

[SkunkBoat]

Looking at that bellows...I wouldn't get in that boat.

[spareparts]

You shouldn't have to replace the gimbal to replace the bellows. More importantly, check the transom. Take a screw driver handle or a small hammer ans start tapping on the transom, it should sound tight and give a high pitch tap, if you hear a dull thud, you got problems, trim the drive up, lean across the drive and put your weight on it, see if you can notice any movement at the transom to gimbal plate, look at the top and see if you create a gap, if you do, its transom time.

[Crifasinator]

phew!! Well I got this boat with the intention of using it. The PO assured me things were good and this is a little frustrating. the picture may make the bellows appear aged more than it actually is. when I did the water pump we pulled the out drive and cleaned and greased the drive line and u-joints. I am just new to boats and all this is not what I expected as far as things needing immediate repair.

[smokeonthewater]

If I bought a boat and simply didn't know how old the bellows were I'd replace em before using it... That's how important they are

the reason to pull the gimbal housing is to fix the leak around it... caulk doesn't cut it

[Hedge]

phew!! Well I got this boat with the intention of using it. The PO assured me things were good and this is a little frustrating. the picture may make the bellows appear aged more than it actually is. when I did the water pump we pulled the out drive and cleaned and greased the drive line and u-joints. I am just new to boats and all this is not what I expected as far as things needing immediate repair.

Yes, the PO is going to assure you everything is good with the boat, they are trying to get rid of it. But, you could not have picked a better group of people to pull from their experience. If you have a question about how to do something, ask, they will explain how to accomplish the goal without hesitation.

[Kracker Jack]

if you do all the work yourself the satisfaction will out way the sweat and tears!!!!! you will also familiarize yourself with your rig for doing future maintenance. research and ask a ton a of questions to help you get thru it. all the guys on here are willing to help you with anything you need.

[phatdaddy]

friend of mine lost his son to a bad set of bellows. teenage son bought a used boat and took it to a mechanic for a check up. mech said it needs a set of bellows, kid says maybe later, these look ok to me. took it out in the gulf, got a garbled 911 call 4 hours later. found the boat swamped next morning. found his buddy on the beach barely alive, never found his son. i am not an i/o guy, but these guys say change them, i'd do it.