well, found my leak

MarkB

Ras, I'd leave that to the pros. Not worth screwing around with.

rasbury

Thanks @randy56 - I did not expect at almost 60 to be looking for a job and this is a great opportunity and I'm very thankful - first day was great!

reneechris14

These are tools I used to do my bellows.The aliment tool was use to drive the gimbal berring in.the treaded rod was used to pull berring out.the Plastic piece was use to pound the ring it on the bellows.The thin half moon pieces help to pull the exhaust bellows to the gimbal housing.

aero3113

@reneechris14 you forgot to mention the spline tool in the pic to take the gimbal ring apart.

reneechris14

@aero3113 yes you are correct the hinge pin tool,red toc tite and 150lbs tork setting.And some one at the helm a little to port,ok a little to starboard.

reneechris14

Oh and don't forget I'm no pro,just a back yard boat junkie. 

rasbury

Yikes! That stuff looks a little scary...i assume you have done a couple of these...homemade tools? Is the hinge pin tool in there somewhere? What did you use for a stand for the out drive?

rasbury

I need to study some you tubes...

reneechris14

Stands are the same height as they are when on the boat,I just slide the drive back.The hinge pin tool is that little Allen wrench thing I the top of the pic.

Trashman

Alswagg said:

If you do decide to remove the bell housing, be careful to not break the nipple off the oil reservoir hose 

most important advise!!!!   i broke the brittle fitting, i never said the f word more in one day! lol dont forget to align bandclamps correctly when installing new boots, they are aligned so you can access screw heads,    not a hard job once youve watched a few vids   i used a riding mower jack to remove and hold drive, worked beautifully!  (in one of my forum discussions)  parts were around 250 when bought as a kit, bearing tool and alignment shaft was 100    clean everything before disassembling, makes the job easier for sure. oh, and good luck. thats an important leak that often sinks boats from what im told. 

Handymans342

Ras, get an expert and pay the money. You won't regret it and you will be able to sleep good. 

rasbury

I'll study on it...thanks all for the input and for the offer @reneechris14 , may take you up- I do like a challenge!

rasbury

So, I'm looking at the manual...am I unbolting the drive and pulling it off or taking it apart piece by piece? So the nuts I see what I guess is pulling the hole drive off the bell housing? Back to you tube. The manual is confusing me what all comes apart...

rasbury

And it only makes sense to replace both boots and the bearing I'd think...

zaverin1

Drive comes off as one piece
yes you can separate upper and Lower but it's not necessary 
alpha drives split to replace water pump
bravo has engine driven pump so just pull the entire unit 

rasbury

So. You tubes....assume they all basically pull apart the same way.....put a clamp on the hose for the gear oil so it does not drain the resivoir....undo the bolts and pull the drive back after pulling the trim cylinders. Undo the shift cable, cut the bellows or undo it, same with the shift cable boot. What about the water pick up tube? U Joint bellows ?Once everything is done pull it off...have some ideas using my motorcycle jack ....then should be able to pull the bearing and change the three bellows and put it back together? Are there any other seals in between what I pulled apart or is that all in the kit? And since I'm not removing the bell housing, I'm not messing with the steering correct? When I felt the leak, it was not coming from the bottom of the inner plate but leaking over it (If that makes sense) so it has to be the  u joint bellows, right? So would the u joint also be getting wet and need replacement? The coupler was just done so I would hope that would have been inspected...as long as there is not something else going on in there that my lack of experience would overlook, I'm gaining some confidence!

reneechris14

@rasbury when you pull the drive off you will know right away if the bellows are the problem it be full of water.no need to clamp of oil line there's is a check valve between the drive and bellhousing.The shift cable boot,the cable needs to come out,boot goes on the cable from the motor side,that took more time then the rest of it.
Take off props
Stick pri bar behind bell housing 
Remove trim rams
Remove 6 bolts
Slide drive off

rasbury

@reneechris14 shift boot on the motor side? What am I seeing on the outside drive side where the cable comes out? Are there any seals that need to be replaced when the drive is pulled off or is that in the kit?

reneechris14

The shift bellows are in the kit,but the cable needs to be unhooked buy the intake took apart then pull out the back,put the bellows on then put back in.

reneechris14

The fat of the cable bolts in to the bell housing and boot will not slide over that end

rasbury

I will have to go back to the book, I don't get it...

MarkB

Ras, are you going to try this? One way or another you'll be an expert when you're done. Hopefully without too much headache.

rasbury

@MarkB, I think this one I will be able to handle. @reneechris14 has offered to loan me the tools and enough people here that have done it for guiedence that I think "we" can pull it off. Drive has low hours so I hope I don't have other issues, it's clean without corrosion on it so I'm hopefully I don't have other hidden issues that otherwise I might miss. If I needed to take everything apart I don't I would think about it- this is looking pretty straight forward.

I have changed jobs and a lot of life going on right now so it may be a few weeks before I can get back to it. The weather here is so nice right now it is killing me!
Stay tunned, I will document this well and perhaps we can put it somewhere for the next guy!

rasbury

@reneechris14 I'm looking at your very simple stands for the out drive- your uprights in the front are vertical to the base nut it looks like the back ones are at an angle- perhaps will make sense as I start to build mine. Is it because the drive is thicker in the back then the front?

reneechris14

@rasbury the drive only slides in one way.

rasbury

Huh? I was talking about the stand you made @reneechris14...

reneechris14

@rasbury here's some pics 

reneechris14

1 2×6×8' cut in 24"
1 2×4×10' cut 24"
Mine are 22" high to fit oil pan under for draining

reneechris14

Can you see the spare bravo 3 drive behind it.

craigswardmtb

Good idea with oil pan. Wish I had thought of that when I built mine.