ok- time to get started on my bellows repair

zaverin1

How are you going to access oil pan if it’s sitting on the dolly? If you choose to do the drain plug mod.
also how is it to much work to rent or buy a engine stand vs building a home made stand.
anway I have a feeling that your drive u joint bellow is not set properly. I just don’t see how it could leak around it. It’s either the boot or drive is not aligned correctly and leaks thru the seal. I doubt you moved the gimbal housing assembly by beating on your bearing.
did you remove the drive already?
was there trapped water in the rubber anywhere?
Was the engine running or off when water was leaking in during your tests?
i guess what I am trying to say it’s a different animal removing your drive and engine. Remember that you will have to also remove the deck lid to lift out the engine. Most engine hoists won’t reach and you will need a telescopic or aka small airplane hoist to reach that far over.

Glassguy54

Sunbelt rentals has a gantry crane.

rasbury

Hey zaverin1 - I appreciate your continued following of this and it sounds like you have been down this road...I do have the drive off, no water in any of the rubber. I did run the engine on muffs at the house to test if I was leaking at the Y pipe with no leak. The best way to answer your very good questions is how I did my final testing.

I put a plastic trash bag over the foot.

I took duct tape and went over all the openings that exhaust would normaly escape or let water in- I understand I could not hope to seal everything but at least it would slow it down if the Y pipe was the culprit.

I also plugged up where the engine cooling water exits again for the Y pipe.

Lastly, I took some silicone and went around the gimbal ring/transom and sealed it all around.

Then, I put the boat in the water- keep in mind I do not have to drive it or even start it to have the leak. In the water- 0 leak. So, I pulled the bag off the foot and the tape on the out drive and the plugged up water cooling exit and back in the water: no leak.

Lastly, I pulled the sealant off from around the out drive and my old friend leak was back so I have to assume it is coming around the main transom seal for some reason. If it were any of the rubber, it would have leaked with all the other stuff I had sealed up.

I just hope, really hope, somehow banging that bearing out I did something to the seal or I have a transom issue. It never "filled" while I owned the boat and had it for almost 5 years- it was not leaking like this before I did the bellows repair- I had a small leak which I think now was the speedo tube connection, and it still leaks a little even with the line plugged which bugs me but perhaps the connection there is not good. So, unless the PO got that transom wet and it's just now catching up with me with all the banging on it....I don't know. I jumped up and down on the drive and I don't see anything flexing so I'm hopeful.....

So, that is where I'm at- as far as the lift, my marina in town handles some really large boats and I've seen over head hoists that were really tall and the place I had my coupler replaced had one also- not sure if they pulled it all the way out of the boat but I'm pretty sure the one at the marina will be able to get it out all the way- don't know anything about those overhead hoist and how much they travel but will certainly be finding out pretty soon!

zaverin1

Hmmmmm well that’s not good ras 
sorry to hear
i hope it’s just the seal

randy56

You can disconnect your lift on the engine hatch, raise all the way up and pull the engine, be sure to tie off the engine hatch to the swim platform, tight!  as it can fall on your sore head.  

rasbury

Me too...

rasbury

Yep randy- I do that whenever I'm working down there...thx

rasbury

OK- figured I would get back to this thread and update the leak status of the boat. To recap, have had an annoying leak I have been chasing around, no experience with this size boat, fixed a black water tank leak (thought I solved it ) and also have a lot of water from the a/c system going into the bilge as well so it has been for sure a moving target. I did see last April a drip along the transom assy so assumed it was bellows and painfully went through that replacement, sure learned a lot about the boat. Dunked the boat and the leak was 10x worse. So my next attempt was to identify where it was leaking- did I now have a crack in the transom assy beating the bearing out, was the bellows leaking, where is it coming from as it was very low, you could hear the water coming in you just can not see where. So, I took the props back off and put a plastic bag around the lower unit. I taped off every joint on the out drive with duct tape. I know I could not stop all the water coming in but at least slow it down. I plugged up where the Y pips water exits and I ran a bead of sealant around the gimbal. The idea being, put it in the water and take stuff off until it leaks and eliminate possibilities. First I took the bag and tape off as there was virtually no leak at this point.  So, next I removed the sealant from around the gimbal and my old friend is back- so, I confirm that the bellows repair was fine and when I pulled the drive no water in any of the boots. There is no crack in the gimbal as that would have been exposed when I first dunked the boat. None of the other places ( like the speedo tube, raw water tube, there are really a lot of holes back there!) leaked as they would have been exposed on the first dunk. So, I pulled the motor. I took the boat home, starting filling it with water. Indeed have a leak around the gimbal but also found that the raw water pickup thru hull is leaking and leaking pretty bad which was a surprise. All the thru hulls were tested with a fake lake last year trying to track this down. So, next will be drilling some holes to see what the wood condition is in the lower transom and also removing that thru hull and hopefully have no hull damage there. It will be a week or so before I can get that done. So, that is the update.

zaverin1

Dude 
your thru Hull is the last if your worries
figure out Your Main leak

Liberty44140

Great update! Wow have you figured out a lot. Good that you have two directions of focus. Seems like your getting there! 

rasbury

Absolutely @zaverin1....if I can't fix the transom then the rest don't matter. I assume I must have some rot and me banging on that gimbal bearing knocked some stuff loose. Expect the worse, hope for the best...

rasbury

So, to split the transom asy apart....I know I have to get the Y pipe off (struggling with those bolts now), the bolts through the transom and then unhook the steering from the steering pin- should it come apart from there or do I have to undo and the trim wires, the bell housing etc. and completely disassemble everything?
Happy to report it looks like the keyhole edges are all fiber glassed in! Nice job Rinker!

rasbury

OK- Here is where I am at for today. The actual job does really not seem that complicate. The execution, well that's a different story. I got everything discounted from the inside except for the four Y pipe. I have a 12  point 3/8 socket but it looks like someone before me used perhaps something different and buggered up the heads. I used an impact wrench to get as good a bite on them as I could but no go- spin. What in the world am I going to do to be able to remove these? The top ones I might be able to get a chisel to them and get them broke loose- no way on the bottom ones. Also, when I filled the bilge with water to clean it out, either the water pickup for the engine or the genny seemed to be leaking- When I put a fake lake at them from the bottom, I get nothing......?

Also- the nuts for the inner plate sure were not very tight...they are those compression type but took no effort to brake them loose. Also, to my surprise, it appears that the ruff edges of the key hole are glassed so my fears of a bad transom are starting to wain...still need to get it apart as it is leaking.

reneechris14

Good newstry one of these look silly but works. When I  run in to stuck bolts heat then cool then heat again but this is in a boat so precaution must be taking.

Handymans342

Grind the heads off?

rasbury

Thanks guys- I could probably drill out the top ones but those bottoms, well would be tuff. I did think about what you show- I just did not think it would hold up to the torque and plus being a 12 point that is round.....i found something and will edit the link. https://m.lowes.com/pd/IRWIN-BOLT-GRIP-5-Pack-Bolt-Extractor-Set/50146292 I saw a demo on where else, you tube!

rasbury

Well, this tool/socket is doing what it is supposed to do but they are not budging- even with a hammer driven impact wrench. Heat?

aero3113

Yes, I would try heat. Get it nice and hot, then let it cool for a couple of minutes. Heat again then try the socket.

aero3113

Might need an impact gun.

rasbury

 I see the torque for these bolts is only 23 ft. lbs....someone must have really put a wrench to these. Looking like I'm going to have to cut the pipes so I can pull the gimbal ring off and hopefully get these bolts out and still use this gimbal ring...SOB that worked on this before. Wonder why they took it off?

rasbury

I will try the heat as a last resort.....bolt is stainless, the threads are aluminum so the aluminum should expand at a greater rate than the steel. Only problem is even if this works on the top ones, not sure I can get the heat very well to the bottom ones. Perhaps success for the top ones will give me inspiration on how to handle the bottom ones. They are literally right on the bottom hull of the boat, not more than an inch or so between the bottom side of the pipe and the hull. Necessity is the mother of invention they say.

Handymans342

Use never seize when you reassemble

aero3113

You probably need to use an impact gun like I said, It will shock/vibrate the bolt as it turns and loosen the corrosion.

rasbury

well that's the thing, I know I can't see in the thread but there is no corrosion back there. So how does a stainless bolt work in aluminum anyway?

Handymans342

Not good at all

rasbury

Handy- why are you not out on your boat today? Does not get any better than this!

Handymans342

Doing upgrades

dalek

I would not be without one of these. Heat definitely helps, especially if there is loctite involved. Not too powerful, but you can get the heat exactly where it's needed. It will get nuts and bolts hot, but it's not man enough to get them red hot.

rasbury

wow, that's pretty cool. I'm going to try and put a drill to it and see if I can get the heads off and perhaps deal with what is left better out of the boat. We will see.

aero3113

I would try heat before you drill the heads off.