Some of you may already know this, but here's a bit of advice that may save you merc owners a lot of trouble. You can easily check for a driveshaft bellows leak way before it rusts your gimble bearing and u-joint. The mechanics know about this but it isn't published in any manual and I couldn't find it on the web. There is an easy to see weephole in the transom plate that will begin to trickle water into the boat as soon as there is water in your bellows. The hole goes through from the bilge side of the transom straight through your gimble bearing carriage, on the inside of the bellows. The hole is in plain sight when you look at the top of your transom from inside the engine compartment - so it's easy to to keep an eye on it (the quarter inch hole is to the right of the water intake flange on the transom). I caught mine leaking yesterday, pulled the drive, and sure enough, the bellows had just torn. Caught it in time - not a spot of rust yet, so no expensive repair by the mechanics. I just put a new bellows on and I'm back on the water. Wish I had known about this earlier. A leaking bellows can spoil your fun. They go bad sooner than you think, so I check the weepholes every time I go out (I have twins - double the trouble).
Merc outdrive bellows advice
- Thread starter rma153
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