Pulled the OD and ...SURPRISE!

[MikeeH]

Like I said in an earlier thead about bellows, our 1988 Wellcraft with an Alpha 1 had less than 100 hours on it and had been in storage for 10 years before I bought it 2 seasons ago. Had a tech look it over some time back and he said the bellows were good for another season. Today he pulled the OD, bellows, etc and found everything is the original parts from 1988 (which we pretty much figured before) and that water had seeped into the boot. It appears that the only previously unknown damage is the yoke which is badly rusted. The gear oil in the boot was chocolate but it looks like the drive is OK (thank you!!).

So, pull a few more boat bucks out of the wallet.

 

[j-d]

I'd say this repair's a High Yellow on the Repair Meter. Green being a Bellows replacement. Yellow being Bellows plus U-Joints and Gimbal Bearing. The Red sector of the Repair Meter's also marked "OMG." Since the Yoke is common steel, rust on the seal surface means replacement. Ours was about $70 for the part, but if I recall, the upper gearcase has to come apart and the bearings adjusted to the new part.
But that'll give you a good look at some gearcase internals.
A Drive Bellows can look good and still have a couple pinholes that let water get where you found the evidence.

 

[BillWilliams]

Mike, you said gear oil in the boot. Do mean gear lube from within the drive is in the boot or just the grease from the gimbal bearing and u-joints? The reason I ask is there should not be gear lube in the boot. My dad had that and the upper seals in the drive were leaking so he had to have them replaced.

 

[jtybt15]

now would be the time to pull the gimbal bearing on GP. It may even roll good but chances are, if the u-joits are rusted, the gimble bearing is either gonna go soon as you put it all back together or the bearing is frozen to the gimbal housing.

HA! Re-reading what I wrote doesn't make much sense...it did while I was writing it.

DO-OVER

Now would be the time to replace the gimbal baring as it received as much water as the U-joints. It may even rotate smoothly but It'll go out soon after putting everything back together.

Hopefully the gimbal bearing isn't frozen to the gimbal housing, in which case it has the potential to get real expensive.

 

[LouC]

That is why I pull the drive off each fall, you can spot problems before they become big ones. Bellows probably should be replaced every 5-7 years or so, or as soon as you see small cracks in the rubber.

 

[GeeBee]

I needed an upper gimbal bearing, new trim senders, new bellows. When you added it all up, it was only a few hundred more to pull the engine and drop in a whole new transom unit. With the new unit I got new trim cylinders in the bargain. I ran the boat yesterday, 2 knots higher cruise speed, 6 knots higher at WOT, and a 20% reduction in fuel consumption. Sometimes it is better to just replace the entire assembly than to piece together an old one.