Bravo 3 out-drive: Replacing gear cable bellow

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Folks,
Found a crack in the gear cable bellow on the Bravo 3 out-drive which is letting water trickle into the engine bay.

My question is, is replacing this an easy task? Does the out-drive have to come off?

My understanding (taking into consideration i'm normally a Volvo lad) is that I just need to remove the 3 screws facing the picture (1 screw below the Bravo decal, 2 above), release the linkage and pull the cable back.... but i'm not certain of this.

I'd appreciate any advise.

See below pics of the out-drive and the bellow

 

[volvopaul]

Yes drive off, 6 nuts and rams then you have room to get at shifter link , cable is pinched on to shifter cam, undo cable on engine plastic link on manifold pull through inner cable then outer cable through bellows , undo clip on shield end, destroy clip on small end if not already corroded to nothing, I'd use cable tie for small end or good quality stainless clip not one supplied in kit, fitting is reverse of strip down , use new gaskets etc. while its stripped check water hose change oil and check other bellows and gimbal bearing.

 

[alt]

Yes drive off, 6 nuts and rams then you have room to get at shifter link , cable is pinched on to shifter cam, undo cable on engine plastic link on manifold pull through inner cable then outer cable through bellows , undo clip on shield end, destroy clip on small end if not already corroded to nothing, I'd use cable tie for small end or good quality stainless clip not one supplied in kit, fitting is reverse of strip down , use new gaskets etc. while its stripped check water hose change oil and check other bellows and gimbal bearing.

Hi VP,
Thanks for your invaluable advise.

BUGGER! I was hoping this wouldn't be a drive off job. I'll check how much of a big task this is before offering to help friends again!

I'll try to get my hands on a service manual, just so I have a step by step guide. I've done bellows/removed Volvo and Alpha one leg's before (but many years ago) so want to be sure to have a step by step guide, just to be sure (I know i'll screw something otherwise)

Am I right in saying no special tools needed?

How to you 'check' the gimbal? Run it around and check for noise?

White the drive is off i'll be getting him to order UJ bellows also. The water intake is from the hull and the exhaust is out the transom, so am I right in saying do the following:

Replace gear cable bellow
Replace UJ bellow
'Check' Gimbal

Anything else?

Thanks again for the info

 

[rosssavage]

Bit of visual help... Lots of Mercruiser out drive vids here.

If in doubt, refer to VP!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tRAQlPxFWQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[carlton]

I'll try to get my hands on a service manual...

Clicky.

 

[volvopaul]

You have 2 water intakes as it also sucks through leg to cool leg, yanmar motor???

Sorry I wasn't reading fully it's a b 3 so cable is held with 11mm nut you can see when drive is off. I always disconnect shift at engine end first though manual tell you to shift forward first to give slack on cable. When you pull drive off incase it snaggs cable link jaw. I'd do the lot while it's off. Remove props to make drive lighter before lifting .

 

[alt]

Bit of visual help... Lots of Mercruiser out drive vids here.

If in doubt, refer to VP!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tRAQlPxFWQ&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Thanks a lot

Clicky.

Again, thanks a lot... I love the forum!

You have 2 water intakes as it also sucks through leg to cool leg, yanmar motor???

Sorry I wasn't reading fully it's a b 3 so cable is held with 11mm nut you can see when drive is off. I always disconnect shift at engine end first though manual tell you to shift forward first to give slack on cable. When you pull drive off incase it snaggs cable link jaw. I'd do the lot while it's off. Remove props to make drive lighter before lifting .

Understood VP, cheers.

Yes, it's connected to a Yanmar 4LHA engine, with it's own sea water pump and sucks from a seacock on the hull.

Is there still a water hose on the out-drive for keeping the drive cool?

I have the service manual now thanks to above link so should help things, but are you saying loosen the cable from the control end to give me 'slack' and pull the cable a bit when taking the drive off, or should I have the gear cable loosened from the drive before removing?

 

[volvopaul]

No you can't loosen at drive end till drive is off, loosen at engine end. You will find a y connector left rear of engine where water from drive and valve meet.

 

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Thanks a lot for the info, will do my research before getting greasy

 

[spannerman]

This is not as complicated as it is starting to sound, first put the gear shift into forwards or disconnect at shifter mechanism then when you pull the drive back about 3 cm you will see the gear cable goes into a metal jaw on the drive, flip up the upper piece and the cable will come free, pull drive off.
When you pull the inner cable out reinsert it from the engine side so that when you pull out the outer cable you will have a cable guide as when you reinstall the outer cable and push it into the transom it WILL hit either the exhaust downpipe or the flywheel housing which means you have to grope around to find the end. With the inner cable lying along the route you just slide the outer cable over it and it will make it much easier to get it back up to the gear shifter mechanism, then pull out the inner and reinsert from the outside. Believe me I've done dozens of these over the years, it makes it a one man job.
If the gear cable is kinked or stiff change it for a new one using the old inner as the guide for the new outer.

 

[alt]

spannerman - From what I understand, you're saying release the gear cable from the gear mechanism (which is located at the transom) and pull the whole cable out, from the rear of the boat (ie. from where i'll just have released the cable from the jaw mechanism)?

I thought (now don't laugh!) that once the drive is off, i'd be able to loosen the 11mm nut from the bell housing, tilt the bell housing up fully and pull out (ie. pull towards the boat) the cable? I'm guessing from what you say that the cable will only go in one way? ie. cable must be inserted from the back of the bell housing, rather than the front?

 

[spannerman]

Thats correct, disconnect the black plastic tube on the engine end of the cable by loosening 2 tiny square section screws slide it off, then unscrew the threaded guide tube so the outer cable has just the inner sticking out of it then remove the drive. The whole inner and outer cable is removed rearwards through the Gimbal (bell) housing as its swaged onto the nut you screw out, I have never attempted to just pull the cable out of the transom without removing the nut as the radius would be very tight and you'd probably damage the cable, also it could be tricky to get it back through the new gear cable bellows. You have to wriggle the brass cable end fitting into the end of the bellows which is quite tight, then insert it into the hole through the transom shield which is a close fit then negotiate the back of the engine and downpipe (hence my tip about using the inner cable as a guide) as the hole directs the new cable straight at these parts.
Also extremely important before you begin, is to feel down the cable where it disappears behind the exhaust downpipe and there should be a spiral plastic strip around the outer cable, work it upwards and unwind it as if you pull the outer through from outside it WILL jam the cable in the hole through the transom shield, (don't ask me how I know!) refit it after the cable is refitted.