Mercruser = **** bellows

Smeghead said:
have a look at this picture
I THINK the brown sludge is seeping from where the large pipe on the left that to me looks about 1.25", (that in this picture ends around where the most left engine mount is) is where its seeping in through where it goes through the transom to the outdrive.
Does that tell you anything more?

3.0tks.jpg
Click to expand...

I don't know your engine, but coming in from the transom you should have an oil monitor pipe (i'm guessing this is the smaller pipe higher up) the water pick up (which it looks the most likely but on my 350MAG its a MUCH thicker pipe) and then the rest will be your wiring and hydraulic pipes.

Your drive shaft will come in through the gimbal bearing just above the exhaust outlet.

If it is the water pick up this won't be giving you the 'coffee' oil...... just water!!! If it is your monitor pipe, and it's leaking 'coffee' then thats is bad news??

Can you give more info on where the pipe goes on to the transom shield??
 
I'll have to take a pic of it, but do you see that 1.25" pipe I was talking about?
Lift that up 6 inches and thats where it goes through
The water intake pipe is that huge 4" pipe im pretty sure
 
Smeghead said:
I'll have to take a pic of it, but do you see that 1.25" pipe I was talking about?
Lift that up 6 inches and thats where it goes through
The water intake pipe is that huge 4" pipe im pretty sure
Click to expand...

The 4" pipe is the exhaust. The 1.25" pipe will be your water intake.

The water intake pipe attaches to a rigid piece of plastic pipe which passes through the gimbal housing. The plastic pipe is sealed (or should be) to the gimbal housing by a soft, tapered rubber collar which is compressed in position by an oval plate held on with two bolts.

If the plastic pipe is split, or the rubber collar is loose or broken, that would let water in but it would be relatively clean, not an oily sludge.
 
ExcaliburII said:
The 4" pipe is the exhaust. The 1.25" pipe will be your water intake.

The water intake pipe attaches to a rigid piece of plastic pipe which passes through the gimbal housing. The plastic pipe is sealed (or should be) to the gimbal housing by a soft, tapered rubber collar which is compressed in position by an oval plate held on with two bolts.

If the plastic pipe is split, or the rubber collar is loose or broken, that would let water in but it would be relatively clean, not an oily sludge.
Click to expand...


+1
 
My local shop told me $300-$350 to replace the bellows. Thats actually alot better than I was expecting.
So i'll take her there as soon as I can, hopefully be leak-free after that
 
Smeghead said:
My local shop told me $300-$350 to replace the bellows. Thats actually alot better than I was expecting.
So i'll take her there as soon as I can, hopefully be leak-free after that
Click to expand...

The others have pointed out what I was politely suggesting, you had got the exhaust alittle confused with the water intake!!

Seriously you'll be doing the right thing by getting her checked over by somebody who knows what they are doing...... It's just not worth the risk!!

One other thought that I had that might just explain your symptoms. The oil monitor & water pick up pipes come up through the transom very close together, now maybe, just maybe you might have a slight leak from the monitor pipe joint and also a bigger leak from the water pick up and the 2 are mixing as the drip down the transom giving the 'Chocolate milk'.......... Just a thought, I've learnt with this boating lark, never to rule anything out.

Good luck.
 
ok, I always thought masses amounts of water was required for cooling so I figured that big bendy pipe was it, if its the exhaust well ok then, now I know :D

I guess I know now it was a waste of time me wrapping it up over the winter really haha
 
coffee oil

The coffee colour liquid you are seeing is the oil from the drive. I think your top seal has failed on the drive, your bellows possibly have a small leak and its overfilling and coming through your gimbal bearing and back into the boat.

Get the boat lifted remove the drive and you will see.

This is common on Mercruiser that not been maintained for a long period

Sorry to be bearer of bad news but i lay may life on this as the fault see it week in week out
 
I'm with Gingie on this, there is a small drain hole in the transom shield from the gimbal bearing, so if the bellows have let in seawater it will have rusted the shaft where it goes into the drive which knackers the seal, then you get water and oil in the bellows and it drains out into the boat from the hole just under the drive shaft where it comes through the transom.
 
" this is my problem, and not uncommon with Mercruiser"

Whole post a warning about outdrives in general,nasty horrible over complicated pieces of cheapskate junk foisted on the unsuspected boaty public.
However this horrid mal-conceived incubus of alloy and rubber moves a lot of boats and gives loads of people a lot of fun so we have to make the best of things.
If you think of buying a boat with one these things hanging off the back,it is vital that you find out if the thing has been maintained by regular changing of
A.Rubberware
B.Fluids.

...and you want paper PROOF not vague reassurances,the first thing that is forgotton about when many folks are flogging a boat is getting stuff serviced,it costs money and no one wants to spend it .....even when everthing is OK.
You the buyer,will be paying for the results.
Get it right,lots of fun,get wrong and buy somebody elses trouble.
 
*update for those who care



Well the boat is ready for me to pick up now.
Apparently the shift bellows were leaking and corroded so they replaced the entire shift kit.
They said that would explain the oil/grease in the water leaking in. :confused:

ok whatever so long as its no longer leaking. I guess water was not getting into the gears after all. Lets hope

They are charging me $382 US so I spose thats not too bad, especially as thats split between me and my friend who is the co-owner

I'll be back on the lake tonight! :D
 
......and in my tenth year of owning VP sterndrive equipped boats, now on the second one, no problems (touch wood). However, I do follow the recommended service items/ intervals, which is very, very easy for anyone with any semblance of practical ability. No doubt a shaft driven boat left to it's own devces in salt water with no maintenance could also prove expensive.

Graham
 
GrahamHR said:
No doubt a shaft driven boat left to it's own devces in salt water with no maintenance could also prove expensive.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately there is a bit of an anti-outdrive fringe on here who like to take every opportunity to bad mouth outdrive boats. Its presumably because they are fed up of being overtaken by outdrive propelled boats as they trundle along in their steam age technology shaft drive.

The OP in this thread got his drive repaired for under $400. Replacing a shift cable is something a competent DIYer can do in a few hours, and the parts are around £100, so not exactly and end of the world problem to have.

Shafts are without doubt simpler mechanically than outdrives, but they can and do go wrong. In this thread Bilges full of oil on a shaft drive boat, the gearbox had to come out to fix the problem. If that had been an outdrive boat, someone would have posted "what do you expect if you have the gearbox hanging off the back of the boat dangling in sea water"...

I think I will stick with the performance and economy of my complicated outdrive, keep it maintained it properly and fix it if it goes wrong. If I want simple I will get a rowing boat. :rolleyes:
 
Shafts are without doubt simpler mechanically than outdrives,

1 x Alloy Shield
1x Alloy Leg casing
2 x Rams
1 x U/J.
4 x Stainless hoses and assorted unions
2 x Electric Motors
2 x Hydraulic Pumps
4 x Electric relays
1 x Control unit on dash
1 x Angle of the Dangle Dials and Senders on Leg.
1 x gear shift Rubber
1 x U/J Bellows
1 x Exhaust Bellows
1 x Water hose
1 x U/J oil seal
1 x Gearchange Oil seal
1 x Prop shaft Oil seal
2 x Steering Fork plastic bushes
1 x Steering Fork Seal
1 x Complicated set of springs and stuff to keep leg down when reversing
1 x Ring Anode
1 x Bar anode
8 Jubilee clamps
Add a nightmare of cogs/bearings/shims/shafts then marinate it all in the water for 2 years min .....
Outdrives,whats not to like.........:)
Nearly forget to add needs 2 props cos it will not work properly with one !
 
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