Leak from Bravo III

Dave_P

Dave_P

New Member
Aug 17, 2020
15
Tampa, FL
Boat Info
2008 240 Sundancer
Engines
383 Mercruiser FWC
Hello all! So I had my mechanic take a look at this leak, they say the transom assembly needs replacement. Any seasoned techs wanna chime in?

 
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Looks like it's coming out where the trim hoses are. There's a gasket where that hose manifold bolts to the TA. How corroded does the TA look? I like to tilt the boat up as high as possible and fill the bilge with water to just below the starter and see where the water is leaking out from.
 
@scoflaw Thanks, I am very mechanically inclined when working on engines and transmissions out of cars, but sterndrives are out of my pay grade. I have tried filling the bilge with water, but the only visible leak I can see is about a drip every 20-30 seconds from the drain plug. I put some teflon tape on it, and that stopped.
 
Obviously you didn't get the boat up high enough and not enough water. You should be able to get it up about half way on the TA.
 
Ok, I will try it again. I don't have access to a trailer, I'll have to find the steepest wash rack at the marina.

As to corrosion, it looks like there is none.
 
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Yup trailer makes it easy. Do you see any water leaking when its in the water, looking down on the TA from on top of the motor? You would be able to see a swivel pin leak, goose neck leak from that angle. Assume all your bellows are good?
 
scoflaw said:
Yup trailer makes it easy. Do you see any water leaking when its in the water, looking down on the TA from on top of the motor? You would be able to see a swivel pin leak, goose neck leak from that angle. Assume all your bellows are good?
Click to expand...

No, I don't see anything from the top. The tech that crawled in there to shoot the video says that it's the steering pin leaking, but I thought that was higher up. It looks like it is coming from the lower part, not up top. I have only owned the boat for three weeks, it had a new 383 put in in 2019. Unfortunately, I went against my better judgement, and didn't get a survey (I know, I know.)

I am prepared to put a new TA in, I'm just worried that the transom itself is damaged from the water intrusion. I don't see any cracks or anything, but you never know. Apparently, it's been in high and dry since new, not that that matters.
 
You would see a steering pin leak from above. Not uncommon for the transom seal to fail, you could run a bead of caulking around the perimeter of the TA to confirm that. New TA's are like 3K for the part alone. That's why I asked how corroded does it look.
 
That's a heck of a lot of water. My TA steering pin was corroded and leaking and it wasn't leaking as bad as your video. In fact the previous owner let it go for years.

Are you sure one of your bellows isn't torn.
 
Agree with, way too much water for a swivel pin. If it's been a rack stored boat from day 1, I would think the TA would be in very good condition as well as the transom.
 
Agree - does not look like a typical steering pin leak. I replaced both of my steering pins due to one leaking last fall. Usually a leaking steering pin will show up with water coming out around the arm going through the transom and will start as a drip on to the drive shaft below. First indication I got was some surface rust on the shaft and a little water in the bilge daily. Used the JR kit on both.
 
Thanks for all the replies! I am going there now to inspect the bellows.
 
UPDATE: Went to the marina, and inspected the bellows. Everything seems to be intact, no tears or cracks. Hoses look to be connected fine. I went around and tapped the transom, as can be seen in this video. Sounds like everything in there is normal.

I included a link to all the pictures of in the engine compartment and around the outdrive.

https://imgur.com/a/4tls2GF

 
So based on what you're seeing here, should I be overly concerned? I don't have all the proper tools to take off the outdrive myself, otherwise this would already be taken apart. I've been considering buying a stand, but I would have to do all the work at the dry storage. Eventually I know I'll need one, though.
 
Overly concerned? Bud you have a massive leak. You can make a stand for short money. I gave you some tips already to find your leak. If you want to spend thousands to fix this than that could be your choice, certainly wouldn't be mine.
 
What I meant was: is this something that is going to be really expensive to fix. I don't know how else to tell you that I literally have nowhere to work on the boat except in the middle of the yard.

So, you're suggesting I go build a stand, bring a whole bunch of random tools that I have no idea if I need or not, take apart an outdrive on the first boat I've ever owned, all while not having a clue where to begin once it's apart, all in the middle of a marina parking lot in the blazing Florida sun...

Great advice.

I wasn't asking how to fix it, I was simply asking if anyone knew what it was. You have offered some great suggestions; the answer is simply "a whole bunch of things can make it leak from there, and there's no way for anyone to look at a video to make the determination." That's what I am taking away from this.
 
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