Gimbal bearing and bellows need to be done?

muskokamarc

Member
May 28, 2018
200
Muskoka
Boat Info
1985 Sea Ray 210 Monaco
Engines
230HP Alpha One
Hi all, if you saw my previous (2 year long) thread it seems like the flooded engine has been resolved by replacing the mechanical fuel pump (also had a tune up and carb rebuild).

1) However, when i picked the boat up from the marina it sounded quite loud when i was driving it home. I think it could be the gimbal bearing but am not sure. I have a video here of the boat being restarted after being driven and sitting for 45 minutes and you may be able to hear it slightly. Does this sound like the gimbal bearing?


2) Also, since they adjusted the float and changed the mechanical fuel pump, the revs seem to bounce around (as you can hear in the video). Is this an issue?

3) I found quite a bit of water in the bilge area of the boat when i picked it up. I think the boat was sitting in the water for quite some time. Is it likely the bellows are leaking? I don't think they have been changed in 10+ years at least.

Thanks
 
10+ … YEARS!
186BB653-FE06-4499-9E35-782BA76D4396.gif
 
Yeah I called the marina and they will do all the bellows and gimbal together. I should get a detailed quote soon and will share the details. It’s about $2500CAD which is about $1900USD… everything is crazy expensive where I am, but I’ll probably stick with this marina since they’ve been accommodating.

will go back to them on the idle revs when I do bellows.
 
It is my grandfathers boat and his health deteriorated. He was not able to take care of the boat so I am doing my best to keep it alive...

Yea, 10 years is a long time. I wouldn't go more than 2, and that's pushing it IMO. I always did the service myself and changed every year, bellows, water tube, lube, oil, etc.

I think you can assume it is leaking, and probably your gimbal bearing and u-joint are toast. In any event you'll need to service it. Hard to tell from your video sound, but I seem to detect a metallic noise I don't like. What it is I cannot tell.
 
Yea, 10 years is a long time. I wouldn't go more than 2, and that's pushing it IMO. I always did the service myself and changed every year, bellows, water tube, lube, oil, etc.
I think you can assume it is leaking, and probably your gimbal bearing and u-joint are toast. In any event you'll need to service it. Hard to tell from your video sound, but I seem to detect a metallic noise I don't like. What it is I cannot tell.
Good point, it is a metallic like noise. They will also do the water tube…
 
Hate to chime in but 2 yrs on bellows is silly if I am reading that right. 2 yrs on impeller yes bellows 6 to 8 depending on how its stored and environment it is in. You could get 10 yrs but that is pushing on yearly use. I am no mechanic just what I use to do with I/O when I had them. On your problem with boat vacuum/timming /carb like last guy mentioned
 
Bellows (u-joint, shift cable, exhaust) should be inspected periodically, but there is no set schedule for replacement. The life of bellows etc can vary greatly depending on where and how the boat is used. Moored in salt water with heavy growth - could be a 3-5 year cycle. Freshwater on a lift or trailer much longer. Same with the gimbal bearing, the older style that is greaseable can last the life of the engine, the new sealed ones not as long.

Case in point, my SeaRay is a 1999, I replaced the bellows, shift cable, trim senders for the first time in 2015 - 16yrs! At that point the shift bellows was starting to leak and the trim sender was acting flakey - but the u-joint, exhaust bellows and gimbal bearing were in good serviceable condition. Boat is freshwater use and stored dry.

My new boat has a Volvo DPS - it's a 2014, original bellows etc. - previous own had it serviced annually - I don't plan on replacing bellows anytime soon, just continue the annual service / inspections.

So my point is, when it comes to these items, the maintenance is really an inspection and pulling the drive every 2nd or 3rd year -- I pull mine every 3rd - inspect, grease everything, check alignment and replace the Alpha I water pump. Even at 3yrs, my water pump impellers look fine - but I do replace those anyhow. Salt water or boats that are in the water for the whole season, maybe pull every year. Automatically replacing these items at short interval is fine, but not necessary. If you have every done any of this work yourself, you know that these parts are solid - the bellows are thick rubber and designed to last a long time.
 
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The problem with waiting many years is the small leak that goes undetected, and eventually you get a bad bearing, u-joint, wood rot...

I looked at it this way, if I'm going to pull it apart to inspect it I might as well replace the parts.

YMMV
 
Yeah I called the marina and they will do all the bellows and gimbal together. I should get a detailed quote soon and will share the details. It’s about $2500CAD which is about $1900USD… everything is crazy expensive where I am, but I’ll probably stick with this marina since they’ve been accommodating.

will go back to them on the idle revs when I do bellows.
That price is not bad if it includes the exhaust bellows and the shift bellows as well as the gimbal bearing. If your trim sensors are not working this would be the time to replace those too.
 
Yeah I called the marina and they will do all the bellows and gimbal together. I should get a detailed quote soon and will share the details. It’s about $2500CAD which is about $1900USD… everything is crazy expensive where I am, but I’ll probably stick with this marina since they’ve been accommodating.

will go back to them on the idle revs when I do bellows.
That’s about what I paid last year. Included haul, power wash, and trim sensors on outdrive.
Make sure that includes haul and wash. Or you may get hit for another few hundred.
 
Some background on my boat. It has 650 hours on it... Always been stored on a lift out of the water. Only ever been in a fresh water lake. Glad to see they included the trim senders (see below) as the gauge has stopped working (wire chewed up in the engine bay i think).

Is there anything else i should have them do while they have the drive off? Impeller was done a couple years ago so i think that is fine. The boat has maybe 20 hours over the last 6 years so it is not getting much use.

Here is the quote from the Marina which I welcome thoughts/opinions on:

-REPLACE THE U JOINT BELLOWS, EXHAUST
BELLOWS, SHIFT CABLE & SHIFT CABLE BELLOWS,
WATER INTAKE HOSE, TRIM SENDERS & WIRING
LEADS, BELLHOUSING SHIFT SHAFT SEAL/BUSHING
ASS'Y & THE GIMBAL BEARING.

-REINSTALL OUTDRIVE ON THE BOAT, ADJUST THE
TRIM LIMIT & TRIM GAUGE SENDERS.

-LAUNCH, START UP, ADJUST SHIFTING.

-TEST RUN BOAT, OK.

$2,600 CAD = $1,900 USD
 
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Looks like a complete list to me. There could be additional work depending on what they find.

Friends of mine's experience is that a boat with little use has rubber bits going bad faster than lightly used boats. By lightly I mean somewhat regular use. The same is true for lots of mechanical systems. Use is better than sitting.

In any event, you're getting it done.
 
Looks like a complete list to me. There could be additional work depending on what they find.

Friends of mine's experience is that a boat with little use has rubber bits going bad faster than lightly used boats. By lightly I mean somewhat regular use. The same is true for lots of mechanical systems. Use is better than sitting.

In any event, you're getting it done.
What other kind of issues could I expect them to find if anything? Just curious.
 
That’s about what I paid last year. Included haul, power wash, and trim sensors on outdrive.
Make sure that includes haul and wash. Or you may get hit for another few hundred.
What do you mean by haul and wash? I don’t think that’s included though.
 
Some background on my boat. It has 650 hours on it... Always been stored on a lift out of the water. Only ever been in a fresh water lake. Glad to see they included the trim senders (see below) as the gauge has stopped working (wire chewed up in the engine bay i think).

Is there anything else i should have them do while they have the drive off? Impeller was done a couple years ago so i think that is fine. The boat has maybe 20 hours over the last 6 years so it is not getting much use.

Here is the quote from the Marina which I welcome thoughts/opinions on:

-REPLACE THE U JOINT BELLOWS, EXHAUST
BELLOWS, SHIFT CABLE & SHIFT CABLE BELLOWS,
WATER INTAKE HOSE, TRIM SENDERS & WIRING
LEADS, BELLHOUSING SHIFT SHAFT SEAL/BUSHING
ASS'Y & THE GIMBAL BEARING.

-REINSTALL OUTDRIVE ON THE BOAT, ADJUST THE
TRIM LIMIT & TRIM GAUGE SENDERS.

-LAUNCH, START UP, ADJUST SHIFTING.

-TEST RUN BOAT, OK.

$2,600 CAD = $1,900 USD
Engine alignment, anodes and water pump kit come to mind, but you may have just forgot to include it in your list.
 

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