What happens when a U-Joint bellows tears....


sprink49

sprink49

New member
....this is the result!!!.

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I kept looking for the source of a loud whine when I would start the starboard engine on my '79 Formula 255 Liberator. Well I knew the U-Joint Bellows was torn but I had not pulled the Upper Unit off until today.....I think I found my problem. When I pulled it off the gimbal housing a double hand full of a greasy, muddy, rocky, sandy goo plopped out on the driveway. I reached in to see if I could even turn the gimbal bearing...yes barely and it sounds like rubbing 2 pieces of sand paper together.

So boys and girls...this is what happens when we run a Mercruiser Stern-drive with a torn U-Joint Bellows...the photos speak for themselves.

What I am trying to figure out is what went through the mind of the last A$$ hole that ran this thing?

Unbelievably, the drive shaft and the U-Joints turn freely...I'm almost afraid to look inside the gear case. I think I'm going to pull the "helmet" and do a gimbal bearing/seal /bellows replacement (after I clean it up LOL) and figure on replacing the drive.

What pisses me off is that this could have been avoided.
 
TORN BELLOWS ON A MERC WILL ALSO SINK THE BOAT, IF PUMP DONT WORK, OR BATTERIES GO DEAD.
I BELIEVE YOU CAN GET JUST THE U JOINTS, WITHOUT THE COMPLETE SHAFT ASSEMBLY.
 
why are you replacing the drive? have you drained the oil yet? i would drain the oil and if there are no signs of water, have the unit pressure checked. if that all checks out you should be good to go. the u-joint is available seperately and not hard to install. i would definitely replace it if you are reusing this drive.
 
OK..Update...I started dis assembly to replace the U-Joint/Shift bellows as well as the gimbal bearing and found that the grooved flange that holds the U-Joint bellows to the transom assembly is completely corroded away at the 6~7 O'clock location.

Now I have to remove the starboard engine to replace the transom assembly. I'm on the look out for a good clean used Alpha I unit and have a good source here in South Florida. I think while I have the starboard out that I will take the port out as well and re-paint the bilge as well as re-rig a few things.

Stay tuned....
 
Formula Tenn said:
hey dude, might wanna check this out before ya go ta snatchin motors out. just a suggestion.

http://www.boatbandit.com/gimbal-housing-repair-kit-mercruiser-alpha-one-gen-ii-10967.aspx

supposed to be a way to repair those things without buying a new housing. ya might have ta copy and paste this into your web browser.
Click to expand...

Whoa Buddy...I never new this existed!!! I have to look into this...this changes everything!!!

I'm going to try to find someone that has done this...do you know of anyone?

Thanks...I'll let you know what I learn.
 
i do not know of anyone personally who has used this repair. i wish i could think of the magazine article that did a full story on it.........anyway, it's been a few years ago. i read the article and the people doing the article were impressed with this product. power boating, hot boats, something like that. if i can find anything, i'll let ya know.
 
Hey Tenn,

I ran across a guy down here that has a shop in 'lauderdale and Hendersonville, Tn. He winters down here because ...there's just not much going on around Nashville boating this time of year. Anyway...he brought back some good clean freshwater No. 1 Transom assemblies so I got one from him including the rams and hoses. This one has a good tight steering bushing and he's going to pull the 260 and replace it for me for $700 labor...not bad considering he's installing my new gimbal bearing and transom seal kit as well as hooking it all up and adjusting it...$1300 A~Z parts and labor.
 
that sounds like a pretty good deal. hard to beat a good ole boy from Tennessee ain't it ;) i gave one of those to my mechanic last year while i was cleaning out my garage. i had quite a few spare alpha parts that i wasn't gonna need anymore that were takin up too much space. i gave them all to my mechanic so i'm good on service work for a while ;D
 
OK...the 255 is "under the knife" right now getting the starboard engine pulled and replacing the transom assembly A~Z. We are going to comb through everything in the bilge while the starboard engine is out....(trim pumps, bilge pumps, blowers, etc)

I'm ready to get this rig on the water and go boating!!
 
Update:

She's back together and the initial run with 19" aluminum props gave us GPS at 62.5...21" Mirage Plus gave us 5 more at 67.5 at 4900 RPM. I have some distributor issues now and will probably get a pair of Mallory Marine electronics to replace the 2: Accel Automotice units I have...not reliable...stay tuned for updates.
 
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