Slight seawater leak behind port engine at outdrive.

[bruce griffith]

I have a 325 with base engines that we bought new. The drives are Bravo II. The bellows have never been changed, however I had a shop check them 4 years ago. I suspect the bellows are leaking. Has anyone had this condition and what was your experience? Our shop is going to check this out after the holidays. I am aware that the suggested service time for bellows service is 5 years. As usual, your expert opinion is appreciated. Griff

[builderdude]

Time to pull the drives and inspect things. Don’t be surprised if they find several other items in need of repair/replacement during the bellows replacement.
If your leak is in fact bellows related universal joint crosses and gimbal bearings will be high on the list. Input shaft seal may have also been compromised. Other potential areas of wear are the upper steering pin (square shaft and its seal) along with the possible corrosion build up crushing down on the water hose where it passes through the gimbal housing (Bravoitis).

[Nauti_Mike]

I agree with Dave has said but you didn’t say the area of the leak, did you find the point of entry? Could also be a leaking swivel shaft, leaking transom assembly seal.

[MonteVista]

Definitely should check and discover what's happening. I am a little skeptical about the bellows being the culprit if the condition has existed for a while. I think once a bellow suffers a tear or similar its size will keep on increasing and the problem will become more severe. Are you noticing more than usual water in the bilge, constantly? If so you need to look under the engine with a mirror to see if the oil pan cover is rusted. That would be bad news as it requires an engine removal to fix plus a very expensive parts cost. You have to be certain the there is no transom breach. I had that problem and had to remove the entire drive, transom and engine to do costly repairs. In my case the culprit was the sealing compound (not enough of it) between the transom plate and the transom. I Hope it is not anything like that for you.

Good luck!

[bruce griffith]

Thanks all. Our shop will be looking into the leak situation right after the holidays. Will let you all know. We expect it will be a little expensive. Griff