MAJOR serious advice needed.......

[fogducker III]

Gentlemen, I think I am screwed here..........in preperation for the engine install I started cleaning up the outdrive, transom and gimbal area.....while cleaning the gimbal bell housing I find this.....

Now I really can not figure out how it happened or what has actually caused it, is it the paint cracking? Hard to tell....it is not from being trimmed up too high, there are no other marks where it would have "pryed" against anything, is it from a "strike" ? Again, no other signs of that....the "crack" does not extend anywhere near the through pin which holds the housing to the gimbal ring....the bellows inside are intact and dry and I can not see any other damage anywhere....

Ideas on what this is and perhaps what caused it? Second and most important.....do I replace it or "hope" it is cosmetic???

We all know how much of a PITA it is to swap out as well as the $$ factor.....yes I know, "Better safe then sorry" but this is major $$$ that I can not really afford, even if I can find a suitable replacement, and I am thinking that this area of the housing does not really have any stress placed on it does it???

Your knowledgable input will be gratefully received...Jeremy

[yeller]

Are going to sand off the paint to confirm if it is actually cracked.

If it is cracked, maybe you could get it welded fairly cheap?

[fogducker III]

Are going to sand off the paint to confirm if it is actually cracked.

If it is cracked, maybe you could get it welded fairly cheap?

I think I will have to take it off no matter what....

I thought it was a PITA to weld cast?

Son of a ........!!!!

Just what I didn't need right now.....

Very confusing as to what caused it...?

[yeller]

I thought it was a PITA to weld cast?

I don't know. Not a welder. I do know I had the aluminum log manifolds on my 16 welded inside and out and it held up.

[DonziJon]

Doesn't look good. My "Guess" is that the universal joint struck the inside of the housing and tried to punch a hole through it. May have occurred while the drive was in a very razed position.. as when slowly piloting through very shallow water at idle speed. OR..the engine was started up without first lowering the drive. Everybody does it sooner or later.

A sloppy gimbal bearing may have allowed this to happen combined with a sloppy universal joint. Look for impact marks or dents inside the housing.

[DonziJon]

If that crack was caused by some defect in the casting, corrosion getting in the crack may be expanding the crack. If thats the case, welding is only a bandaid because you can never clean out the crack enough to prevent the corrosion from continuing.

[gcarter]

Removing the bell housing may be something you do want to do, it's not all that difficult to do.
And as far as welding goes, I had my gimbal housing welded where it had corroded through.
Welding is by far the cheapest way to fix this. Another bell housing is at least $400.00. My welding job cost about $80.00.
Kind of a no brainer.

[Carl C]

It's cast IRON that can't be welded. (at least not easily) I wonder how much stress is on this particular spot? Just maybe you could drill small holes at the ends of each crack to stop them from spreading, grind a groove in the cracks and fill with JB weld? I don't know, just a thought. I don't know how much stress this part takes or if safety would be compromised.

[fogducker III]

Doesn't look good. My "Guess" is that the universal joint struck the inside of the housing and tried to punch a hole through it. May have occurred while the drive was in a very razed position.. as when slowly piloting through very shallow water at idle speed. OR..the engine was started up without first lowering the drive. Everybody does it sooner or later.

A sloppy gimbal bearing may have allowed this to happen combined with a sloppy universal joint. Look for impact marks or dents inside the housing.

At first I thought that was a possibility, the rubber bellows are in 100% perfect shape, it would be hard to crack metal without marking rubber........ Gimbal bearing is A-1 condition as well....

Plus, the crack does not line up with the U-joints.....VERY strange place for a crack....

[fogducker III]

If that crack was caused by some defect in the casting, corrosion getting in the crack may be expanding the crack. If thats the case, welding is only a bandaid because you can never clean out the crack enough to prevent the corrosion from continuing.

Casting defect is a good possibility......I agree it could not be fixed 100%......

[fogducker III]

Removing the bell housing may be something you do want to do, it's not all that difficult to do.
And as far as welding goes, I had my gimbal housing welded where it had corroded through.
Welding is by far the cheapest way to fix this. Another bell housing is at least $400.00. My welding job cost about $80.00.
Kind of a no brainer.

Good to know George, I always thought welding cast aluminium was a no-no......shows what I know....

As far as removing the housing, might be simple for some.....I don't even have the right socket to remove the shift cable retaining nut, let alone the twelve point "tool" needed for the housing to gimbal ring pins....

Then there is the stupid threaded plastic insert for the water tube that always breaks when removed and on top of that, trying to get the light metal ring that retains the bellows off without damaging it......


I realize it will have to come off, I was just hoping for some devine intervention.......

[fogducker III]

It's cast IRON that can't be welded. (at least not easily) I wonder how much stress is on this particular spot? Just maybe you could drill small holes at the ends of each crack to stop them from spreading, grind a groove in the cracks and fill with JB weld? I don't know, just a thought. I don't know how much stress this part takes or if safety would be compromised.

Good points Carl....

I knew it was cast something... I agree, I am not sure what stress is on that area either, but what is puzzling me is what caused it....

Bottom line, it has to come off to at least find out how bad it is and also to either replace or repair.......there goes my weekend....

[gcarter]

As far as removing the housing, might be simple for some.....I don't even have the right socket to remove the shift cable retaining nut, let alone the twelve point "tool" needed for the housing to gimbal ring pins....

Then there is the stupid threaded plastic insert for the water tube that always breaks when removed and on top of that, trying to get the light metal ring that retains the bellows off without damaging it......

You can use an Allen hex insert type of tool to remove the pins, that's what I use. And I assure you they're torqued correctly.
The plastic pieces, the hose, and the thin metal ring need to be replaced anyway. None of this stuff is expensive. Of course I did away w/my hose all together!!!

[fogducker III]

You can use an Allen hex insert type of tool to remove the pins, that's what I use. And I assure you they're torqued correctly.
The plastic pieces, the hose, and the thin metal ring need to be replaced anyway. None of this stuff is expensive. Of course I did away w/my hose all together!!!

Points taken, living in the "boonies" it is not the expense of items, just finding them....

As you are well aware, it is just the frustration of these additional problems that "pop" up that is annoying.........onward....

[mphatc]

If this was caused by something mechanical, there will be a scar inside. If it is a crack or fracture, the entire crack needs to be removed and the material rebuilt by welding, then reshaped, and painted.

to remove the crack, a die grinder and a carbide burr. Welding should be done while the whole piece is fully heated . .

this won't be to expensive to repair . . . and it gives you something to do on the boat during the off season.

Mario L.