I dont think it was the hole that was cut for the drive, it didn't leak before, and it seems to be leaking in "beside" the raw water hose, but, not from the hose/elbow itself.

I hadn't planned on trying to seal up the actual swivel pin seal, just the cavity where the raw water pump passes through and the water is actually leaking in.

It only leaks if the boat sits in the water for extended amounts of time, I dont leave the boat in the water overnite, and as soon as I pull the boat out at the end of the day I pull the plug and drain everything that might be in the bilge, or I keep in on a lift in a neihbours boathouse, so, its not taking on alot of water. I am gonna crawl inside and make sure everything is tight and sealed up, but, will probably just nurse it through until the fall and then have a new transom assembly put on, or, just fix the swivel pin/seal if everything else looks OK

There IS a fair amount of side to side play in the outdrive, so, I have had serveral people tell me that this is a good indication of the swivel pin being shot?.

Its a pretty pricey job to fix, so, I want to make sure thats what it is BEFORE I fix/replace it. Thanks for all the input!

Michael

I hope u don't loose it going @50 MPH ,,,deadly !!!!!!!!!!

Your not running your car with a broken steering ,,,do ya???????

No, I have been limiting that kind of stuff, mainly just cruising at part throttle and NO sharp turns or anything, I am gonna check the other steering components this weekend and make sure there is NOTHING else that is loose, I am not a real "Throttle Pounder" or anything, I go for the odd short blast [10-20 seconds] in a straight line, but, its mostly mid throttle cruising.

I HAVE to fix the leak anyway, but, was curious?, would external steering fix the problem?, of would I still have to fix all the stuff anyway?, again, just curious, have heard alot of positive things about hydraulic steering

Thanks!
Michael

You would still need to fix it yes but the steering would make all those parts last a lot longer once you replace them.

What He Said !!

Great!, Thats something I might look at, I dont think I would need hydraulic steering all the way to the helm?, would single ram be OK or do you need double? any input regards this steering set up would be greatly appreciated!

I am also considering changing to a new transom assembly, instead of just tearing my existing one off and having it rebuilt, its already got a "kit" in it, so, if its gonna cost a big chunk to rebuild would I be better off just replacing it?

Any thoughts welcomed and appreciated!
Michael

Any input on the steering/transom question?? I have heard that the Bravo XR drive takes a different [HP] gimble than the regular Bravo does?, is this true?, eventually I would like to repower with either a stock 500/525 EFI or a
496/Raylar, would a Bravo 1X drive work better, or should I go with the XR? I need to rebuild/replace the gimble assembly anyway, so, I would like to do it right, not twice,

THANKS!
Michael