I parked boat on the same beach in almost the same location last night, as I did when the pic was taken in the first post. No water entry! Does that make sense? I never had a drive off and certainly not a transom assembly, so I can't wrap my head around how the water is coming in.

Sorry for the newb attitude - I'm a techie and just trying to figure this out.

I had another thought - wondering if this "holds water". I get a good rush of water up over the swim platform when coming off plane. I try to goose it to get in front of that water, but that's not always feasible. What are the chances that water is rushing over the swim platform, and under the hatch - thus getting by the seal, running in to this area, collecting - then giving me the illusion that there is a leak?

It's 104 degrees in Henderson right now - I'd much rather be on the water, than wrenching on this thing!! :-)

Thanks for the dialog!

Terry

Had a leak I chased for a while same location. Ended up being the tiller arm seal. Had to pull engine to get it fixed.

To track it down once engine was out towed it to the lake, mechanic crawled in and I backed it in the water. Couldn't see anything so I went behind boat and jiggled the drive and splashed water all over the drive. Anyway. Got it fixed and everything is good. Possible to temporary fix by adding some grease back there till winter comes.

Not an expert hope this helps

Had this exact same problem with my 92 Bravo 1. Corrosion on the upper swivel shaft ruins the seal and you get constant water in the bilge. The leak can be intermittent at first but will eventually need replaced. Take a mirror and look in the area where the tiller arm goes through the transom and you will likely see the corrosion on the pin and arm. Mine was scary corroded. Common problem. Usually combined with steering play in the outdrive. Since mine was almost 20 years old I had the entire transom assembly replaced. Lots of new stuff comes with one of those. Bilge is bone dry now.

This just happened to me on a Bravo III boat, although not an offshore setup, similar equipment. It turned out to be the Gimble pin leaking. Ended up replacing pins, seals, bellows, shift cables, etc X2, kind of a bigger job (I did not do the work myself).

Do you trailer? We noticed it on launch when backing the transom into the water, the water would flow in. It was also intermittent and was hard to find until we noticed this. Open the hatch and have someone watch it when you back it into the water, you should be able to find where it's coming from. It would not always leak in when just tied up at the marina. Good luck, I feel your pain.

Does it happen while underway? I had the same problem with my boat, turned out to be the swivel pin. It fits in a "square hole" (yes, it's actually a square hole) in the Gimbal ring. It can be a pretty big job since you sometimes have to raise, or pull the motor to get to it.

A quick check is to wiggle the out drive side to side and see how much "play" there is, it's its excessive then your swivel pin/seal are probably shot. You will have to unhook your hydraulic steering arms to do this.

I ordered a stainless pin from JR marine and found a new Gimble ring on EBay, but, you can have your existing ring rebuilt if its worn.

Another thing to check is the "transom seal" this normally only leaks in salt water, but, you can try running a new bead of silicone/3M sealer around the transom assembly and see if it slows/stops the leak. Takes 15 mins and costs next to nothing.

Good Luck!

Follow 1BIGJIM's thread. Just did the JR Marine fix a few weeks ago with a friend on his BravoIII.
They are great guys to deal with. Will answer calls almost anytime of the day. Gave us his cell # cause he was going to be gone during the week.

And rebuild everything while it's apart. They have all of the parts.

It is the upper swivel shaft seal.

Typically external hydraulic steering puts less stress on this arrangement and causes less wear over time.

If one of the bellows (drive shaft or shift cable) was leaking the leak would be seen BELOW the drive shaft. You can fix this two ways, either follow BIGJIM's advice, or yank the engine and fix.

Typically this piece sits above the water line and won't leak except on slow down, or when you are anchored and water is splashing on the upper gimbal, but it is a fine line between leaking and not leaking. A couple fat asses on the transom can make it pour in!!

Whatever you do, DON'T be intimidated to work on these things. They are remarkably simple, it is just a matter of getting in there once and seeing how the puzzle goes together, and everyone on here will help you through it.

Yeah, I have no fear of tearing in to this. (was an ASE Master in my previous life) ....I fear being off the water for a week! We REALLY use this boat - and REALLY enjoy it.

I've looked a many pictures and read many threads of the swivel shaft seal leak. I must confess that you guys know you're $hit, and it appears as though you are exactly right.

I'll probably call JR Marine later this week and get the details. Are there any other vendors that have this "kit". Seems like JR is the primary source.

Thanks again!

Terry

It is only a 3-5hr job doing it the JR Marine way. The only thing that might cost some time is shipping your stuff to them for a core and then they send you a rebuilt piece. But that was only a 2 day turn around. Get a good bilge pump. My friends crapped out on him while it was leaking pretty good. He put it off.

This isn't "GOOD" advice, but since you're on fresh water, I'd probably just use it and fix it after the 4th.

Also, personally, I'd yank the engine and fix it that way replacing EVERYTHING while I was in there, but that is just me. The JR Marine way has worked for many, many people so that is just as good an option.