Bravo III Leaking 'Steering Pin' ?'s

[SloBurn]

My BIII is leaking, and my marina says it's coming from the steering pin seal. They want to replace entire transom assembly ($).
Seems correct as it only takes on water when there's enough people in stern to get top of drive mount under water. I've heard that an access hole can be drilled and seal replaced without removing/replace entire transom assembly. Has any one here ever done this, or had it done? I would probably have another marina do it due to lack of time on my part. Just wondering if it's feasible. TIA.

 

[scoflaw]

Sure is, Check out JR Marine's video. Biggest problem is the material Merc made the pin out of, it rusts and wipes out the seal. Stainless steel pins are available online for a $100. Done this repair several times, time consuming but straight forward wrenching

 

[Wanderer 290]

Scofflaw is correct. I did the jr marine repair on my 290 with twins 6 years ago and no leaks since.

 

[Korkie]

Just did jr marine repair on both of my drives at the end of last season. Stbd side sealed up real nice first time. Took 3 times to get the port side to seal up. The system works nicely as long as the assembly is not in beyond repair condition. Went this entire season w/o a drop from either side. Do not use the repair kit that drills holes in the sides of the upper transom assembly. From what I read in researching repair kits, no one has much success with that kit. Some pics for you.

 

[Henry Boyd]

I’d ask why SB’s Marina is recommending a transom assembly replacement. Steering pin replacements like the Merc recommended side holes, or the JR Marine with the whopping huge hole and cover plate have been around for a long time. That, and the age of the boat makes me think there is other stuff wrong as well.

We did a pin replacement and that worked great. Except two years after that we had to replace the transom assembly because of corrosion failure of the cooling fitting. My suggestion is to take a hard look at the whole thing. It would be a real pita to be back in the same place next year because something else failed in the transom assembly.

H

 

[b_arrington]

I spoke to my mechanic about the same type of job. He recommended pulling the engine to do the repair vs the kits. He’s tried the kits, and he can pull the engine and make the repair faster than using the kits. That saves time, and costs less as a result.

If the transom is in good shape and you want to do it yourself the jr marine kit is likely the way to go.

 

[scoflaw]

Question would be , is it easier to pull the engine or cut that square hole in the transom assembly, cause that's the only difference. That TA has to be completely disassembled either way. Some engines are easier to pull than others depending on the configuration and what else is in your way. Cutting the square hole is easy beans

 

[Korkie]

When I had mine done bout this time last year the cost was $1750 per drive. I did them also because I have 1100 hours on my motors and am contemplating needing to repower. Will do transom assemblies when that time comes. That price also included the standard drive service and zinks.

 

[Maggieiscrazy]

If you ever plan on selling the boat would the perspective buyer buy it with the outdrive mutilated? I sure wouldn’t.

 

[Craig]

I did the JR repair on my previous boat and it was much easier and cheaper than pulling the engine. Held up just fine. The ss pin pretty much eliminated the issue. Stock pin was not ss. Sold the boat several years later with no objections or observations about a mutilated drive from surveyor or buyer. Surveyor actually noted that a know issue had been addressed. Its a solid repair in my book. That's just my experience with it.

 

[Brite Idea]

I agree that a mechanic can R&R the engine just as fast as doing the JR repair. I question why your mechanic jumped right to replacing the transom assembly? As long as the seal seat is NOT damaged it's a pretty straight forward repair. I also agree that for resale purposes I wouldn't buy a boat that had the transom assembly hacked up. Maybe your mechanic has stock in Mercruiser?

 

[Thornton69]

I bet if there was a kit which provided the opportunity to grease that pin, it would last the life of the assembly.

 

[Korkie]

All of the above are good points. Guess it depends on what is in store for the future of the boat. In my case, with high hours on my motors, re powering is in my future. So the jr repair made sense as a temporary and quick fix. Boat was pulled on a Monday and back in the water fixed on Wednesday morning. If I had no intention of re powering, I would have certainly gone with the replacement of the transom assemblies.