what is this ? (SX drive 'substance'

jontmiller · **Joined:** Thu Jul 26, 2012 8:16 am **Posts:** 296

Pulled boat for the season, its been in the water drive down for the whole summer. We live on a pretty green lake with a pretty impressive Zebra Mussel infestation problem. Mussels were all over the outdrive and this weird jelly like substance hanging between the drive and exhaust bellows. Pretty gross really and I wasn't sure if it might be biologic or maybe something from the drive system indicating a bellows issue. Thanks for looking

image by millerjont, on Flickr

taz42169 · **Posted:** Wed Oct 09, 2013 11:58 am

Looks like some sort of sealife!

LouC · **Posted:** Wed Oct 09, 2013 12:04 pm

Welcome to my world ....2+ hrs of cleaning the drive at the end of each season...WITH anti fouling paint on it.
I pressure wash the worst off (don't hit the bellows though) and then use Algex to clean the rest off.

My next innovation in the maintenance of IOs in salt water is to use a flexible paint for antifouling on both bellows (like paint for inflatables).

kd4pbs · **Joined:** Thu Sep 05, 2013 10:34 am **Posts:** 350

Well, unless Bill Clinton owned that boat before, I'd guess it's some sort of stuff secreted from a fish.

blue dragon · **Joined:** Tue Jul 12, 2011 5:01 pm **Posts:** 792

kd4pbs wrote:

Well, unless Bill Clinton owned that boat before, I'd guess it's some sort of stuff secreted from a fish.

Don't you mean Monika?

230 Mike · **Posted:** Wed Oct 09, 2013 3:32 pm

Looks like mussel puke to me. I can't imagine what a drive could do to produce something like that.

ric · **Posted:** Wed Oct 09, 2013 4:33 pm

Unless you got it really excited...

jontmiller · **Joined:** Thu Jul 26, 2012 8:16 am **Posts:** 296

You guys should all keep your day jobs !

Thanks for looking, do they come off any easier after a few days to dry out? Pressure washer got a bunch off but lots left and I obviously didn't hose down the bellows area too aggressively.

Winter Sux · **Posted:** Wed Oct 09, 2013 6:36 pm

I'm not certain but I think that's the way underwater vegetation sends out their seedlings in that goo.

LouC · **Posted:** Wed Oct 09, 2013 7:52 pm

We get that, oysters, barnacles, soft growth, hard growth, seen it all.
My battle with it includes the fall clean up, the spring prep for paint and paint job (2 brushed on coats of Trilux, and sprayed on in the pivot housing) and then pulling the boat in August to clean it again and clean out the water intakes, check drive oil and paint it AGAIN. If I do that, its fairly clean when I take it out in Oct. If not, its a bearded growth farm.

Its only the ridiculous increase in the cost of outboards that induces me to keep doing this.

Now on the other hand, we have beautiful salt water boating, we never have low water, rarely have high water causing floods unless we have a storm like Sandy (really rare) and never had a season were we could not be boating because of droughts. And salt water doesn't rot transoms LOL....

JohnnyMarlin · **Posted:** Wed Oct 09, 2013 10:55 pm

I'm curious what it tastes like? :shock:

Graham R · **Posted:** Thu Oct 10, 2013 4:39 pm

JohnnyMarlin wrote:

I'm curious what it tastes like? :shock:

I'm not !!!!!!!

www.iFourWinns.com

what is this ? (SX drive 'substance'

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