www.iFourWinns.com

ive got most of my mechanical issues sorted out and this might seem like a silly question, but id like to hear the input anyway. What should i look for and what would be prudent to replace as far as anything that would allow water in the boat??

How often do you guys replaces hoses etc??

There is a drive shaft bellow and a shift cable bellow between the the gimble housing and the out drive. These bellows will let water into the boat, and should be checked on a regular basis .

If you are in a situation where you have to change the bellows you should inspect the gimble bearing when you are in there.

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2004 - 288 Vista
Twin - 5.0 Volvo Penta GXi DP

Your thread title "Sinking 328", made me think Oh boy, someone had a bad day (boat sank). On that note, in addition to making sure your bellows are in good shape, also made sure your bilge pumps and float switches are working properly. Having the city water connection on while away from your boat can also cause a sinking when bilge pumps are not working properly and you have a failure somewhere in your city water plumbing.

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Current Boat
- 2001 Four Winns 328 Vista "Hour Decision"
- 2010 310 Mercury Inflatable

Previous Boats
- 30' Doral Prestancia
- 25' Doral Citation

In addition to the driveshaft bellows and the shift cable bellows (on a Volvo they rarely leak and are usually above the water line anyway) there are other hoses to be checking. Mainly the raw water intake hose inside the boat, that goes from the transom mount, usually to a power steering cooler, then to the impeller on the engine mounted water pump then to the thermo housing. If the hose before the pump leaks, it will leak water into the boat because its below the water line. If the hose after the impeller leaks when the engine is running it will pump water into the boat, very fast. So I'd go over all those hoses, they usually last a very long time because they are not under pressure like in a closed system and they don't get hot. Also check the big hose from the t-stat housing to the front circulating pump (this one does get hot) and the hoses feeding the exhaust manifolds. Just make sure the hose clamps are tight.
Take a look at the rubber exhaust hoses that connect the risers with the Y pipe, if these leak they can also let water in. This usually only happens in a bad overheat where the cooling water was cut off and the hoses were exposed to the hot exhaust gases.

See this is why I like outboards, there are many places where the design of an I/O can let water in. This doesn't happen with outboards, except older boats with low transoms.


Then check your bilge pumps, many boats have inadequate ones. I keep an emergency 2000 gph Rule that I can hook up to the battery posts with alligator clips and it has a discharge hose that I can hang over the gunnel if I had a bad leak.

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Thanks Everyone! busy holiday season and all... i'll check all of that stuff..

What should i look for on the bellows beside obvious cracks etc? How often should they be replaced?? boat is a 99.. assuming they may be original?

now, how hard is it to remove these drives to replace them?? ive done a Cobra drive before and that was cake.. on these i dont see any bolts?? but i haven't gone any further than a peek around..

thanks again everyone and Happy New Year!

They are almost exactly the same to remove as a Cobra because when OMC and Volvo went into the joint venture Volvo adapted OMC's transom design. The only hitch that sometimes happens is that since the Volvo does not use a gasket between the drive and the transom mount like the Cobra has, it can corrode on if not removed every so often.
The bellows, you can look inside after removing the drive with a really bright flashlight and look for cracks starting in the rubber, check the outside with the drive tilted all the way up before you remove it. Any cracks then time to replace. No cracks, no water inside its still good. My Cobra's about 10 years old, no cracks that I can see but still probably time for a new one.

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

Thanks Lou, i'll check em out good and probably replace just for safety and sanity

doesn't sound too bad.

If you do have leaks in your bellows and water has gotten in, on top of checking the gimbal bearing, also check the ujoints on the drive shaft. If there is any rust, consider replacing. Expensive but worth it.

And the input bearing seal which can leak if the shaft rusts and tears up that seal. All the more reason why pulling the drives once a year is advised.

_________________
88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II