adjusting pinion bearing preload bravo3 driveshaft

aerobat77

Active Member
Aug 12, 2014
807
germany
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hey gents !

i want to check or adjust my preload on the pinion of my bravo3 driveshaft - two years ago i had a mechanic to Change the clutch and now i have some "rattling" noise in idle .

i have the Special tool to remove the retainer nut and a Workshop Manual for adjusting the preload.

is the work straight Forward ? anybody has done this and some hints what to look for ?

any hints are very welcome !

best regards
 
I hope you get the pre-load on the pinion of your Bravo 3 correct as this just caused me a bunch of money.

The previous mechanics who just installed my brand new driveshaft with new u-joints and inner/outer bearings apparently didn't follow the manual or their tool readings were off and it ate up my coupler. The motor had to come out and now a Mercruiser certified mechanic told me that the pre-load was so loose that the shaft was walking back and forth and there are markings on my clutches where it was touching. He also said it looks like some washer or shim was missing too.

They just called and said everything is back in place and torqued to correct specifications and it ran fine on muffs and are now ready for a sea trial run.

I wish you luck with yours and let us know what procedures you used.
 
I do it by feel, not too loose and not too tight, some drag but not a lot. I've set up many pinions on cars and after a while you know. If you have one of them fancy inch pound dials, great. Of course the clutch has to be out and the pinion installed in the drive. Easy enough. If that's where the rattle is coming from, you can usually feel the up and down play in the installed pinion shaft before you take it apart.
 

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