Gimbal ring/gimbal housing rebuild-pics

[Quint4]

I had lots of side to side play in my Bravo II outdrive and a steady drip of water in the bilge. The culprit was a worn out swivel shaft, seal, & and gimbal ring. I bought this boat in March '08 and decided to replace everything while I had it tore down.
This was a two month task and lots of work. I am fearless when it comes to mechanical work and have merc manuals and CSR to help ! Here is the readers digest version of the process :

Gimbal housing with outdrive removed (lots of work ahead)

Bell housing removed

I used the JR marine kit to access the swivel shaft nut (beats pulling the motor)

was I nervous...hell yeah.

nice big hole in the gimbal housing to access swivel shaft nut

gimbal ring off ...note "rounded out" area at top where swivel shaft fits...this is the reason for the "sloppy" outdrive

this the removed swivel shaft...what a corroded mess !

Here is a few shots of the u-joint replacement process. I used Autozones tool loan program for the press ( outdrive to be sanded and painted )

new crosses in

pulling the gimbal bearing with a slide hammer.Took a little persuasion but came out pretty easy (I've heard horror stories on getting these out)

gimbal bearing out...I made some marks for depth and to line up grease hole for the new gimbal bearing

driving in new bearing with a mandrel ( another loaner tool)

new bearing installed

after sanding a coat of Interlux Primocon was in order...

Then two coats of Interlux antifouling ( $90 for three spray cans of paint...ouch).

new parts!!! ( note my new impeller...that's another thread)

I sent the Gimbal Ring to JR marine for repair. I also bought a stainless swivel shaft & u bolt from them

ever wonder where your trim sender wires go ? also you can see the new swivel shaft seal...the old one was a wreck and letting water in the boat

coming together...new bellows, water hose, oil reservoir hose, shift cable, & trim senders

installing gimbal ring and swivel shaft

tightening the infamous swivel shaft nut with my ground down 1 1/16" wrench

almost done.....JR marine cover plate installed

DONE !!!!!!

 

[J Levine]

Nice work! Also a clear reminder of why I am so happy to be done with I/O's especially on a coastal boat in a wet slip.

 

[nickysc]

Looks good, Are you not concerned about the seal between the transome and the gimbal housing. I started to do mine with the kit that you used. But was talked into pulling the engine and replaceing the seal. Glad I did, there was some stud deteration on the lower 4. And the seal was flat and hard. Just my 2 cents worth. Nicky

 

[Quint4]

I ran a bead of 3m 5200 around the gimbal housing ( shown in pics) a little redneck but that is as good as it gets for now. I just ordered a $750 dollar refrigerator last night for the cabin (Isotherm) and paid off my $2500 slip fee......Boating, a wonderful sickness.

 

[nickysc]

I understand completely! I suffer from the same sickness.

 

[kpetry]

Very nice work! Thanks for the pics!

 

[mwph]

What a great post. I myself will never be able to do such work BUT, I will study the post to learn all I can. Thank you for taking the time to share it all by posting such good pics & descriptions. I hope you are proud of your work as you have every righ to be. Thanks again.

 

[Stray Cat]

That job saved you some sheckles! Well done and documented! You know a guy loves his boat when he lays the parts out on the pool table for a photo shot :grin:

 

[davidhirl]

My boat is same model 1993, I bought & launched in Aug 08, bellows were replaced last year but I have that same steady drip problem & it appears to come in around the drive shaft, your refit sounds like a mammoth job and not for faint hearted, if I fitted a new rubber sleeve and sealed it well without replacing the bearings would that work ?, any tips or shortcuts much appreciated. Thanks, David

 

[Quint4]

My leak was from the swivel shaft and entered the boat through the steering arm pocket. It sounds like you have a bad u joint belows which is allowing water in through the gimabl bearing ? If so, it is an easier fix by removing the outdrive and replacing the bad u joint bellows and gimbal bearing. You said " around drive shaft" which is well below the steering arm pocket. You also have twin engines and I have a single.

 

[Quint4]

Stray cat, parts were about $1100....I wonder what a service shop would have charged for the job ?

 

[davidhirl]

I also have a single diesel engine, would you happen to have the part number or photo of the u joint bellows, found lots of spares under seat and might already have one courtesy of previous owner, is it really necessary to replace the gimbal bearing?

 

[Quint4]

Sorry...just realized you have a single diesel (cool) and you stated you had the bellows replaced already. What outdrive do you have...Bravo, Alpha ? With the boat in the water get in the engine compartment with a good flashlight and a digital camera. Be careful of moving parts and electrical hazards. Spend some time and find out exactly where the leak is. That is step one to solving your problem. We are taking what is commonly referred to as "wild ass guesses" at this point (WAG).

 

[CAGE RATTLER]

Great post!

Thanks for the pics.

I have the same exact leak (swivel arm seal) in my 85 Amberjack 255 with 03 350 Mag MPI with bravo II.

Ive seen illustrations on the other method of repair without removing the engine by drilling access holes and then tapping and plugging but my marina advises me not to do it cause they've had boats sink after the repair.

This method & kit that JRMarine has come up with sounds very interesting and much cheaper to do than the $3000 my marina wants to charge me for pulling engine and repairing.

I talked to JR marine this afternoon and was told this is the method they now teach at the mercruiser school.

Still not sure i want to tackle this on my own yet as i have never even removed an out drive before.

 

[Henry Boyd]

I just ordered the template for the cut out from them on Friday. I am going to order the top pin and u-bolt from them. Unfortunately they can't send a rebuilt ring in advance. My marina wants all the parts on the floor before they start. I can't argue with them. I wouldn't tie up my work areas this time of year waiting for parts either.

Henry

 

[Quint4]

Henry,
The turn around time on my gimbal ring from JR Marine was fast...less than a week. I talked to Ron Bender (owner) and he was helpful. Maybe he could overnight a repaired ring the same day he receives yours ?

Rick,
Are you mechanically inclined ? As I said in my post, my pics represented the condensed version of the process. It is doable if you can follow instructions and are adept at turning a wrench.

 

[CAGE RATTLER]

Henry,


Rick,
Are you mechanically inclined ? As I said in my post, my pics represented the condensed version of the process. It is doable if you can follow instructions and are adept at turning a wrench.

Yes i feel im mechanically inclined and have torn apart and repaired many 2 & 4 stroke dirt bike engines but have never worked on marine equiptment. A dirt bike doesnt sink if you do something wrong :grin:

Did you use a service manual for the tear down and re-install instructions? If so what manual would you reccomend for my situation? Ive always purchased clymer and haynes manuals for bikes and cars but not sure whats best for marine equiptment.

Im also wondering how you knew you needed the housing rebuilt. You mentioned alot of slop. Did you feel this by manually moving the out drive or could you feel it in the steering when running the boat?

As far as i know, Mine just needs the swivel pin seal and probably the new pin which i would also get from JR Marine.

Im not even sure where the U bolt even goes.....lol.

I did a test run of my boat saturday and everything felt perfectly fine and tight. No sign of any slop or noise from the gimbal bearing or u joints at all.

Im hoping my parts price will be alot cheaper than yours was cause if my parts price is as high as $1100 , The 2-3000 my marina wants to charge to pull the engine and do the job right doesnt sound to bad.

Obviously any bellows and hoses that look bad, I would replace as well.

I also dont want to wait 2 months to get my boat back in the water. I want to be out there chasing those Chesapeake bay rockfish ASAP.

 

[Quint4]

I have the Merc manual and recommend it over the Clymer etc. My symptoms were leaking water into bilge through swivel shaft seal, loss of full range of steering , and lots of side to side play in outdrive (slop). The $1100 for parts included all bellows,shift cable,trim sensors,u joints, gimbal bearing, oil reservoir hose, some more I'm forgetting right now, and the swivel shaft, ubolt, and gimbal ring repair.

 

[Henry Boyd]

Quint,

Our boat is on stands and blocks (no trailer) in the storage yard. To do the work they want to bring it into the shop rather than work on it remotely. The plan is to do the work, and then go directly to the water. So having a 280 sit in the shop floor for a week would be a problem since it is now prime launching season.

Henry

 

[Quint4]

Perhaps JR Marine will let you pay in advance and ship you a repaired ring now and refund you a core charge when they receive your old gimbal ring ?