Replacing bravo 3 out drive.

Clarification, I did replace with new oem gimble and seal..
Alignment looked as good as the YouTube videos I had watched re alignment
Of gimble to engine..going out again tomorrow and will try different trims again.. I also remember the rear trim cylinder bolt adjustment insert, I have it in the B3 recommended position as per manual..to rear
 
I have put up a youtube video of the sound my rebuilt Bravo 3 out drive is now making, the gimble bearing is brand new, the engine / alignment was checked before install and shows to specs.
The noise only occurs if helm is to port or starboard from centered helm, noise is totally gone if drive at 1/2 trim or higher, or gone at any trim positions if helm is centered drive straight, rumble repeating increases with increase in throttle ...any help or feed back from the community would be much appreciated. Im pretty new to in/out drives...still learning..
youtube channel: searay260 boater
video: Bravo 3 mercrusier unknown out drive noise.
 
Since you lost the input bearings in the original outdrive, did the runout on the coupler ever get checked while doing the engine alignment?
 
I listened to your YouTube video and it sounded exactly like the problem I had I mentioned earlier. Even after having some so-called expert rebuilt the drive it overheated and seized. I purchased a brand new drive and never had any sounds like that again.
I even had a friend who worked at a sea ray dealership come over and tell me to try another gimble bearing and make sure it was seated properly. I had dial indicators etc. to verify everything.

Some guys even said it was normal on b3 - yea right.

good luck - I really hope you have better luck than me as the drive is pricy....
 
Thornton69 said:
Since you lost the input bearings in the original outdrive, did the runout on the coupler ever get checked while doing the engine alignment?
Click to expand...
Interesting possibility, in answer to your question, No, I did not check that, how does one do the coupler runout check? the alignment tool showed even and symmetrical markings from the coupler splines in the grease that I applied to it when checking the alignment of the new gimble bearing before drive install.
So no adjustments needed to be made to engine...alignment was good.
Also, maybe a newbie question but, if coupler was out of kilter ( runout) would not the noise stay steady no matter what helm position or drive angle?
 
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The quickest would be to recheck the alignment with the engine hand rolled in several different positions. Once aligned, it should not change with different crankshaft positions.
Thought was, if coupler is tweaked, alignment would have be done to compensate for that error. False (incorrect) alignment, could also exaggerate the drive angle while fully trimmed or in a hard turn of the opposite direction.
It is common for an engine to come to a rolling stop in the same position at shut down. Relying on that for multiple alignment checks can give false confidence with the results.
 
I have been speaking with the company who rebuilt the drive, under the warranty, they offered to replace the u joints with new greasable units, meaning I will be pulling drive and transporting it to thier shop.. When drive is off, I will roll the engine over by hand to see if alignment shaft runs out of spec..but what is the allowable runout?
Crossing my fingers, my understanding is the engine needs to be pulled from boat to adjust or replace a coupler.?,,!
 
The fit of the alignment tool should not have a noticeable change after repositioning the crankshaft. If it does, you will have to pull the engine and figure out whether the runout problem is in the coupler or the flywheel. It can then be identified with a mag base and dial indicator.
 
After removing and taking the reman upper and lower B3 back to the shop I bought it from last week. I got a call from them late friday. Mechanic says the input shaft bearing is worn and input shaft seal Is bad. This, he says is causing the rattle from out drive when changing drive angles, trim positions. Seal was leaking gear oil out into bellows but only when drive warmed up and internal pressure rose. They obviously missed the worn bearing and didn't do a pressure test before they sold it to me last November. Which really ticks me off. Mech said the ujoints are good, no issues there. They are ordering replacement parts
( bearing and seal) and hope for delivery by end of week then they will install the new parts.
My question to members, is there a method of flushing the internals of upper and lower drive unit to insure any metal particals from the failed upper input shaft bearing get removed and don't cause issues with other bearings, the cone clutch or other gears in drive? ...or does shop have to tear down the entire upper and lower units to clean properly? Also are there any other specific questions I should be asking when I talk to mech later in week about the drive?
 
The upper can be flushed easily compared to the lower. Maybe no metal at all in there. Can't tell from here.
 
scoflaw said:
reread post 14 said he didn't get a new gimbal bearing
Click to expand...
I read it the other way, here is a screenshot of post 14

CB033678-AE78-4FEF-84AE-F78D78BD5F3F.jpeg
 
Hopefully there isn't other parts they missed. Do you know the year of the replacement drive?
I have a '96 upper with some misalignment in the shift mechanism. Gears and bearings are in great shape. Found out the whole shift and clutch assembly is obsolete. Have to replace the whole package with new gears as well. Ouch!
http://mercruiserparts.com/bulletins/001/04//2001/EN_17.PDF
 
Been a while since I updated my B3 outdrive issues.
The saga continues..
I picked up the B3 from the shop June 20th.
Told upper was rebuilt, both upper and lower where flushed and pressure tested and ready to go.."drive it like you stoled it" shop owner says..
I get it installed and it RUNS & SHIFTS smooth as silk, best it had been since I bought the boat..managed to get out 4 times untill July 30th...6.5 HRS on the drive SINCE our 3RD time drive REINSTALLed..I had been out on July 28th for a refuel 1 hr run..ran perfect..4400 rpm for 10 min gave 33 mph..then my wife,8 yr old son and I went out on july 30th..2hrs in to cruise..tick..BOOM..I shut her down..was at about 2400 rpm and I was just accelerating up to planning speed of 3200rpm. At that point I thought I might of dropped a valve from the sound..I did not try to restart out on the lake..I know what ever it was it was going to be expensive..I still have a good to October 20 2020 warrenty on the B3 from the reman shop.
We are Dead in the water..We got another marina member to tow us the 8 miles back into our slip. Thank you Mr & Mrs. Pesch.
I get the marina mechanic to come down to listen while I bump the engine over..just to give opinion.. clanking rattle noise was from back of boat ..Not engine..weeee..exhale..relieved .

Put Boat onto trailer , into marina storage yard and I pull drive ..Lowe and behold..upper input drive shaft bearing retainer nut is hanging off drive shaft..WTF..
THE SHOP FAILED to tourque the nut to spec after they replaced the input shaft bearing and shaft seal..again..WTF..it took 8.5 hrs of running for it to work it's way completely out of the drv bearing upper drive housing threads..it destroyed the pinion, bearing, seal, shift cone assembly..the whole works...
So I called owner of shop in kamloops and took him the whole drive for the 3rd time now..hes going good on a complete re / re on upper. But he's sending it out to a diferent shop that all they do is outdrives..20- 25 per day Going to cost him 4-5k he says and now we wait...6- 8 week turn around ..summer boating season totally shot....
20200805_103840.jpg

Will post once again after reinstall and some running time..very frustrating at this point..
 
Myself, I would buy another drive and get back out there. Sell what you don't need after your season is over.
 
Looks like the nut was both removed and installed with a hammer and drift. Hope they get ya on the water quick.
 
Yes Thorton, that's what I thought also..
 
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