Motor mount sits low, need advice so I don't do anything foolish.

[scipper77]

Specs: Mercruiser 185 engine (1984 I believe) on a 17" chris craft open bow.

One of the motor mounts on the STBD side is low. The starter sits so close the the bottom that when the boat engine vibrates on the motor mounts the starter actually touches the hull!! I don't think that this is an issue with the stringer below the motor mount being rotted, or at least the base of the mount stays solid while the motor is "bouncing" on the mount.

I am very tempted to try raising the mount 1/4" or so but I don't want to throw the engine/coupler out of alignment and cause damage. Something tells me that there is already an alignment issue with this mount.

Is this the year that I have to learn how to remove my outdrive, rebuild and replace??

It might be relevant that this motor is not original to the boat. From what I can gather the original motor was a 4 cylinder. So I don't know if the motor mount sat this low when the engine was installed!

Any and all advice is appreciated.

 

[meesh]

Re: Motor mount sits low, need advice so I don't do anything foolish.

Yes it's time to pull your drive and check alignment. I'm guessing your talking about your front mount but your rear one has probably collapsed as well. Rear will probably be worn out and it sounds like your front may have some rot issues. That's the first thing your need to find out. How much rot. Just your stringers or your transom as well.

 

[scipper77]

Re: Motor mount sits low, need advice so I don't do anything foolish.

Considering that the mount still bounces around like the rubber is good, I could see stringer rot as a possibility. What should I look for, there is no cracking of any of the glass around the motor mount which I would expect if the whole thing shifted on a rotted stringer.

 

[45Auto]

Re: Motor mount sits low, need advice so I don't do anything foolish.

What type of motor mount is it? If it's the threaded stud that bolts to the stringer, with the adjustment nuts to set the height of the motor, then you may just need to simply crank the motor up using the adjustment nut. You really need to check the alignment (5 minute job - remove 6 bolts on outdrive and insert alignment tool) before you go randomly cranking the engine orientation all over the place and ruin the coupler.

 

[scipper77]

Re: Motor mount sits low, need advice so I don't do anything foolish.

Will I need any new gaskets? What about the bellows, can any of them be changed out as a part of removing the outdrive?
Is this a job that I can do alone with a cherry picker or something of that nature?

I think I should first make sure of the condition of the stringers or aligning the motor will be a waste of time.

 

[scipper77]

Re: Motor mount sits low, need advice so I don't do anything foolish.

Found a great description of how to remove outdrive and align motor. Thought I would post the link here for my own future reference.
Looks like I need an alignment tool, proper grease, and a gasket.
http://www.mercstuff.com/howdoi.htm

Can I pull the outdrive off and on by hand with a helper? or is it too heavy?

 

[meesh]

Re: Motor mount sits low, need advice so I don't do anything foolish.

I do mine by myself, but I'm 6 ft. 210 lbs, so no big deal. Since this will be the first time you have done this you might want to have a helper.

 

[coastalcruiser]

Re: Motor mount sits low, need advice so I don't do anything foolish.

Found a great description of how to remove outdrive and align motor. Thought I would post the link here for my own future reference.
Looks like I need an alignment tool, proper grease, and a gasket.
http://www.mercstuff.com/howdoi.htm

Can I pull the outdrive off and on by hand with a helper? or is it too heavy?

My Volvo is way heavy! so I made this drive stand will work on any drive

 

[danond]

Re: Motor mount sits low, need advice so I don't do anything foolish.

You should take a core sample of that mounting area and see if the wood is still present and solid before doing anything too involved. Might save you a bit of work.

 

[scipper77]

Re: Motor mount sits low, need advice so I don't do anything foolish.

You should take a core sample of that mounting area and see if the wood is still present and solid before doing anything too involved. Might save you a bit of work.

I know I should take a core sample but I want to learn how to service my outdrive either way. I hope that I will be fortunate enough to own a boat like this one for a long time to come and I think that even if I waste my time the learning experience will be worth it.

That outdrive stand is awesome. I'm allready trying to think of a way to make one with a jack for adjusting height.

Also would it be a good idea to seperate the lower unit from the upper first to make things lighter? That way I could replace my impeller while I am at it.

<EDIT> Just occured to me that I don't think I ever mentioned that the outdrive is an alpha 1.

 

[coastalcruiser]

Re: Motor mount sits low, need advice so I don't do anything foolish.

I'm allready trying to think of a way to make one with a jack for adjusting height

If your boat is on a trailer, just adjust the trailer jack up or down to fine tune the height.
You cant see in the photo but here are 4 screws that attach the stand to the hand truck.

 

[scipper77]

Re: Motor mount sits low, need advice so I don't do anything foolish.

Well I got a chance to go out and take a look at the engine again and I found something very interesting. That engine is just crammed in there. It's so tight that the starter touches the bottom and the carb cover touches the top.

I remind you that the original motor to this boat was a 4 cylinder and the current motor is a 6.

Here is the starter touching the floor. The motor mount is a little tilted towards the back.

And here is the carb cover touching the vinyl trim piece at the top of the motor.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Motor mount sits low, need advice so I don't do anything foolish.

To convert to a V6 you would have to make new side mounts, from the looks of it they went a tad too big. my guess to change the starter you need to pull the drive, support the engine, remove the mount assembly ,replace the starter with a hi-torque one(a lot smaller in size),reinstall mount, realign the engine, reinstall the drive.
BUT ,if you suspect a bad rear mount, pull the engine and replace them first

 

[scipper77]

Re: Motor mount sits low, need advice so I don't do anything foolish.

I'm thinking about going in there with a saw and cutting out the area around the starter. than I suppose I would have to epoxy over the exposed wood.