Swivel Bracket Broken 1969 Mercury 7.5

[pilneypark]

I have a broken swivel bracket on my 1969 Mercury 7.5 hp short shaft. It broke off while I was removing the lower unit grease plug - so it must have been on the way out for awhile - not a single traumatic incident. My mechanic says that it will take a prohibitive number of hours to change out and that I should look for a newer motor. While I am sure that is economically sound advice, I don't have the budget for that and would like to get back on the river this summer. I think a new part can be had, but just how much disassembly and reassembly are required? In the course of this, are there gaskets or other parts I may need and find unavailable? Could the existing bracket be tig welded? I am generally mechanically competent, but have no experience working on outboards. Any advice from experienced folks will be appreciated.

 

[emckelvy]

That's quite broken! To R&R the swivel bracket assembly, you'll need to pull the (2) upper mounts and (2) lower mounts, (1) per side. These mounts hold what Mercury calls the "saddle", which is what the steering yoke pivots on, via a "swivel pin" that goes thru both the swivel bracket and the saddle.

Each rubber mount is held in by an internal snap ring and is threaded in the middle in case you need to insert a bolt and use it for leverage to pull out the mount.

You will definitely need a good set of snap ring pliers to get those rings out!

If the mounts are hard to pull once you remove the snap rings, try soaking the area with penetrating oil, such as PB Blaster. Tap the saddle carefully with a rubber or plastic mallet.

Here's a reasonably-priced saddle/bracket/clamp assy on ebay, if you search there's no doubt more of 'em, too: http://www.ebay.com/itm/141687553125

HTH & G'luck with the repairs.................ed

 

[Mi duckdown]

Your mechanic gave you sound advice. find a different motor. My .02 It will cost you more than it is worth. On the bright side you could part it out. make some money.

 

[MTboatguy]

If you have no experience with outboards, I am going recommend finding another motor, changing out the mount/swivel set up is a very tedious job and even most guys that do it for a living are not happy when they have to do one. For the time, effort, cost and frustration you will have doing it, it is far cheaper to pick up another motor and use this one for parts you will get back on the water quicker.

 

[racerone]

Finding a used swivel bracket should not be hard.----Many hrs will go into changing that.----If motor runs well it will be worth doing.----Try FLEA BAY for the part or your local dealer.----Sending a bunch of those to the scrapper now at 58 cents / lb.

 

[tpenfield]

Having the same motor, I would say that if you are relying on a mechanic, it would not be worth the money. If you can DIY, then maybe so.

If you part out the motor, then you can make some $$$ to offset the cost of a newer motor.

 

[gm280]

Okay I guess I'm the odd ball on here. I think YOU can do this. It really isn't hard, but only a little time involved. The unit a previous commenter provided IS a good find if that fits your engine. So many folks have replace parts like that before and if you have a manufacturer's shop manual. it would be well worth the effort. You will certainly learn so much about your engine as well. But that is all up to what you want to do. Parts are available, so that isn't the problem... JMHO! :thumb:

 

[MTboatguy]

There are normally quite a few on ebay, someone posted a link up to one last night, because this swivel set up was used on a few different Mercury engines, I have done it and I won't do it again. 7.5 and 9.8 Mercury's are not hard to come buy and in the whole scope of things are relatively inexpensive. I know where I can pick a couple of good running 9.8 for about $300 each and I see those power heads sell for a little over half that much, sell the lower unit and you will have almost recovered the cost of another motor. I just sold the old carb off my 9.8 yesterday and it needed to be rebuilt for $65 and the rebuilt carb I bought I only paid $70, so I have a great running carb for $5.00

 

[pilneypark]

Thank you all for your insightful and prompt replies. I am processing my options and will update as things progress. The only question not answered was that of welding. Does anyone know if there's even a chance of welding the existing bracket - especially without a full dismantling?

 

[Mi duckdown]

I have never seen welding work. believe me. had the BEST guru welders. lasted one year before if broke again, in the exact same place.

 

[Mi duckdown]

pilney. got to ask. how is the driveshaft on that motor,Pitted at the pump seals?

 

[pilneypark]

pilney. got to ask. how is the driveshaft on that motor,Pitted at the pump seals?

I have not had it apart that far down. Everything was functioning very well until this happened and I have serviced it well during the 6 years I've had it. I believe it has spent its whole life in the Ozarks, 600 miles from saltwater, if that helps.

 

[emckelvy]

A freshwater motor is certainly worth fixing, and it increases the chance that you won't have too many issues pulling the motor mounts out of the saddle.

I found a pretty good pic of the mount assy on eBay, I'll post it here so you've got an idea of what one looks like.

The only special tool you need to work on this is the pair of internal snap-ring pliers; you'll also find it handy to use a longer 1/4"-20 puller bolt to thread into the mount's center hole, to aid in the extraction of the mount.

HTH.............ed

 

[pilneypark]

A freshwater motor is certainly worth fixing, and it increases the chance that you won't have too many issues pulling the motor mounts out of the saddle.

I found a pretty good pic of the mount assy on eBay, I'll post it here so you've got an idea of what one looks like.

The only special tool you need to work on this is the pair of internal snap-ring pliers; you'll also find it handy to use a longer 1/4"-20 puller bolt to thread into the mount's center hole, to aid in the extraction of the mount.

Okay, I see where to start on the that one - the lower one - but I don't see any simple way to access a top mounting point. What's the shortest route to that?

 

[emckelvy]

The cover that interferes with access to the top mounts is held onto the lower cowling by 4 screws, 2-per-side. Just pull the cover and you'll be able to get to the upper mounts. HTH.............ed

 

[Chinewalker]

You will have to remove the lower unit, too. I THINK the shift shaft on the '69 is full height, sliding into the splined coupling under the carb. If it isn't full height, then you'll need to pull the powerhead to remove the swivel bracket, as the upper shift shaft will need to come out from above. The shift shaft runs through the swivel tube, making it impossible to remove the swivel without removing the shift shaft.

 

[pilneypark]

Thank you - I shall declare war on that tomorrow.

 

[pilneypark]

I was able to remove the mounts this evening - no problems thanks to the good instructions. I am beginning to see why the mechanic said there would be so much labor. I think I can handle the lower unit, but I am trying to find a good way to get out the screws which attach the steering arm bracket to the swivel bracket. Any tips there?
Also, I imagine I need to keep track of the shift shaft's position for reassembly - any tips for that?

 

[emckelvy]

Heat (from a propane or MAPP torch) and a hand impact wrench should remove the most stubborn of screws. I forgot about the shift shaft running thru the middle.

I think you'll find that the shift shaft has a flat ground in it (or is missing some splines), and will only go back together one way.

 

[pilneypark]

A follow-up: Following the excellent instructions here, I removed the mounts, but not the entire swivel bracket. After stripping off all springs and other small attachments, I turned the motor over to the welding instructor at our local community college. He and his students welded it. In the meantime, I bought a newer Evinrude 9.9, tank and fuel line for $300. I reassembled the Mercury and have put it on the 12' boat I have for sale, making it a "ready to fish" complete package. I will disclose the weld to prospective buyers, but so far I see little danger of it giving way.