Seriously stuck gimbal bearing

[MarcelSydney]

Alpha one gen 2.
I have spent the past day trying to get a gimble bearing out and it is not budging. At all, not a bit.
There was water in the bellows when I pulled of to inspect so it looks corroded. (I will probably be doing the bellows and the uni joints too as a result by the look of them).

I snapped a wrench with the force (had a lever on it) and wrecked the brand new bearing puller as well as the thread has seized, presumably cold welded. Fortunately when I let the pressure go from the internal thing a me jig in the jaws, it it literally popped out of the bearing, so I avoided the trouble of cutting the tool out. Small win.

I have been searching everywhere, but not a lot on the topic other than persisting, go harder etc but these bearing pullers aren't cheap here in Oz and i imagine the same thing will happen again. I will have to buy another one, but before wrecking the next one, it would be good to get the bearing to loosen a touch somehow.

I read on some old forums to drill 2 holes in the outer race (i think in red where marked on attached), and then hit it with a cold chisel to try and split it. I'm concerned about possible collateral damage. I'm not sure how close to the edge of the bearing to drill or what's behind it in case I go to deep.
Does this work?
Any other ideas?

Thanks

 

[achris]

Slide hammer...

 

[kenny nunez]

If you cannot remove it with a slide hammer as Chris said then un bolt the bell housing and bellows. With a good punch hit the bearing so that it rotates 180* in the carrier then you will be able to drill through the aluminum outer carrier which should weaken it enough. Then with the slide hammer it should come out. If you had a torch you could heat the outer area of the gimbal housing bearing area.

 

[dubs283]

Slide hammer...

This

Get a big one. I use a five pound OTC brand slide hammer. Works great

I've never had to drill one like mentioned but I've had to use heat and a threaded rod extension to remove a few troublesome bearings

 

[Lewis1111]

I’ve struggled with this in the past too. If your at wits end sometime easier to pull that engine and punch it out from the inside. The amount of screwing around your gonna do with drilling holes you could have the engine in and out in that time frame.

 

[Griff Thomasson]

Use the mercruiser tool . spray bp blaster and let it sit over night

 

[MarcelSydney]

Ok. Thanks for the suggestions. Ordered a slide hammer. Ill start with that and see how it goes.

 

[dubs283]

Ordered a slide hammer.

Excellent decision, has more uses than merely pulling gimbal bearings

 

[MarcelSydney]

Well the slide hammer isn't doing anything. Junked the one I bought and welded a much heavier one (like a fence stake post driver in reverse, about 7kg bit of steel) and still no movement or even inkling of movement.
I'm thinking about drilling the 2x holes in the outer ring of the bearing to see if it helps but nervous about damaging the housing or something behind it. Any tips or suggestions?
I'm outta ideas.

 

[MarcelSydney]

After another hour of the slide hammer, I have changed tack and started hitting it so that it seems to rotate 180* like @kenny nunez said. But not where i expected.
I haven't ordered a new bearing yet, so can't compare size.
Is the bearing that is is meant to come out and be replaced just the bit in yellow (this section rotated 180*)
Or is the bit in green meant to come out as well?
(the green part hasn't budged, so now I'm not sure if it is part of the housing?)

 

[achris]

...Or is the bit in green meant to come out as well?
(the green part hasn't budged, so now I'm not sure if it is part of the housing?)

You need to watch my video on gimbal bearings, as it appears you don't understand how they work (you are not alone)...

Also, are you using a single jaw? If so, bin it and use a 3 jaw puller on the slide hammer. You gotta pull it straight, or it ain't gunna come out!

Chris.....

 

[MarcelSydney]

Yeah, I watched it a few times recently and I get it (thanks, btw, helpful vid)
Im using the jaws of the old threaded puller that i broke in the earlier post, cut and welded it to some threaded rod, with a big heavy piece of steel for a hammer. Thats not the issue as it seems to grab all day long and lets me pound away relentlessly.
The thing is, what I believe to be part of the bearing (the carrier in green) is not budging at all. I have a hard time seeing if there is even a groove between it and the transom assembly. There is a fair bit of corrosion and generally looks in poor condition, it seems to have fused.

So, as suggested earlier, if I was to drill into the inner race (?) that I managed to spin around (in yellow) from the side and collapse it, how does the carrier come out?
Or do I drill the carrier, spin the inner race back around, use the slide hammer and hope it splits the carrier?
Or am I misunderstanding where to drill?

 

[achris]

Good luck drilling the bearing inner race, unless you have diamond bits. That's hardened steel! The average drill bit won't even touch it.

If you absolutely must drill, then it would have to be the carrier. Measure the depth of the new carrier and mark the drill bit with that depth. DO NOT drill beyond that.

The last bearing I did took me over an hour of continuous pounding with a 2-1/2 kg slide hammer. When it finally started to move my hands were killing me, and my arms were vibrating for the rest of the day. I conservatively estimate that I hit it over 1,000 times, and I wasn't being gentle. (I had been wearing gloves and ear protection.)

Had a look at your 'slide hammer'.... Sorry, that device isn't going to cut it. You need a proper slide hammer to impart the forces correctly. I'll photo mine and you can see.

Chris........

 

[kenny nunez]

2Xs with Chris’ slide hammer. I have the exact one like his. And I have pounded myself to exhaustion also. If the bearing is that corroded then water has to be the cause. The bellows must be changed. You need to remove the bell housing to give yourself more working room. Carefully drilling the aluminum outer carrier is probably your only option since you probably do not have access to a torch to heat up the outer area.

 

[Mark R.]

I’ve struggled with this in the past too. If your at wits end sometime easier to pull that engine and punch it out from the inside. The amount of screwing around your gonna do with drilling holes you could have the engine in and out in that time frame.

I'm following this thread with significant interest, since I may be in for this same challenge on a neglected boat I'm working on...

RE: the Pulling the Engine Alternative:
Wouldn't it be simpler/easier to just remove the entire transom bracket from the rear of the boat? That way you could then take that to the workbench to attack it, or better yet, be able to place it in a large hydraulic press.

 

[dubs283]

RE: the Pulling the Engine Alternative:
Wouldn't it be simpler/easier to just remove the entire transom bracket from the rear of the boat?

Engine must be removed first in order to remove the transom assy

 

[1960 Starflite]

Since you have/can swivel the bearing 90°, I think you're safe drilling the aluminum carrier. Then split it with chisel. My Century had the bearing carrier slots facing aft. I was able to turn the bearing and remove/replace just the bearing. Mercury wants replacement to face forward so you/we have to buy whole unit. After all it's just a pillow block bearing

 

[achris]

My Century had the bearing carrier slots facing aft. I was able to turn the bearing and remove/replace just the bearing. Mercury wants replacement to face forward so you/we have to buy whole unit. After all it's just a pillow block bearing

There's a very good reason that you don't replace just the bearing without the carrier. And that's why Merc install the slots facing forward, and anyone fitting a new bearing does the same. Replacing the bearing without replacing the carrier isn't 'best practice'.

Chris.

 

[MarcelSydney]

It's finally out. What a PITA that was.
Drilled the aluminium carrier, but still didn't move, so got a Drexel with a carbide cutter to cut right to the edge if a quarter section i hoped i could get out. Managed to knock the quarter of the carrier out, put the slide hammer back in and BANG. How good does that feel when it let's go!
I'm having a beer now, but think I should replace the oil seal.
How does that come out? Please don't say slide hammer......

 

[jhamblett]

I know I'm late to the party but these work great for me in conjunction with a slide hammer.