1984 OMC 3.0 Stringer Sterndrive upper unit bearing housing and 314725 tool

[sopicki]

Hi folks,

I can entertain with the story of how I got my broken boat if anyone is interested but at the moment I'm just trying to fix it.

When removing the water pump and bearing housing from my upper unit I cracked (or perhaps it was already cracked) the bearing housing. The housing itself was too corroded to be reused anyway. I have 2 pretty complete 400 drives in my garage but neither has a completely usable bearing housing. So what I have is a good shaft, gear and bearings from the cracked housing and a good housing from another unit. I also have the correct OMC service manual and it says that to set the proper shims under the gear I need tools 314725 and 909384.

I cannot find a 314725 tool anywhere. I have found the 384 tool but I'm reluctant to purchase it unless I can source the 725 tool as well since alone they are both worthless. So....
Does anyone have a 314725 tool they'd like to sell? ....or
Is there an alternate method for setting the shim height on the upper unit bearing housing?

I do have the 909078 tool for determining the bearing housing shim thickness and can do that once the gear on the housing itself is properly shimmed.

Any help is much appreciated!!!

Thanks,

Bob
Massillon OH

 

[kenny nunez]

Just for kicks, install the good bearing cups in the good housing. Install the pinion shaft and pinion gear, torque the retainer nut using one of the water pump shafts as a holding tool.
if you end up with at least 6”lbs rolling torque you should be good. If there is over 15” lbs rolling torque you will need to remove 003 shim below the gear to lower the preload. Used bearings are good at 6-10” lbs rolling torque. To split the bearing from the gear needless to say you need a press with the correct bearing splitter to get under the bearing. This does slightly bend the shims so you will have to be careful. Use the shims from the good housing that the 4 bolts go through. If with the gear case assembled and end up with 006-008 backlash it should work as long as the case is vacuum and pressure tight.

 

[sopicki]

Kenny,
Thank you for taking the time to reply. I may be in Ohio but I will always have a kinship with my friends in Louisiana....I went to high school in Slidell and Lafayette. In addition, there are absolutely NO restaurants here that serve Cajun food and that I really miss.
I assembled as you suggested and definitely have more then 6 inch pounds of rolling torque. Depending on how fast I rotate the shaft I can get 15-20 if rotating slowly or around 10 if I rotate faster (at a rate of perhaps 1 revolution per second). I've never tried measuring a rotating torque before (I purchased a MAC dial gauge torque wrench for this purpose) so I'm not entirely sure how fast to rotate but it's certainly much smoother when I rotate at the faster rate.
If all seems well I will be taking it apart tomorrow, cleaning the splines of the shaft and bearing, assembling with loctite and a new nut and installing it in my upper housing. Hopefully getting closer to a first run and in the water before the end of the summer.
Thanks again!
Bob

 

[kenny nunez]

When I had all the shimming tools quite often the original factory tolerances were spot on and when I would rebuild a gear case 003-005 either way sometimes would be needed. When I closed the shop I dumped the shim tools. I still have the pressing mandrels. Have you installed the ball gear shaft, how did the shaft feel when rotating it? The pinion rotating torque should be good.
I once visited the factory and the shimming was done by some women with a large table and a board with all the shims. They did good work.
As far as food goes west of Lafayette and north of Baton Rouge it just gets bland.

 

[kenny nunez]

I just sent you a private message With my phone #

 

[sopicki]

Kenny,
Thank you for your input! I assembled the upper gearcase yesterday. Your help was invaluable! The ball gear shaft felt and measured perfect so other then a new shim and o-ring I installed it back as it was. Even though I swapped the bearing housing with a salvaged unit, it took the same number of shims to locate it correctly in the gearcase. Other then the ball gear shaft seals I replaced all of the seals in the upper gearcase and the seals in the swivel bearing retainer also. I'm assuming that the ball gear shaft seals are ok since there was no water in the gear oil when I drained it. I'll replace the seals when I replace the ball gears...probably next year.
My original lower gearcase driveshaft is seized to the upper bearing housing which caused the driveshaft to snap flush with the housing. If you remove the 4 bolts to the housing you can rotate the shaft freely so rebuilding the lower gearcase will be a winter project. Again, I'm going to be looking for tools and advice for work-arounds when I can't locate the proper tools. This was the reason the original owner sold the boat...he said that it made a grinding noise anytime he started the engine and his mechanic quit working on OMC's. I figured it was probably stripped splines on a water pump shaft but no, it had to be something way more complicated. I was able to locate a guy close to me selling two complete 400 stringer upper/lower units for $250 and those parts have been very helpful. One of the lowers was in pretty nice shape (except for a broken skeg) and had very clean oil come out of it when I drained it. This is the unit I bolted to my upper and intend to use it until I overhaul my original lower.
The boat is exceptionally nice since the original owner garaged it since new with only 300 hours on it. The interior is almost showroom with only the carpet looking a tad worn.

 

[kenny nunez]

As far as the lower goes it uses the same shim tools as the outboard. Maybe one of the local outboard shops will at least do the shim checks for you and you can finish the assembly. Just wave some $ at the mechanic.

 

[sopicki]

Life happens and I've been busy adding a mother-in-law suite to our home and having hand surgery, so no real time for the outdrive lately.
I did get a Stant radiator pressure tester with no hose off ebay for 20 bucks, attached a hose and the 3/8" plastic fill adaptor off of my gear oil pump and pressure tested my upper gearcase. It held 15lbs perfectly! Filled with oil and the gearcase is ready to go.
All that's really left to do is to properly adjust the shift cables. The book has you start the engine and shift in and out of FWD and REVERSE, note the points where it comes out of gear and set the neutral point in the middle. I was just going to have a friend lightly hold the prop shaft (engine NOT running....I said friend LOL) as I shift out of gear, again noting these points and setting the middle point as neutral. Any comment on this method?
I do have a couple of other questions but since they are unrelated to the gearcase I suppose I should start a new thread.
Thank you to anyone taking the time to answer.
Bob

 

[Redrig]

You don't need a buddy for that neutral adjustment. I do mine solo. Just unhook the throttle cable from the converter and use your hand to slowly move the shift arm while you keep an eye on the prop shaft.

Your method would work too I suppose