2 Questions: Alpha 1 Gen 2 Gimbal Bearing Replacement & Alignment?

[Slap-Shot]

I am doing some maintenance on my 2004 Alpha 1 Gen 2 out drive. I have two questions that I would like to pose to the community:

1. Should I replace my gimbal bearing? (please see the video below)

The alignment rod goes in with no issues so I know the engine to gimbal bearing alignment is good. The bearing rotates freely with little to no noise at all, and I can turn the alignment rod with 2 to 3 fingers. I do not know when the previous owner replaced the gimbal bearing.

2. Is my current gimbal bearing aligned correctly to the grease fitting? The little red mark is sitting at the 10 o'clock position, and I thought it was to be at the 2 o'clock position? (please see picture or video)

 

[Slap-Shot]

No Title

Gimbal Alignment for grease fitting?

 

[alldodge]

IF (I'll use IF a couple times) the alignment bad slides in and out with little effort, then your good.
IF you put your fingers in the gimbal bearing and can rotate it and it feels smooth then your good to go

 

[tpenfield]

The video is not really the right way to test the gimbal bearing . . . a better way would be not to have the alignment tool involved, but rather put two fingers on the inside of the bearing race , turn it back and forth and feel if it is smooth or not. Direct contact of your fingers to the bearing race will be a better indication of its smoothness.

Not sure about the red mark . . . I always thought the grease channel was at 2 o'clock.

If you do put a new gimbal bearing in, the alignment tool will come in handy to give the gimbal that initial twist to get the tool to mate with the coupler. From there you want to be able to push the tool into the coupler with just 2 fingers of force and make note of the grease markings to make sure they are even around the tool.

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... Welcome Aboard,.... What they said,....

The bar is for alignment,....

Yer fingers are for checkin' the bearin',....

No idea 'bout the red mark,.... pump some grease into the fittin', 'n see where it comes out,...

 

[CaptainMak]

The alignment tool can go in easy, but you need to put some grease on the end of it where it goes into the splines and when you pull it out, the splines should leave even lines on the tool. I think tpenfield touched on that. Otherwise bearing looks good. If no "sandy" "gritty" feel to it, let it be.

 

[Slap-Shot]

The video is not really the right way to test the gimbal bearing . . . a better way would be not to have the alignment tool involved, but rather put two fingers on the inside of the bearing race , turn it back and forth and feel if it is smooth or not. Direct contact of your fingers to the bearing race will be a better indication of its smoothness.

Not sure about the red mark . . . I always thought the grease channel was at 2 o'clock.

If you do put a new gimbal bearing in, the alignment tool will come in handy to give the gimbal that initial twist to get the tool to mate with the coupler. From there you want to be able to push the tool into the coupler with just 2 fingers of force and make note of the grease markings to make sure they are even around the tool.

I took your advice and used two fingers on the bearing race. It feels smooth and I don't feel any grittiness.

 

[Slap-Shot]

No idea 'bout the red mark,.... pump some grease into the fittin', 'n see where it comes out,...

I will do that tonight, and post my results. I hope all is well because I"d really like to start putting this back together tonight. Otherwise I will need to rent tools to remove the bearing.

 

[Slap-Shot]

Not sure about the red mark . . . I always thought the grease channel was at 2 o'clock.

As did I (2 o'clock).
However, I found this video, and noticed this gentleman's gimbal bearing has a red mark in the 10 o'clock position like mine.

 

[Slap-Shot]

No idea 'bout the red mark,.... pump some grease into the fittin', 'n see where it comes out,...

I put some grease in the fitting this weekend, and as you can see in the pictures the grease is coming out around the 4 o'clock position. Obviously the bearing is getting grease, and the bearing feels good with no gritty feeling so I think I'm going to leave it alone for now.