4.3l merc making funny noise

[EBBTIDE182]

Hey guys i have recently gotten a new boat from my dad. Its a 92 ebbtide 182 with a 4.3l mercruiser lx thunder bolt ignition i believe is what it says on the carb cover. My dad bought this boat right around 3 years ago we had some problems with the boat not wanting to start very easy even after it was warmed up. Wasnt a big issue we took it to the authorised merc dealer in spring field which was bass pro and they rebuilt the carb on it and tuned it and as of now the boat runs great starts right up. The boat on top end will run 45 at 4700 rpm with a 21 pitch prop. Any ways last year over labor day my parents were at the lake and forgot to put the plug in the boat which in return poured water into the back almost sinking the boat. Water was just below the spark plugs but the boat stayed running the whole entire time and they quickly got it back to the boat ramp and got it out of the water and got all the water out of it put a new plug in it and used it all weekend. After it was winterized and sat all winter my dad and i traded my tractor for his boat, because i would get more use out of the boat then the tractor. any ways this spring i got it out and the starter was dragging really bad on it which i figured being it was under water and a 92 model. not a big deal had it rebuilt and put it back on and the boat fired right up and sounded good. roughly about a month later this being yesterday (6-19) we decided on a wild hair to go to the local lake. After putting the boat in the water we set out on the lake and it sounded like tree limbs draging along the bottom of the boat (which mind you there werent just my description of what it sounded like) and my power steering was a little stiff. So i headed back to the dock and tied back up and started checking things but i still have not figured out what this noise is. We went ahead and ran the boat and it ran great and when sitting at the dock and i would get my rpms up the noise would go away but at idle and just above like 1500 or enough speed to tighten the rope up on a skier the noise was just horriable. I checked all of oils power steering fluid engine oil trim oil and every thing checked good. Now i am suspecting power steering problems just because it was stiff while using it. At first i thgouth maybe a water pump issue maybe in the engine or the outdrive but the boat never got about 150 deg. so i have ruled that out. Some one said a rusted timing chain from when it was under water but i dont think the water got in to it to do any of that. Plus there was not a drop of water in the engine oil when i changed it this spring. My description of the noise could be a little better but thats what it kind of sounded like to me. But would any one maybe have an idea of what possiably might of happened to make this noise?

 

[NHGuy]

Re: 4.3l merc making funny noise

Power steering pump bearing? Alternator bearing? Does it have a belt idler pulley bearing? I believe you submerged the power steering, so you probably should change out the PS fluid at minimum. It's also possible that water got into the drive bellows via the drive shaft area around the gimbal bearing. If it's the driveshaft universal joints you'll get more noise when running if you cut the steering way to one side.

 

[EBBTIDE182]

Re: 4.3l merc making funny noise

I was also going to add to my post that to noise is there weather its in gear or not. also the alt and the powersteering are at the top of the engine so the water did not get to them but not saying that they just couldnt go out. I am going to pull the belt off of them one at a time tonight so i can maybe do a little pin pointing myself

 

[45Auto]

Re: 4.3l merc making funny noise

+1 on the gimbal bearing and u-joints. If it was in water up to the plugs there's a very good chance the u-joint bellows ended up with water in it. Need to pull the outdrive and check them at a minumum.

 

[EBBTIDE182]

Re: 4.3l merc making funny noise

So this u-joint and gimbal bearing will they still turn with out the outdrive in gear or does the out drive have to be in gear for them to be engaged and moving. and is there any way to actually reach in and check them with out pulling the outdrive?

 

[45Auto]

Re: 4.3l merc making funny noise

They are turning any time the engine is running. The outdrive upper is connected directly to the engine flywheel. All shifting takes place in the lower unit. No way to check them with the drive in place.

Takes removing 8 nuts, an $8 gasket set, and 15 minutes to pull and reinstall the outdrive.

 

[EBBTIDE182]

Re: 4.3l merc making funny noise

well me being a non boat mechanic this scares me. I work on tractors and vehicles but boats scare me when it comes to removing the out drive.

 

[45Auto]

Re: 4.3l merc making funny noise

Your choice, but if you do have water in the bellows and it's taken out the u-joints and/or gimbal bearing, then your input shaft is not far from rusting enough to take out the outdrive upper seal. When that happens, it will dump your outdrive oil into the bellows and take out your upper bearing and gears in the outdrive. Then you're looking at a couple of thousand dollars for an outdrive rebuild or a replacement SEI outdrive.

You should pull your outdrive annually to check for water, grease the u-joints, and align the drive anyway.

 

[81 Checkmate]

Re: 4.3l merc making funny noise

Soumds like a gimbal bearing. When the boat got water in it late summer it filled the U Joint bellows with water and rusted your bearing. Then you stored it and it has rusted more.

So this u-joint and gimbal bearing will they still turn with out the outdrive in gear or does the out drive have to be in gear for them to be engaged and moving. Yes your drive shaft still turns when in neutral

Look at the back of your boat ( Outside) at the top of the gimbal housing and see if there is a grease Zerk fitting, if so fill that zerk with marine grade grease and see if it changes sound. This would be just a test.

The best thing to do as others have said would be to pull the drive off and have a look.

Do a resurch on here about removing the drive it's not all that hard.

Good Luck!

 

[EBBTIDE182]

Re: 4.3l merc making funny noise

ok so what about the point of when i increase my rpm's that the noise goes away. If it were a u joint or gimbal bearing wouldnt it get worse kind of like a drive shaft on a pickup

 

[81 Checkmate]

Re: 4.3l merc making funny noise

The noise is not going away you just cant hear it over the engine noise.

 

[EBBTIDE182]

Re: 4.3l merc making funny noise

on the point with the zerks i know there is a zerk on the housing that bolts to the transom right under the trim rods but im not forsure about the one at the top

 

[EBBTIDE182]

Re: 4.3l merc making funny noise

would any one have a link to the fourm or page that gives me the break down of how to remove a 92 merc alpha 1 outdrive from a boat or a 92 ebbtide 182

 

[45Auto]

Re: 4.3l merc making funny noise

There used to be a link to the factory manuals, but I think it was removed. Somebody may have them on 4share or a similar site, hopefully they'll provide a link.

Here's a youtube video of a guy removing his, took him 6 minutes. You don't need the little stand, it only weighs about 80 pounds. I pull mine easily by myself and I'm a scrawny little guy. I usually get my son to help me re-install them. Helps to have one person hold it up while the other guides the shaft, keeps the gasket in place, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Q9iXAWsrYA

This PDF guide looks pretty decent:

http://www.dockpartner.addr.com/Installation_Guide_Alpha_One_SE_units.pdf

 

[firecapt13]

Re: 4.3l merc making funny noise

If you can work on tractors and cars you can work on the boat. Just get alignment tool.

Seals are seals, ujoints are ujoints, bearings are bearings.

I have never worked on a boat until last year when I got my 1992 Wellcraft with busted block. I rebuilt engine have replaced several seals in out drive. Next week I am tackling the bellows and ujoints.

Just pay attention and print the manuals.

Good luck

 

[EBBTIDE182]

Re: 4.3l merc making funny noise

thanks guys i feel a little better about tackling this job now. I happened to ask a guy at work if he had ever removed an outdrive and he said yeah and he said he had a merc book out in his tool box so hopefully this will help me out. I will hopefully take some pictures as i go through so i can post them on here for you all to see.

thanks again

 

[EBBTIDE182]

Re: 4.3l merc making funny noise

Ok well I ran into a snag tonight I guess I need a tool to remove the hinge pins. I don't think I can get the gimbal ring out or the bellows out with out the bell housing off but I can't get the bell housing off because it's attached to the gimbal ring. I'm going to try and get a tool to get the pins out. And I will put dome pictures on tomorrow of the progress. Gimbal bearing will need replaced for sure u joints on the shaft are rusted on caps but they feel ok havnt decided if I should replace or not bellows don't look bad but will probably put them in. When I took the outdrive off some water came out so I'm pretty sure it came from the I side when I had water in it

 

[NHGuy]

Re: 4.3l merc making funny noise

Good going. You CAN do the gimbal bearing without removing the bellhousing. But it would always be a good idea to do the bellows if you have any question about it at all.
BTW many on this forum recommend using a hex drive to remove the gimbal hinge pins. I don't think it's smart, I'd buy the hinge pin tool which is a hardened star drive thing. The hinge pins are in very tight and they are lock-tighted down. You can heat them if they don't come out well, most on here recommend heating them for removal.
Good work, you are getting it done.

 

[NHGuy]

Re: 4.3l merc making funny noise

If the u joints were rusted you ought to do them too. Check em over and decide.

 

[EBBTIDE182]

Re: 4.3l merc making funny noise

Here was the process as it started. wasnt as bad as i thought getting the lower unit off. everyone told me that it would be a bear to get the outdrive off and when i started taking the last nut loose it feel right off never had to drop it or anything. meant to take a pic of the drive shaft u joints. bearings felt good but there is rust on the caps so i think i will replace them while im in there. dad says they are ok and not to replace them but i dont want to do this again in a few months.its kinda like working on a tractor. why tear into something to fix one thing when you can replace it now while your there. i figure about 400 bucks is what i have priced any ways for a bellows kit and u joints. How does the shaft for the u joint come out of the lower unit?