Hello,
I have been reading here for a while trying to learn my way around my boat(s). This one is a new to me 2002 Bayliner with a Mercruiser Alpha 1 Gen II on it. During the post-purchase inspection, haha, I discovered the bellows were torn, so off came the drive. I decided to put in a new water pump as well. Learning as I go with the advice of this forum.
The drive appears to be in really good condition, but I am unfamiliar with what is normal here. On the lower unit, the driveshaft has about 1/32" of vertical/axial play. (There is no spec in the manual for this) When I hold the shaft at its upper limit and turn things, all is pretty smooth. However, if I let the driveshaft fall back down and turn it, there is, as best as I can describe it, a kind of dull grinding noise, as if something is hitting the housing as it rotates.The oil is drained and the driveshaft seal and carrier is removed. The oil was very clean coming out - no metal or water or grey or sludge of any kind. Is this normal play and noise, or does this unit need to come apart for bearing checks and preload/backlash etc adjustments. I do have the factory service manual and am hoping to avoid the plethora of tools involved with getting inside the lower unit. Again, by all counts, the boat looks to be relatively unused and suffered a cracked block from nonwinterizing after the owner died. It had a new engine put in right before I bought it.
Thanks for all the incredible help and timesavers here!
I have been reading here for a while trying to learn my way around my boat(s). This one is a new to me 2002 Bayliner with a Mercruiser Alpha 1 Gen II on it. During the post-purchase inspection, haha, I discovered the bellows were torn, so off came the drive. I decided to put in a new water pump as well. Learning as I go with the advice of this forum.
The drive appears to be in really good condition, but I am unfamiliar with what is normal here. On the lower unit, the driveshaft has about 1/32" of vertical/axial play. (There is no spec in the manual for this) When I hold the shaft at its upper limit and turn things, all is pretty smooth. However, if I let the driveshaft fall back down and turn it, there is, as best as I can describe it, a kind of dull grinding noise, as if something is hitting the housing as it rotates.The oil is drained and the driveshaft seal and carrier is removed. The oil was very clean coming out - no metal or water or grey or sludge of any kind. Is this normal play and noise, or does this unit need to come apart for bearing checks and preload/backlash etc adjustments. I do have the factory service manual and am hoping to avoid the plethora of tools involved with getting inside the lower unit. Again, by all counts, the boat looks to be relatively unused and suffered a cracked block from nonwinterizing after the owner died. It had a new engine put in right before I bought it.
Thanks for all the incredible help and timesavers here!
