Alpha 1 - Upper Drive Shaft + Exhaust Flappers

[manofprawnz]

Opened up the can of worms today, pulled the drive apart, and here is probably the first of a series of questions:

Because of a previous post " Springy Thingy" it was pointed out to me that my oil seals were shot in the upper drive unit. Once apart I pulled the drive gear and you can see from the photo that there is a fair amount of corrosion. Can I get away with cleaning this off, or am I needing to replace it?

Pic 2 shows what I assume was left of some exhaust flappers, one fell out of the bell housing, the other was living in the exhaust bellows. I cannot find it in my aftermarket manual, and did not get a chance to download the Merc one before that avenue was closed. (1990 Merc 3.0L)

Also been banging on the gimble bearing with a slide hammer and it does not want to budge. Should I try heating the area an/or some kind of lubricant?

So would appreciate comments and advice from all you Merc gurus.

 

[JustJason]

Re: Alpha 1 - Upper Drive Shaft + Exhaust Flappers

yep.... that pic is the flapper.

If that rust is the worst of it... should be okay to reuse the shaft. assuming there is no run out.... But measure it... never assume.
However... and it's impossible to tell from here.... but if there is that much rust on the shaft, it's gonna need new bearings and races. And that means your gonna have to re-shim. And if your gonna do that, you might as well replace all the bearings. If the drive was low on oil for a while, your gonna need to check out the upper yoke, it's probably gonna need a new one.

Now... for what your gonna pay for all the special tools to shim, shift shaft tool, upper retainer nut tool. Plus bearings, plus seals, plus double checking the runout on the propshaft........ at this point you may want to seriously consider an SEI drive. it's a 17 year old boat at this point.
If you were my customer I would recomend the SEI drive, and you can probably get a couple of hundred bucks for your case and gears on ebay. If you do than you can prob get out of this for 7-900... and you'll get a 3 year warranty to boot.
Good luck.

 

[JustJason]

Re: Alpha 1 - Upper Drive Shaft + Exhaust Flappers

.... Did ya remove the snap ring on the gimbal bearing first????
If ya did... then just keep hammering... sometimes they are a PITA. You might as well do the bellows at this time too.

 

[manofprawnz]

Re: Alpha 1 - Upper Drive Shaft + Exhaust Flappers

CaptJason, thanks for your input. The only real rust is on the end of that shaft, the bearings and races appear to be in good order. I will check the run out as suggested. I was hoping a good cleaning would do the trick. Will consider what you said about a new unit if I find any other issues.

Will have to look at the gimble bearing more closely, did not know there was a snap ring. I have a whole replacement unit; meaning the outer ring with the grease hole, I assumed that the whole unit would just pop out.

As for the now identified flapper, guess I will leave that for another day, just working on the stern drive for now. Who knows how long it has been without, perhaps it will be a late spring project.

 

[JustJason]

Re: Alpha 1 - Upper Drive Shaft + Exhaust Flappers

Maybe don can chime in.... in the mean time post as many pic's as you can.

And yeah... there is supposed to be a snap ring in front of the gimble. And it's a biggie.... your gonna need a larger sized snap ring plier to remove it.

ps...... it's a 3500$$$+ gearcase new from the factory..... be carefull about useing the word "appears"

 

[Don S]

Re: Alpha 1 - Upper Drive Shaft + Exhaust Flappers

Your Alpha one doesn't have a snap ring, those ended (thank gawd) with the one drive back in 82 or something like that.
Make sure you are pulling straight with the slide hammer. If the bearing gets a little crooked, it will bind up.
You also need a big slide hammer. (5 lb slide) not one with the little 1.5 lb. slide.
If that doesn't work, you can make a puller similar to what Mercruiser uses.
See page 4A-12 at this link.

http://www.boatfix.com/merc/Servmanl/6/6A4R3.PDF

 

[Bondo]

Re: Alpha 1 - Upper Drive Shaft + Exhaust Flappers

You also need a big slide hammer. (5 lb slide) not one with the little 1.5 lb. slide.

Ayuh,......

I'd consider that 5lbs. to be the absolute Minimum.......

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Alpha 1 - Upper Drive Shaft + Exhaust Flappers

Wow, really? Thanks for info, a 5lb slide hammer is pretty dern big!

 

[manofprawnz]

Re: Alpha 1 - Upper Drive Shaft + Exhaust Flappers

Glad to hear there is no snap ring, thought I was going blind. I was trying with a small slide hammer, more like a dent puller. Will see if I can bum a larger one today and try again after work. Will also inspect all the bearings and stuff tonight. Thanks for the advice, and any additonal comments anyone may have. Also, would love a copy of the 3.0l manual if anyone has a link or pdf.

 

[Jim Graham]

Re: Alpha 1 - Upper Drive Shaft + Exhaust Flappers

Don is right with a big slidehammer but when I just changed mineI made a plate like Don stated.Used a piece of 1/2 in steel to spand the housing with a hole in the middle where I used all thread. Mine came right out then.
On the flappers I used the 807166A3 water shutters from merc.Thatys the number for 4in. exhaust. Good luck Slim

 

[manofprawnz]

Re: Alpha 1 - Upper Drive Shaft + Exhaust Flappers

Ran home at lunch and used a 5lb slide on the bearing, out it popped on the second hit. Grease seal behind looks in good shape to boot. So now we are off and running.

When I removed the starboard trim sensor there was only 1 stainless screw holding it in place, the other had been snapped off, perhaps 1/8th inch showing. Any ideas? Think I am OK with only 1? Also, anything I should do to the good screw or threads to prevent this from happening when I re-install? Can see how it happened as the remaining screws were really in there tight.

Jim, thanks for the flapper part number, can anyone tell me if this is a nasty job? Any tricks?

 

[Coors]

Re: Alpha 1 - Upper Drive Shaft + Exhaust Flappers

Soak it with PB Blaster, then use vise grips to screw it out.
Run a tap in both holes to clean, then coat screw with marine grease.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Alpha 1 - Upper Drive Shaft + Exhaust Flappers

If removal of the screw is not possable, rotate the unit slightly, redrill and retap 2 new holes, reset wiper location.

 

[manofprawnz]

Re: Alpha 1 - Upper Drive Shaft + Exhaust Flappers

The PB Blaster web site said it was available at Home Depot, however being in Canada I only recieved stupid looks from the ever so helpfull teenage staff who's social hour I was disrupting. Thanks for the idea Coors, will pick some up in a few weeks when south of the 49th. Going to make sure I have all my parts in order and will start the reassemby in a couple of weeks.

 

[180shabah]

Re: Alpha 1 - Upper Drive Shaft + Exhaust Flappers

The PB Blaster web site said it was available at Home Depot, however being in Canada I only recieved stupid looks from the ever so helpfull teenage staff who's social hour I was disrupting.

It's not a Canada thing, it's a Home Depot thing, If you don't know exactly what you want and where it is on the shelf, you probably won't get it.

Thanks for the idea Coors, will pick some up in a few weeks when south of the 49th.

You can use any penetrating oil, PB Blaster, WD-40, Liquid Wrench, SeaFoam......

 

[achris]

Re: Alpha 1 - Upper Drive Shaft + Exhaust Flappers

Another option for that shaft is a thing called a Speedie sleeve. Thin stainless sleeve that goes over the shaft, give a new running surface and protects the rest of the shaft... Not cheap, but way cheaper than a new shaft... maybe $40...??? They are made by CR (Chicago Rawhide) in the US.
This web address gives you an idea of what they are all about....

"http://www.sealcom.com.au/CR.htm"

Just copy the address (without the ") into your browser.

Chris............

 

[manofprawnz]

Re: Alpha 1 - Upper Drive Shaft + Exhaust Flappers

achris, thanks for the link on the sleeve, gives an alternative if this one does not clean up well.