Alpha One Gen II Gimbal Ring replacement - got a few questions

[SoloTSi97]

First off, many thanks to Don S., Bondo, CaptJason, and others on this forum ... I've spent several hours reading past threads on gimbal ring replacements, so I feel like I already have a solid idea of the work involved to do this job. I'm not a mechanic by trade, and this is my first boat, but I've spent many hours under the hood of a number of cars. So, I'm confident that I can get the work done. I already have both engine & sterndrive factory manuals (thanks to you other adults!).

Here are the specifics that I'm working with:
1995 Wellcraft 196SS
Mercruiser 4.3LX (4bbl Weber) w/ Thunderbolt IV (0F156273)
Alpha One Gen II (0F241511)

The outdrive has 4"-5" of side-to-side play in it, without the steering wheel moving. Per advice elsewhere on this forum, I took a couple of helpers out and moved things around ... the play is clearly between the square hole in the gimbal ring and the square shaft of the steering pin. So, it looks like a gimbal ring replacement is in order. First question, I understand that this is not going to get any better without replacement, but how big an emergency is this? I've read the horror stories of losing control of the boat, but that seems much more likely with the old splined gimbal ring design as opposed to the square/square design. It seems like there would need to be significantly more wear before the square steel pin could actually rotate freely in the square aluminum hole? We've been using the boat, not knowing any better until recently, but now that I do know I have to ask!

There are two different Alpha One Gen II gimbal rings ... both appear to have the same part # (865328A01). One, like the one for my serial #, has external grease zerks for each hinge pin, presumably to lubricate a bearing inside there. Another, which is supposedly for higher serial #'s, lacks these fittings. Per the parts diagrams I've seen, the one with zerks is "Design I", while the one without is "Design II". Second question, are the two gimbal rings interchangeable? I've seen some brand new gimbal rings on eBay in the mid $400's, but they all seem to be the newer zerk-free design. So far, I've been passing on these rings, but I'm not so sure I need to.

I'm not planning to remove the engine, so I'll be drilling/cutting my way in. I'm probably going to order the JR Marine kit rather than the Mercruiser plug kit, though I suspect either would work equally well. I have heard nothing but good things about JR Marine, and I like the fact that they have a video showing disassembly & reassembly. If I can put off dealing with this until the off season, I'll probably just remove my ring and send it to them for possible repair. Otherwise, if I need to deal with this immediately, I'll buy a new ring (more $$) so I can do the entire job in a weekend.

Thanks in advance for your advice. I'm sure I'll be back once I actually dig in! I'm having some other issues with the engine, but I'll start a separate thread on that.

-Bob

 

[stonyloam]

OK first off you MAY NOT Need a new ring. Grab a torque wrench and a box wrench and retorque the two gimbal ring clamping screws at the top of the gimbal ring. Torque to 55ft lb, and since you have a lot of play they may be pretty loose, so go up about 5 lb increments till you get there. Turn the outdrive side to side to get the box wrench on the backside nut. Had a lot of play in my Alpha 1 and that took care of it. If it still has play after retorquing then yeah a new ring is in order.

 

[stonyloam]

So! How do I know all this. Yanked my ring out and sent it to JR for a rebuild and they sent it back, said it was fine. Torqued it in, and it was! Yeah and don't believe any of the bull.......hogwash about not retorquing. I retorque mine every spring JUST LIKE THE MERCRUISER MANUAL SAYS! Good luck. Dang! Still can't edit on my Ipad!

 

[SoloTSi97]

So! How do I know all this. Yanked my ring out and sent it to JR for a rebuild and they sent it back, said it was fine. Torqued it in, and it was! Yeah and don't believe any of the bull.......hogwash about not retorquing. I retorque mine every spring JUST LIKE THE MERCRUISER MANUAL SAYS! Good luck. Dang! Still can't edit on my Ipad!

Thanks! While I haven't owned the boat long enough to take responsibility, it's clear that the previous owners did NOT do this annual maintenance item. As you say, I have read claims both ways, but it IS in the manual! I did torque down the bolts (should have mentioned that), and there is still play in the ring. It took a *lot* of turns to get them torqued down, and I went up in 5lb. increments as you mentioned, but unfortunately there is still play in there.

-Bob

 

[stonyloam]

Bob, too bad it is a maintanence item lots of folks miss. When I did mine I drilled the holes in the side but thought the plugs really sucked, so this Is what I did: saved the two aluminum cutouts. When finished I cleaned around the inside of the holes. Cut a rectangular piece of thin aluminum that was narrow enough to slip into the hole, and long enough to span the hole as backing (used a wallboard screw in the center of the backing to use as a handle) and used JB Kwik to glue it in place. Once that set, I used a little Kwik on the back of each cutout to glue them to the backing. When that was set used JB Weld to fill the gap around the cutout, covered with wax paper taped in place to hold the epoxy in (epoxy putty would probably work too). When set sanded and painted, and it looked as good as new. Used to have a thread with pix, don't know if I can find it. 5 years, still looks great.

 

[SoloTSi97]

Anyone care to comment, particularly on the "Design I" vs. "Design II" gimbal ring interchangeability? I know the forum's been a little under the weather lately.

 

[stonyloam]

I think you are talking about the swivel pins (top and bottom) rather than the hinge pins (on the sides) correct? OK this is what I know. There are two different bearings that were used for the lower swivel pin on the alphas. One (like my 87 Alpha I) uses a roller bearing and has a grease fitting. The other (newer) uses a sleeve type bearing and no grease fitting. The two are not interchangable. You need to replace your ring with one similar to yours. Here is the parts diagram: https://www.mercruiserparts.com/Sho...&bnbr=90&bdesc=GIMBAL+RING+AND+STEERING+LEVER. BTW JR might be able to swap your ring for a rebuilt one, give them a call. Good luck.

 

[SoloTSi97]

No, I'm actually talking about the hinge pins (on the sides). That diagram you linked to is exactly the diagram I'm looking at ... but I'm talking about parts #3 & #4 in the diagram (included below). "Design I" (per the parts list) the grease zerks (part #3), while "Design II" does not. I understand what you're getting at, though, as the older (non-Gen-II) Alphas look to have had a bearing in the bottom (part #2) instead of a sleeve. Both of the designs I'm talking about have the sleeve at the bottom, and both are the same part # which implies interchangeability to me ...



Thanks!

-Bob

 

[stonyloam]

The earlier rings just use a hole in the aluminum for the bearing surface and are greasable, where the newer rings use a bushing for the bearing and a different style hinge pin. The lower swivel pin bushing numbers are different, but looks like they use the same lower pin. So it looks like with the newer ring you would need the correct lower bushing, hinge pins and bushings to make it work. Might be best to stick with what you have. Bet if you talk with JR they can tell you exactly what you need. Good luck.

 

[SoloTSi97]

Gotcha, yeah, I see the lower inset diagram now that shows what you're talking about. So, it sounds like I really do need the same ("Design I") ring I have now. When I actually get ready to dig into this, I'll definitely be giving JR Marine a call. Thanks!