Alpha One retrofit question

[DJ Jaws]

I have a 1988 Sea Ray with an 5.7L Merc and an A1G1 outdrive. The motor needs some work which I can handle. However the drive is cracked and needs to be replaced. The gimble housing and drive are also severely corroded and bascially need to be replaced. I have an old MR drive with the same gear ratio from another project that is in remarkably good shape. I was thinking of resealing it, putting in a new water pump, and using it to replace my A1G1. However, I've heard some things about it that it may or may not work. Will the MR drive retrofit and A1G1? Will the Gimble housing retrofit?

 

[Bondo]

I have a 1988 Sea Ray with an 5.7L Merc and an A1G1 outdrive. The motor needs some work which I can handle. However the drive is cracked and needs to be replaced. The gimble housing and drive are also severely corroded and bascially need to be replaced. I have an old MR drive with the same gear ratio from another project that is in remarkably good shape. I was thinking of resealing it, putting in a new water pump, and using it to replace my A1G1. However, I've heard some things about it that it may or may not work. Will the MR drive retrofit and A1G1? Will the Gimble housing retrofit?

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,... It Should be a reasonably easy straight forward swap,....
While there are a few differences, they're minor,....

 

[DJ Jaws]

Is there anything I should specifically look out for? I know that the steering connection is different, but everything else looks fairly similar. I've heard things about the bolt pattern on the gimbal housing, which has me nervous.

 

[DJ Jaws]

Is there anything I should specifically look out for? I know that the steering connection is different, but everything else looks fairly similar. I've heard things about the bolt pattern on the gimbal housing, which has me nervous.

 

[DJ Jaws]

If the bolt pattern is the same, I should be able to use an A1G1 inner plate, which will fix the steering issue, but is there anything else I need to look out for?

 

[Fishermark]

I've put a new alpha drive on an older MR housing with no issues.... I've never tried it the other way around. But I would not expect any issues.