direct replacement for a mercruiser 1??

[anothernewbie]

I am looking for a cheaper replacement for the top and bottom end on my merc 165. I checked on iboats and they had replacements for a R/MR/Alpha 1, but will it match up with my mercruiser 1?? I have the 250 L6 motor on a 20 ft. '76 searay. any help would be appreciated. there is water getting in to the bottom end. I just bought it, first boat... feel like a sucker....
thanks for the help

 

[ziggy]

Re: direct replacement for a mercruiser 1??

they had replacements for a R/MR/Alpha 1, but will it match up with my mercruiser 1??

a r is a 1 drive (revised) a mr is a 1 drive (major revised). so, i think the sei drive yer looking at is the replacement for the 1 drive. ya can always call sei ( http://www.sterndrive.cc/ )and see if the application will work (sei drives are what iboats is selling i think). while i've not replaced my drive, i believe it will.

there is water getting in to the bottom end.

don't know what ya mean by this. if water gets into the lower it gets into the upper. the gear lub is shared by both upper and lower. who knows, maybe ya don't need a new drive and just have a seal leaking. folks forget to put the seal back on the vent/drain plugs all the time or stack 2 seals together inadvertently which don't make the seal. ft. seals leak is common too after the bellows fail getting water into the bellows area rusting up everything including the drive gear yoke which ruins the ft. seal of the drive. letting the water that's in the bellows area that shouldn't be there get into the drive.. the seal keeps lub in, but don't keep water out, since it shouldn't have to since water ain't supposed to be in that area. there's other places for the drive to leak at too. go up to the adults only thread at the top of the i/o page ( http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=288430 ), look at #8. in there you'll find a thread about pressure testing a drive. to see if it leaks. ya may wanna try that.
don't feel like a sucker either. many folks here get boats that are in need of repair. that's why were all here...

 

[Fishermark]

Re: direct replacement for a mercruiser 1??

If you do decide you need a new outdrive, (and as Ziggy suggests, maybe you don't), then yes, a Sterndrive engineering outdrive - the SE106 - will bolt right up with no problems.

 

[jtybt]

Re: direct replacement for a mercruiser 1??

The MR is the same as the alpha I. The alpha I lower should bolt up to the type I upper. Call SEI to confirm

 

[anothernewbie]

Re: direct replacement for a mercruiser 1??

thanks guys for all your help.. i got to looking at it more, and the bellows are all ripped up. almost looks like two halves... i was also told that i need a new gimbal bearing... are they hard to relace?? ARGH!!!

 

[Fishermark]

Re: direct replacement for a mercruiser 1??

are they hard to relace?? ARGH!!!

Not difficult in theory.... but in the real world, with that old of a unit... they can be a bear. I don't remember when they changed, but that vintage may have the big snap ring holding the bearing in place. If this is a salt water boat... well, you get the picture. Good luck! Be sure to download the appropriate manual and do some reading.

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: direct replacement for a mercruiser 1??

I replaced the bearing in my 76 outdrive with the big snap ring. I bought a cheap pair of snap ring pliers (pot metal) and they bent on the first try because that snap ring is thick! My suggestion is to go to Sears and get the Craftsman brand snap ring pliers that have interchangeable tips in case you break one (also comes with differnt tip sizes too). I was able to remove and reinstall the snap ring with no problems.

I bought a slide hammer off of ebay in a kit which made pulling the gimbal bearing a breeze. I will say that we never had water intrusion problems and always kept it well greased, so that probably helped it slide out, too.