First outing of the season; trashed the gimbal housing

[geneseo1911]

I had a rough day.

I spent all winter doing gimbal bearing and bellows etc. Everything ran and worked great. Drove the hour to the lake, got her splashed, opened her up; ran great. Slowed down to run back to the ramp & get the family, and all heck broke loose; banging and rattling.

Got her back to my in-laws place, popped the outdrive off, and found the culprit: the front u-joint. After a little more investigation, I saw that it had knocked off the aluminum ring on the gimbal housing that the bellow attaches to.

So that's my sad story. During this time of year, I don't have much time to work on the thing, so I guess I'm going to see if the marina will even do it. It's an '82 model 260. I'm worried that this is going to cost more than the boat is worth. I'm also a little bit worried about what we'll see when we get the transom plates off a 30 yr old boat.

Any guesses what I should expect this to cost me, or if anyone will even take it on? Do the repair kits actually work?

My 3YO wants Daddy to take her swimming...

 

[Pete104]

Re: First outing of the season; trashed the gimbal housing

Get an estimate first! And ask if they can test the transom for moisture. Can't remember the name of the equiptment they use. (moisture meter:facepalm: maybe)!

Tough situation but it maybe time after 30 yrs!

Daddy is going to have to use his imagination on the swimming part!

 

[geneseo1911]

Re: First outing of the season; trashed the gimbal housing

Yeah...no doubt on the estimate. I know I can do the work, but I won't have the time to devote to it for a couple months, so it would be worth a couple grand to get someone else to do it.

I'm trying not to worry about the wood....it has shown every sign of being solid so far....solid floor, boat always stored indoors, no flex, wood chips came out dry when drilling for the transducer....but it IS 30 years old...

The good news is that my in-laws have a pontoon, but it hasn't been summerized yet. That will get the little one out to swim, but pontoons are pretty boring when you're used to cruising around at 40-50 mph.

 

[Don S]

Re: First outing of the season; trashed the gimbal housing

Did you start the engine with the drive tilted all the way up?

 

[Pete104]

Re: First outing of the season; trashed the gimbal housing

Replacing the gimbal hsg ain't near as bad as a transom being replaced!
I don't know shops in your area would charge. I would think 8-10 hrs to R&R a gimbal is reasonable for that year of a boat. Engine out, drives already off. 2 grand, 2500 ish.

PM coming your way

 

[geneseo1911]

Re: First outing of the season; trashed the gimbal housing

No, I didn't Don. I'm very careful about running the drive down 3/4, and then bringing it up till the trim limit switch stops it before I start the engine.

I'm not sure but since I had everything apart this winter, I could have done something as stupid as leaving the snap rings off or something, although I can't hardly believe I could be that dumb. I didn't replace the u-joints because I decided they were fine, and they aren't so hard to get to if they started to make noise. I wasn't aware of the damage that catastrophic u-joint failure causes.

ETA:
Will an alpha 1 gimbal housing work with the '82 260? I don't have my S/N handy, but mine is the last design before they went to the alpha (I believe). Is there any difference in the plate for a V-8...I understand the inner plate is different.

 

[geneseo1911]

Re: First outing of the season; trashed the gimbal housing

I spoke to the mechanic at the marina. He thinks the belllows may seal to the damaged housing, but I don't think he saw the extent of the damage (I spoke to him on the phone after my FIL took the boat over). He is estimating $1500 or so to R&R the gimbal housing, if the used Alpha housing he has will fit. If it won't, I'm guessing I can find one on ebay, although it looks to me like they are the same, so long as you have enough bolt holes for the exhaust pipe.

Anybody have a mechanic they like (or don't like) in central IL that I should call or avoid? There's a Mercruiser certified dealer just down the road; I'll have them look at it too, although I've heard unflattering things about them.