growling sound from drive area

[cobra 3.0]

I've been noticing a growling sound from my OMC cobra drive when I have the drive tilted higher up to get to my now shallower dock (the water level has been going down in the lake). The sound disappears when I can get to deeper water and tilt the drive down to "normal" operating angles. It is present in neutral or in drive.

I was thinking maybe the yoke, gimbal bearing, ...or that's just what it does at a sharper angle?

 

[Don S]

Re: growling sound from drive area

Rule of Thumb:
Noise when trimming up and down, Gimbal bearing
Noise when turning L or R, Ujoints.

Till they get real bad and either will cause the noise any direction.

 

[cobra 3.0]

Re: growling sound from drive area

Ahhhh! Thank you Don! Gimbal bearing it must be!8)

 

[skibug]

Re: growling sound from drive area

Have fun replacing that SOB gimbal bearing. Mine was a real pain to remove in my 3.0 Merc with Alpha 1 outdrive. But when you pull the outdrive make sure to note if there is any water in the gimble bearing housing. Gimbal bearings usually do not wear out on their own do to normal wear and tear. They usually fail either because of water intrusion or mis-aligned engine.

Have fun.

 

[stevieray]

Re: growling sound from drive area

If I can remember right, my sea-wise uncle who got me involved in boating said to never run an outdrive past the trim limit switch (I've always had an Alpha 1) even when in neutral. Sometimes I'll forget & start it up where I moved it with the "trailer" switch & I get the same type of noise - it's just past the u-joint's normal operating limit. Are OMC's the same as Merc in this regard? May be worth checking out before taking it apart.

 

[cobra 3.0]

Re: growling sound from drive area

My engine could be out of line. It's 20 years old and I don't know if it was ever done in recent years.

Also, it could indeed be past it's normal operating limit. I'll check the bearing for looseness before starting anything.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: growling sound from drive area

Have you been pulling your drive every year and greasing the gimble bearing? I always rotate the gimble bearing as I grease it to get grease all around the bearing.

You should also be checking the alignment every time you pull the drive too.