How much to grease?

beezee28

Master Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Jun 3, 2004
Messages
804
I have a 3.0L mercruiser with alpha one outdrive and would like to know how much grease should I pump in thriugh the grease nipp1e that is on the out drive. Should I pump the grease in until it comes out somewhere or just pump 2 or 3 times to fill it with grease. Any help is appreciated.
 

05GlastronSX

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
May 29, 2005
Messages
437
Re: How much to grease?

what ive always done with anything that i grease whether its snowmobiles, boats...anything, i always grease it until i see the old grease start squeezing out. thats when i know that the new grease is in there. 2-3 is not enough..pump it until it starts to squirt out.
 

NYMINUTE

Captain
Joined
Oct 6, 2003
Messages
3,298
Re: How much to grease?

I give mine a shot everyother trip out. So far so good.
 

jlshields

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 31, 2002
Messages
257
Re: How much to grease?

beezee, that's for the gimble bearing. You pump that zerk till grease comes out somewhere it would probably take a dozen tubes. I pump mine about 10 times twice a year with the engine running to flush out the old grease and distribute the new. Been doing it like that since 1984 on my boats and haven't lost a gimble bearing yet.
 

craze1cars

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Dec 26, 2004
Messages
1,822
Re: How much to grease?

By all means you dont' want to pump 'till the gimbal bearing oozes out (unless the drive is removed), it'll create a heckuva mess if you manage to fill that huge driveshaft cavity and will cost you about $50 in grease! However, I feel the best time to grease the gimbal bearing is to do it thoroughly while the drive is removed each year during winterization. That way you can pump it 'till you can see it oozing all over the place in the bellows, and scoop out the old glop, and spin the bearing by hand to make sure it's smooth, rust-free, and properly filled. Unless you do a whole lot of hours, there's little need to add more grease throughout the season. But I agree on the 10 pump questimate on a blind grease job will get it adequately lubed for mid-season insurance and can't hurt anything.<br /><br />Now you may also have grease nipples on each of the hinge pins (the drive tilt pivot points)depending on the year of your Alpha. If you have them, they'll will only take a couple pumps before they start to visibly ooze and probably should be hit on occasion through the season, especially if your boat floats in the water all season.
 
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