Internal cleaning necessary for stern drive?

[bucknutjoe]

Hey guys, thanks in advance for the help. My mercruiser stern drive is serial number 6394656. As you can see, I've got the drive moved at the moment, as I'm transferring it to another boat. From the looks off things here, I'm concerned I need to get in to the drive and clean it out. How far do I need to be going here? Reading service manual 6, it looks like there's roughly 50 pieces in each the gear housing and lower unit. Do I need to be going 100% down to each part for a cleaning here while its off? Is there any way to clean it satisfactorily without going that far? I was originally thinking of taking it all the way down and running through each part in a parts washer sink, but after seeing the exploded diagrams, I'm a little worried its more than I need(want) to get in to. Thoughts?

 

[81 Checkmate]

Re: Internal cleaning necessary for stern drive?

Was there anything wrong with it before removal?

How did the gear lube look?

Alittle rust on the yoke...but not to hatefull.

 

[ktbarrentine]

Re: Internal cleaning necessary for stern drive?

Wow...the U-joints look like they've seen a good bit of water/rust..... I'd change those. What did the bellows / gimbal bearing look like?
If you are looking at full disassembly, you'll need a few "special" tools, plus all those seals....up for that? If it aint broke...dont fix it. If the oil checks out ok, do a pressure test and if sat, be happy. Putting on another boat? Ratio correct? How about the impeller....last time changed?

 

[bucknutjoe]

Re: Internal cleaning necessary for stern drive?

Everything was working very well before I removed the drive, it just looked "dirtier" than I expected upon removal. I put a new water pump and impeller in before the last season it was used, which was two years ago.

Ratios are the same, the engine's coming with it. That's exactly why I'm hesitating. I'm not really up for that many different seals, etc. pus I didn't even think about the tools.

So, split the two, drain gear lube, change the impeller and pump if necessary and go?

 

[bucknutjoe]

Re: Internal cleaning necessary for stern drive?

The bellows had some junk in them. There was a bunch of grease throughout the gimbal bearing and surrounding areas.

Is there a kit for the U-joints, or do I need to get the individual parts?