omc shims

[Aquit45]

i have a 74 fantasy with a L6 gm with the stringer out drive, replacing the orignal ball gears, grandfather bounght it new. the upper unit was a little milky so i decided to reseal it. i bought a factory man. Do i have to reshim it im not replacing any of the gears or bearings can i just put new shims the same size that came out or dose it have to all be done again?

 

[Coors]

Re: omc shims

Wait for Don ,on that one.

 

[Manipulator]

Re: omc shims

If you did not replace the bearings you're fine, just use the old shims. If you replace the bearings then you have to do a rolling torque test and reshim until your torque test is within specs. If you replace the bearings without doing the test, one of two things can happen. The bearing is in too tight, it will expand when it heats up and then fail. The other senario is the bearing is not tight enough and will wobble and fail. This is why you have to do whats called the "rolling torque test" and use shims so either problem does not occur.

 

[chiefalen]

Re: omc shims

if everything is in good shap ie: bearings and such use the old shims no problemo.someone took good care of that boat pat ya grandfather on the back he's a man of my own heart.

 

[Manipulator]

Re: omc shims

Yes, use the old shims and you will be fine. Only need to worry about re- shimming if you replaced the bearings. I replace my ball gears and seals. The bearings looked fine. I used the old shims and never had any problems.

 

[Aquit45]

Re: omc shims

thanks that what i thought, the old plastic shims fell apart im sure if i bought new ones of the same thickness they should be fine. the only reason i took apart is the oil had water in it. it nice when you have every peice of paper work since the boat was bought from mike regan at meas boats, california the last time it was resealed was in 1989. dont know why people dont like omc this boat has never been any trouble from what my grandfather was telling me and at the time omc had some upper marks over mercs.

 

[Manipulator]

Re: omc shims

The uppers on OMC stringers always seem to get water in them at some point or another. Since you have it apart check your impeller pump seals and shaft seals. What I would do is drain the oil in the upper, refill it and run on muffs. See if you are getting water in it, if you are then the pump is pushing water into the upper gear case and you have a bad seal somewhere (or a crack in the housing). At least this tells you its not the ball gear seals, because that would only allow water in when the unit is submersed in water. If you have it all apart, inspect the seals, put the pump back together and then pressure and vacumm test the upper. Its easy, they sell hand pumps for this, probably could get it at the local auto parts store or use a bicycle pump with a built in pressure gauge. You will need to get a threaded nozzle that will fit the oil drain hole. This is the best way to find a leak and will save you time and aggravation. Check your water pump shaft for wear, with time water gets in, it rusts and the splines give. If I were you, and had it apart, I would just replace it. Mine was pretty worn.

It seems you are either an OMC (now Volvo) guy or a Mercury guy, similar to a Ford or Chevy guy. Also, some don't like OMC because they are out of business and parts can be expensive. Another reason can be they are just not familar with the OMC drive system and its easier to not like it than it is to learn how to work on them. I just sold my OMC yesterday, it was a good work horse and went 25 years before developing any problems. Only problem I had was the hydraulic rams began leaking and I had to rebuild them, you probably don't have that set up, and I too was getting water in the upper and had to reseal it. I also did have a intermediate shaft seal go bad that I replaced. Other than a few other minor issues it gave me many years of good use. Like with anything, the key is maintenance. I always took good care of it.

 

[fendersfender]

Re: omc shims

you have water intrusion....reseal the whole thing, not just 1 leaking seal....these are not bad to do yourself...follow the manual and youll be fine...