Ran good last time i started it! now boom, clank coming from stern.gimbal bearing ?

[jjacobs007]

All of iboats is awesome, I have learned lots from you my friends!

So here I am with my project boat, replaced things on engine,like manifold,it ran great for 20 min and then I turned it off, and when I went too start it 3 weeks later I heard funny noises coming from stern area, maybe gimbal bearing I thought, then I went to take off the drive and no go,so I placed a 2x4 between transom and drive and off she went,as I unhooked the trim tabs and pulled them off there was such a mess, the gimbal was still good but the part that changes the engine drive to downward was broken off in two places on the first joint,and I found a little piece of aluminum in there,besides other steel parts. Do these parts normally break? Im thinking it might be a alignment issue too.

thanks for reading and I hope my info can help you help me.

 

[NHGuy]

Re: Ran good last time i started it! now boom, clank coming from stern.gimbal bearing

Hi, first off I'm sorry to hear of your predicament. What year, drive and engine? I assume Mercruiser sterndrive since you are here.

Some pictures will really help us to understand what bits have come off the drive. I bet when you wrote you unhooked the tabs you probably unhooked the rams.

Did you place the shift in forward before pulling off the drive? If not that could be what broke. If the shift wasn't in forward the links between the drive and the bellhousing will be bent and probably broken. They slide apart in forward. Don't get completely distraught, they can be changed.

When it ran great for 20 minutes was that in the yard? Was there water to the drive, and was there water to the drive each time you started the motor?

When it made bad noises was the drive all the way down? If it was up or turned to the side it will sound bad. The double u-joint binds if the drive is turned and raised, that's one place the noise could have been from.
An alignment bar is part of your basic tools now, alignment needs to be checked most times the drive is off.
...take some pictures of the parts, try to take the pictures where they fell.

See if the engine will crank, but shut it right off if it starts. It needs cooling water when it runs. If you have a kill switch lanyard you could take that off while cranking to see if it turns.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Ran good last time i started it! now boom, clank coming from stern.gimbal bearing

Somebody didn't put it in fwd to remove the drive. All those parts are available for replacement. If you can turn the bearing with 2 fingers and it is smooth as silk then the noise might be the drive. was the oil level in the drive correct? was there oil in the drive?

 

[jjacobs007]

Re: Ran good last time i started it! now boom, clank coming from stern.gimbal bearing

I had it in forward, no worries there, I pulled it out, and the one of the two ujoint things being the one closest to the engine had broke off two of the end caps,there was rust around one i saw but fresh grease on fitting.just imagine those grinding around in the tearing up crap,glad it was in idle when it happened at house. The aluminum I found was the coupler that attaches near the bell housing area near gimbal bearing.. Guess that wont be coming off anytime soon lol. I am working on pics but as my house was robbed not long ago I have no cameras just older cell phone, sorry my boat is more important lol.

What action do you all think is next? checked the bellows and its fine no leaks,gimbal bearing is still good but looks like it slid forward a little when I trimmed out the drive to get it loose ha ha. I have been working on this boat for a year and it was suppose to take its first trip last week lol, Im so mad I think I will leave the fishfinder on all week.

Oh ya sorry,its a merc 200 and alpha one drive,the motor is awesome and I have never ran it without water,the drive still shifts into gears and works fine thank gosh.

 

[jjacobs007]

Re: Ran good last time i started it! now boom, clank coming from stern.gimbal bearing



Here the damage

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Ran good last time i started it! now boom, clank coming from stern.gimbal bearing

Where are the end caps and needle bearings to the u-joint ???

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Ran good last time i started it! now boom, clank coming from stern.gimbal bearing

never heard of a merc 200 with a outdrive, lets try with numbers for the broken parts

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Ran good last time i started it! now boom, clank coming from stern.gimbal bearing

Beat me to it, You will have to remove the bellows to see if the flange is still there to clamp the bellows too.
might be transom replacement, almost looks like someone forgot the C clips

 

[jjacobs007]

Re: Ran good last time i started it! now boom, clank coming from stern.gimbal bearing

Where are the end caps and needle bearings to the u-joint ???

they were in pieces inside the bellows,broke off inside.

 

[jjacobs007]

Re: Ran good last time i started it! now boom, clank coming from stern.gimbal bearing

Beat me to it, You will have to remove the bellows to see if the flange is still there to clamp the bellows too.
might be transom replacement, almost looks like someone forgot the C clips

the flange is still there, yaa. well at least a third of it

 

[jjacobs007]

Re: Ran good last time i started it! now boom, clank coming from stern.gimbal bearing

never heard of a merc 200 with a outdrive, lets try with numbers for the broken parts

Its a mercruiser 200 (305cid) with a alpha one, not shure if this is original mtr for my 1985 fourwinns horizon cuddy.

 

[jjacobs007]

Re: Ran good last time i started it! now boom, clank coming from stern.gimbal bearing

Any advice is good for me iboats! c clips are in the mess I found them. im thinking it was alignment.

 

[fishrdan]

Re: Ran good last time i started it! now boom, clank coming from stern.gimbal bearing

Remove the bad Ujoint and inspect the driveshaft and center section cap seats. You may be able to clean them up with a round file/dremel or they may need to be replaced, depends on how dinged up they are, maybe they are clean... I'd replace the other Ujoint at the same time, just for safety sake. The stickies at the top of the forum have automotive Ujoint part numbers so you can get the replacements at the autoparts store, save a couple of bucks.

I wouldn't trust the bellows with all those metal pieces flying around inside, so remove the Ujoint bellows and inspect the gimble housing's bellow mounting lip that's beat up, to see if it's cracked. If it's not cracked, install a new Ujoint bellows. ("11:30" in the picture looks suspect to me...)

I doubt an alignment issue caused the exploded Ujoint, but it's highly recommended to check engine alignment when the drive is off. Ebay has the alignment tools for $50.

If you don't know how old the bellows are, or they are getting close to 5 years of age, this may be a good time to replace all the bellows,,,, so you know the bellows are good for another 5 years.

 

[jjacobs007]

Re: Ran good last time i started it! now boom, clank coming from stern.gimbal bearing

I found a drive shaft assembly with ujoints and all on ebay for 160,can I just pull out the other end of drive and install new drive?

 

[jjacobs007]

Re: Ran good last time i started it! now boom, clank coming from stern.gimbal bearing

Does anyone know if auto part store sells a puller for that bearing and a installer one,will get new gimbal bearing just in case.What kind of grease should I put in there,I borrowed my friends alignment tool and alignment is good.

 

[dubs283]

Re: Ran good last time i started it! now boom, clank coming from stern.gimbal bearing

looks like the second picture shows the bellows flange is broken

remove the bellows and snap a photo of the transom assy/gimbal bearing mountin area, also a photo of ALL the broken parts found in the bellows

 

[jjacobs007]

Re: Ran good last time i started it! now boom, clank coming from stern.gimbal bearing

As I have been having problems with my drug dealing neighbors, lets just say for example if the boat was sitting on level ground with transom mounts hooked up to trailer and say someone was to lower drive to its lowest,would that make a problem? being the boat lifts up and drive pushes down toward ground? I remember a few weeks ago I got in boat and tilt n trim was way low as I raised it boat came down alot.

 

[jjacobs007]

Re: Ran good last time i started it! now boom, clank coming from stern.gimbal bearing

looks like the second picture shows the bellows flange is broken

remove the bellows and snap a photo of the transom assy/gimbal bearing mountin area, also a photo of ALL the broken parts found in the bellows

All the broken parts were bearings and two end caps and parts of flange , sorry but I didn't photo those as I was so pissed off. If you look at photo 2 you will see the lower flange is still there kinda. I need this boat to run now for summer and will go into details in winter.

 

[jjacobs007]

Re: Ran good last time i started it! now boom, clank coming from stern.gimbal bearing

Thank you iboats guys your help with this is totally awesome!!!!!!!!

 

[JerryIrons]

Re: Ran good last time i started it! now boom, clank coming from stern.gimbal bearing

You can rent a tool for free from autozone, a 5 lb hammer puller that comes with 2 or 3 jaws, use the 3 jaws and when you use it make sure you hook the jaws on the bearing, and not the grease seal behind it.

For the neighbor problem remove your battery from the boat. Also keep in mind that the outdrive is easy to remove, by you or a ruffian. Myself I use mobil synthetic grease for everything.