Re: Replacing only inner Gimbal Bearing, leave carrier?
I too doubt the "matched set" propaganda by Mercruiser. (I can just see some technician with a set of calipers and micrometers matching each bearing with its race

). Having said that... it is not much more difficult to simply pull the old bearing as a complete unit and install the new. The savings of a little time and effort is not worth the possibility that something could go wrong with the install the other way. Plus, the chances are good the original bearing has the grooves facing forward anyway, which makes the "turn and remove" method impossible.