Rough gimble bearing??? Is it externally greaseable??

[texamwalker]

Im curious to know if there is a way to grease the gimble bearing on an outdrive.
This is a 1998 boat with a 4.3 mercruiser and an alpha one out drive(gen 2 i believe not sure how to tell). The boat makes and awful chattering sound when in a tight turn or when its trimed up to far. Im thinking its either in the gimble bearing or the u joints

 

[Don S]

Re: Rough gimble bearing??? Is it externally greaseable??

Pull the drive, I'd bet money you have water in the bellows. The chattering sound is probably the ujoints, not the gimbal bearing. I(f the gimbal bearing is rough, you replace it, not grease it. You grease good bearings, not rusty ones.

Yes you have an Alpha I Gen II. The change to Gen II happened in 91.

 

[texamwalker]

Re: Rough gimble bearing??? Is it externally greaseable??

Pull the drive, I'd bet money you have water in the bellows. The chattering sound is probably the ujoints, not the gimbal bearing. I(f the gimbal bearing is rough, you replace it, not grease it. You grease good bearings, not rusty ones.

Yes you have an Alpha I Gen II. The change to Gen II happened in 91.

Thanks for the help. Im pulling the drive here in about an hour. Ill let you know if i find any evidence of water. Assuming it is a bad ujoint bellow, and i want to change both the gimble bearing and ujoints....is it something i can do myself without the need of a bunch of special tools??

 

[texamwalker]

Re: Rough gimble bearing??? Is it externally greaseable??

please dont take offense but i never got my original question answered. is the gimble bearing greaseable? like externally or do i have to pull the drive to grease it? if the bearing is rusty, ill definitely change it....just want to know so i can keep it serviced in the future

 

[abrx7]

Re: Rough gimble bearing??? Is it externally greaseable??

please dont take offense but i never got my original question answered. is the gimble bearing greaseable? like externally or do i have to pull the drive to grease it? if the bearing is rusty, ill definitely change it....just want to know so i can keep it serviced in the future

Yes the gimble bearing is greaseable. If you look on the right side of the transom you will see a grease fitting about 2/3rds of the way down. The new gimble bearing may or may not be serviceable. I know on Bravo III, the new bearings are not servicable. If it is one that you need to grease, make sure that you alight the grease hole with the hole in the bearing. Once its installed you can pump grease through the fitting on the outside of the transome.

 

[abrx7]

Re: Rough gimble bearing??? Is it externally greaseable??

You will need a slide hammer to remove the old gimble bearing. And dont be afraid to get mad at it. It will not come out without putting up a fight. There is also an install tool to use as well. I just made out out of wood so that I wasnt hammering the hell out of the new bearing. Once its installed you will more than likely need an alightment tool to alight the bearing so that you can slide your drive back in.

 

[Utahboatnut]

Re: Rough gimble bearing??? Is it externally greaseable??

Yes it is externally greaseable but once you have the drive off and carefully inspect pump a few squirts in and make sure its getting in there (while the drive is off) then you can wipe away excess if needed and re grease once the drive is back on. If water did get in there and the u-joints are shot i would recommend you look at the gimbal bearing VERY closely. usually they go bad together in the sence that neither like water on them at all. If the bearing fails at speed you will have significant damage to other components. Good luck hope it turns out ok.

 

[texamwalker]

Re: Rough gimble bearing??? Is it externally greaseable??

Yes it is externally greaseable but once you have the drive off and carefully inspect pump a few squirts in and make sure its getting in there (while the drive is off) then you can wipe away excess if needed and re grease once the drive is back on. If water did get in there and the u-joints are shot i would recommend you look at the gimbal bearing VERY closely. usually they go bad together in the sence that neither like water on them at all. If the bearing fails at speed you will have significant damage to other components. Good luck hope it turns out ok.

Most bearings that ive installed in various applications have a raised edge or shoulder that the outer race fits firmly against to ensure proper alignment. Im assuming this is not the case with this particular one. Is this alignment tool something really special or is there some place i might be able to track one down?? I have about everyt tool know to man so i should be able to tackle this job as long as i can find this tool or make one that accomplishes the same thing.

 

[abrx7]

Re: Rough gimble bearing??? Is it externally greaseable??

I am not sure how friendly you are with your local marina but they might lend you the tool. I know mine does. All it is, is a long solid steel pipe that almost looks like the drive shaft of the outdive. Since you're going to be installing new u-joints you might be able to use the back part of the shaft to do the alightment. I have never done that but it may work. One other thing the alightment tool does as well is it tells you if your engine is aligned too. In some cases the engine may need to be raised or lowered at the engine mounts due to settling.

 

[81 Checkmate]

Re: Rough gimble bearing??? Is it externally greaseable??

Look in the adult section and don has a drawing of what it looks like and also tells how to use it. You can get one off of e bay also.

I had a friend machine one for me for free.

 

[texamwalker]

Re: Rough gimble bearing??? Is it externally greaseable??

I am not sure how friendly you are with your local marina but they might lend you the tool. I know mine does. All it is, is a long solid steel pipe that almost looks like the drive shaft of the outdive. Since you're going to be installing new u-joints you might be able to use the back part of the shaft to do the alightment. I have never done that but it may work. One other thing the alightment tool does as well is it tells you if your engine is aligned too. In some cases the engine may need to be raised or lowered at the engine mounts due to settling.

I appreciate the help. i was hoping that since i wasnt moving the engine that i might not have to use the tool. but i can see what u mean about the engine settling. i might try to do it without the tool and use the driveshaft and might get lucky and the drive slide freely back in. if not, i guess at that point i can still try to track down a tool.

 

[250Gimp]

Re: Rough gimble bearing??? Is it externally greaseable??

I suggest using the alignment bar.

Even if you have it "eyed up" all right and the shaft goes in you can have pressure against one side of the bearing which may cause premature failure, or worse, ruin the rubber carrier that it rides in.

Do a search and I am sure you will find lots of info on the subject.

Cheers!