I have a 1997 Chris Craft with 96/97 Volvo Penta SX Cobra drive setup, 4.3L Vortec V6 motor. The drive is a 1.66 ratio. I had the transom rebuilt last summer and did a tune up and the boat was great during the winter and first outing of the summer. Then I just replaced the lower unit due to a cracked housing by the propeller. I thought all was good, but early this summer when I took it back out a couple of times, there seemed to be more and more noise coming from the upper unit area, just kind of a clattering sound, but I didn't really get in the water and listen closely.
Once I got it home after the last outing, I examined the driveshaft and exhaust bellows and found that the driveshaft bellow was cut open in several places and there was grease reside all over the pivot housing where it was slinging it (I had recently added grease to the zirk fitting on the outside by the transom to see if it alleviated the noise).
I still had a spare stern drive from the complete drive I had picked up cheap to get the lower unit off of, so I decided to remove the stern drive from the pivot housing on the spare drive just to get an idea of how hard it was and whether I wanted to tackle on my boat. It wasn't too bad, just took a little persuasion to get the two separated, but it finally came apart.
So the boat has sat for the last month or two unused and I finally got around to messing with it today. I thought I was going to have to remove the pivot housing to get the bellows off, so I started and spent an hour or two going around trying to find an appropriate tool to remove the pivot bolts. A T-60 torx got one out, but was too loose to get the other out. Never could find the tool, so I tried using a half inch hex headed bolt and welded a nut to it that I could get my socket on and broke two bolts trying to get that pivot bolt out. I finally paused and decided to go back and look at that spare drive and see if I could get the bellows out without removing the pivot housing, low and behold you can. So I pulled the spare bellow out of the spare drive, now hands covered in grease I decided this would be a good stopping point until I can get parts ordered and here.
Now that you've read through the story, here's where I stand on questions:
The current u-joints on my boat actually all feel good except the very outside one that is towards the input shaft (motor side). One side of it moves free and clean with no noticeable play, but try to pivot it the other way and it is fairly stiff. It does move with a little force (not much, but it does take one hand to hold the rest of the u-joints still so you can pivot this one).
That said, do I need to replace the whole front u-joint, or is it possible to take this one apart and clean it up and reassemble with fresh grease? How much are the u-joints? If they are cheap like $50 or less then I guess I would go ahead and replace it. Are they any harder to get separated than an automotive u-joint? Any tips for removal?
Next: Obviously the driveshaft bellow has to be replaced, no big deal, where can I find that part number and is Iboats.com the best place to order?
How about the exhaust bellow? It doesn't look bad at all, but if it's cheaper than maybe $40 go ahead and do it? Part number?
Anything else I need to look at replacing while I've got it apart this far? Where is the gimble bearing? Can it be replaced without removing the pivot housing? What seals to I need to get before putting the stern drive back on? Do I need to replace any of the nuts for the stern drive or the trim cylinders? I didn't mess any of them up, can they just go back on with some blue Loctite?
Please feel free to comment and suggest other things I need to do while it is apart.
Once I got it home after the last outing, I examined the driveshaft and exhaust bellows and found that the driveshaft bellow was cut open in several places and there was grease reside all over the pivot housing where it was slinging it (I had recently added grease to the zirk fitting on the outside by the transom to see if it alleviated the noise).
I still had a spare stern drive from the complete drive I had picked up cheap to get the lower unit off of, so I decided to remove the stern drive from the pivot housing on the spare drive just to get an idea of how hard it was and whether I wanted to tackle on my boat. It wasn't too bad, just took a little persuasion to get the two separated, but it finally came apart.
So the boat has sat for the last month or two unused and I finally got around to messing with it today. I thought I was going to have to remove the pivot housing to get the bellows off, so I started and spent an hour or two going around trying to find an appropriate tool to remove the pivot bolts. A T-60 torx got one out, but was too loose to get the other out. Never could find the tool, so I tried using a half inch hex headed bolt and welded a nut to it that I could get my socket on and broke two bolts trying to get that pivot bolt out. I finally paused and decided to go back and look at that spare drive and see if I could get the bellows out without removing the pivot housing, low and behold you can. So I pulled the spare bellow out of the spare drive, now hands covered in grease I decided this would be a good stopping point until I can get parts ordered and here.
Now that you've read through the story, here's where I stand on questions:
The current u-joints on my boat actually all feel good except the very outside one that is towards the input shaft (motor side). One side of it moves free and clean with no noticeable play, but try to pivot it the other way and it is fairly stiff. It does move with a little force (not much, but it does take one hand to hold the rest of the u-joints still so you can pivot this one).
That said, do I need to replace the whole front u-joint, or is it possible to take this one apart and clean it up and reassemble with fresh grease? How much are the u-joints? If they are cheap like $50 or less then I guess I would go ahead and replace it. Are they any harder to get separated than an automotive u-joint? Any tips for removal?
Next: Obviously the driveshaft bellow has to be replaced, no big deal, where can I find that part number and is Iboats.com the best place to order?
How about the exhaust bellow? It doesn't look bad at all, but if it's cheaper than maybe $40 go ahead and do it? Part number?
Anything else I need to look at replacing while I've got it apart this far? Where is the gimble bearing? Can it be replaced without removing the pivot housing? What seals to I need to get before putting the stern drive back on? Do I need to replace any of the nuts for the stern drive or the trim cylinders? I didn't mess any of them up, can they just go back on with some blue Loctite?
Please feel free to comment and suggest other things I need to do while it is apart.
