Where did this come from?

[62cruiserinc]

I was reattaching the outdrive (Alpha 1 Gen 1 SE106) to my 1981 Sea Ray. After pushing the drive shaft through the gimbal bearing, I went inside to see how it was lining up before pushing the splines into the coupler. I saw the splines just about to enter the coupler, with the following rubber ring hanging from the splines:





Where did this come from? It looks like a grease seal minus any metal frame and it's labelled Mercury 26-88416. It came from somewhere between the gimbal bearing and the coupler.

My driveshaft has the usual 3 O-rings for sealing the shaft.

The original outdrive on the boat was an MR-1, which was replaced with the SE106. Is this seal something left over from the MR-1 drive setup? I don't see where it would do any sealing with the current shaft.


Thanks
Steve

 

[stonyloam]

Yeah, looks like the rubber from the inside of the grease seal behind the gimbal bearing. It keeps excess grease from a greasable gimbal bearing out of the boat. It is not a critical seal. #9 here http://www.mercruiserparts.com/bam/s.../30870/2203/30

 

[Rick Stephens]

Most people just quit installing them now that the gimbal bearings are sealed.

 

[62cruiserinc]

Thanks, guys.

I installed the outdrive yesterday without the mystery part and was hoping that I wouldn't have to take it apart again!

Steve