RMM

When changing gear lube found that the drive has a decent amount of side to side play about 2-3" as measured at tail end. Saw post w/ drive w/ 8" of play. What is normal? Know this was not there when put in water in spring and have had issues with low water in slip this year. Concerned this may have been caused by boat rocking w/ drive in soft mud.

Is thwere a wy to tell what caused it and what is most likely the problem? Have heard gimbal ring needs to be replaced, but also have heard about repair kit for this.

'88 Bravo I w/ 454. Thanks

Gary Anderson

Nooooo! A worn bravo gimbal ring? Unheard of!
Just kidding, VERY common.
You can try tightening the U bolt that holds the upper swivel pin to the gimbal ring. The steering arm inside the gimbal housing may be loose to. But I suspect it's the gimbal ring that's worn where the square pin rides in it.
Do a search in the tech section. The options are to replace the ring by 1) pulling the engine and gimbal, or 2) Drilling a couple holes in the gimbal to access the steering arm bolts (kit for this from merc).
There's even been a few posts about a company that will repair the gimbal ring instead of replacing it. But it still has to come off.
Gary

RMM

Thanks Gary, just did a search and found tons of info. Great site!

Questions:

Is the repair kit a permanent fix or will the ring still have to be repalced at some point?

How does this kit repair/fix the worn square the pin rides in?

Gary Anderson

The repair kit from merc just directs you how to drill holes in the upper part of the gimbal housing. This allows you to access the steering arm bolts so you can remove the upper swivel pin and then remove the gimbal ring. You dont have to remove the gimbal and engine this way. It also includeds the plastic plugs for the holes you drill. It does nothing to repair the ring. You'll have to get a new one, or like I said, there's an aftermarket company that will repair the ring. I would contact Doller Marine a buy a new one if it needs replacement.
Gary

Biggus

iTrader: (1)

Get ahold of Ron Bender, "WildthingTaz" He makes a sweet stainless swivel pin and he can repair the worn gimbal ring. He does a fantastic job.

I`ve done this job countless times and IMHO the merc repair kit sucks. I hate drilling the holes and ask Audiofn, his boat SUNK because of a cracked plug.

In the end it takes about the same amount of time to pull the motor and remove the transom assy and do the job correctly. I will never use the crappy plug kit again.

Good luck,

Kurt

blue thunder

Maybe one of the other guys mentioned it and I missed it, but check the hinge pins in the gimble. These can be repaired while on the boat with heli coil or other methods. I did the heli coil method on my 1988 B1s several years ago with a good result. If you do not know, these pins are located under the trim limit and sender on each side of your drive.

Dave

Vmax

Speaking of hinge pin bearings I replaced mine on Bravo One. Boat had around 200 hours only about 15 hours with over 500 horsepower in it. What is a reasonable life expectancy of the bearings? New bearings eliminated about half inch of play at the skeg side to side. Not too bad of a job though took a couple of hours and purchase of the hinge pin socket. Could do quicker now having accomplished it once, but not looking forward to having to do it often.

blue thunder

I am not sure of the recommended changeout interval on the bearings vmax. I would think 500 hours would be a reasonable life. When I repaired my hinge pins the problem was actually the threads on the hinge pins. I have several inches of movement. Replaced the pin and bearing at the same time as installing the heli coils, and it is tight.

BTW, if the tiller arm pivot was the problem I would think the play would be up and down more than side to side. Never had a bad one though so not sure on that.

Dave

WILDTHING TAZ

RMM RON BENDER HERE. YES WE CAN SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS. TAKE A LOOK AT OUR WEB SIT JRMARINE.COM CLICK ON GIMBEL RING REPAIR IT WILL SHOW YOU WHAT WE DO.I WILL SAVE YOU ABOUT $500.00 ON REPAIRING YOURS. WE ALSO MAKE A STAINLESS SWIVEL SHAFT THAT WILL NOT RUST OR CORRODE LIKE THE OEM ONE.AT A MUCH CHEAPER PRICE. ALSO CLICK ON INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS. THIS WILL SHOW YOU THE KIT WE MAKE TO REMOVE THE RING MUCH EASIER THAN THE OEM ONE. GIVE ME A CALL ON MY CELL AND WE CAN GO THRU IT RON 216-390-1330

ragtop409

Well I just did mine this past summer after it wearing so bad that it broke. Man what a diffrents it makes when it is all tight. Mine had almos no play when I bought it 2.5 years ago and still has less then 300 hours on the boat. And for the record you can pull the drive and gimble housing withoup pulling the motor. I did it and Water foul also did it. I got my new take off Ring from a member here on OSO Spot94 & Luciddie2. Great People
Rag's