Upper bearing??? I have no idea where that is at. There is no bearing on the swivel pin or above or below it. The only bearing is the gimbal where the drive shaft goes thru.

I did not change any bearing in my project at all. I replaced the upper and lower bushing that the swivel pin sits in as well as a new seal, but no bearing. I pulled the bottom pin out and replaced the bushing down there and there is no bearing there either. The fun part with the bottom pin is aligning the holes back up to get the cotter pin back thru.

I have a question that I don't want taken the wrong way. Not trying to bash, but don't know how else to word it. Trust me, I'm being serious when I ask this.

What do you cut that big hole out with? Is there any way to cut it without making it look like Godzilla used the drive as a chew toy for a week? I'm sure this method is much easier than the alternative but there's got to be a way to make that look better. I would seriously hope the company putting this product out intended for this to look more professional than that.

Buck

Buck, perhaps a dremel with a cutting blade or air tool with cutting blade(disk)??

From 48 to 55 secs into slideshow video.

I'll have to pick up a few special tools to complete this job, but can't figure out what the donut looking thing is used for.

Perhaps. I would certainly think there's an option that would make it look better than what's in the pics on this thread.

Buck

I think ldillow is referring to the bushings which some may refer to as a plain bearings as opposed to a roller/needle bearings.

LMAO here Buck...no offense taken. The first cutout that I did on an old housing came out perfect. I think the reason it did was because there wasnt anything behind it. When you are cutting out your real housing, there is the tiller arm behind it and this is what will break the drill bit when drilling. The pattern was down pretty good but I used a chisel to break out the window and as luck would have it, ir sorts broke off more than I wanted. The best thing to use is a small dremel. The kit comes with 3 drill bits and 3 dremel disc. With a dremel you dont have to break out anything...just cut in a straight line from hole to hole. My problem is that I dont have a dremel and I didnt want to go buy one. I messed up the window some on one drive, but got the other one pretty close to the pattern. I am almost positive that Ron...the guys that sells the repair kits used a dremel in the video that he made. Even with the window like the chew toy thing, as long as you have good coverage on the stainless steel plate to go over it...it really doesnt matter. Before you start cutting, you have to drill something like 64, 3/32 holes to get the outline for the window. Tape your pattern onto the drive and then take a small punch with a sharp point and center punch all the spots where you will drill. Be careful as the drill goes thru as it will hit the tiller arm on the inside, bend and break the drill. I learned this the hard way as I broke a buttload of drills. On the port drive, when I heard and felt the drill almost ready to go thru, I backed up on the pressure so that I would not punch thru. I let the drill barely go thru and only broke 2 drills on that side and made a better pattern. As long as you leave enough meat on the drive for the plate to cover up...it really doesnt matter if you have the chew toy effect or not...it is going to be covered up and you are going to have the points between every hole regardless if you use a punch to break out the window or a dremel...it is still going to be a nasty looking hole.

Ooooooooooooo...just before the white donut thingy is the Mercruiser tool to install the upper bushing, lower bushing and seal all at the same time. Right after that is the white donut thingy that is used to drive the ring onto the drive shaft bellows so that it goes on and in straight so that you dont have to use a 2 x 4 or something like that. You can get these on E-Bay for around $30. I want to say that it is called a "bellows ring install tool" Here you go... http://www.ebay.com/itm/Drive-Shaft-...c64f46&vxp=mtr
or if you want to get what I have...get this... http://www.ebay.com/itm/ALIGNMENT-GI...cd1969&vxp=mtr and you can use the bar to check your alignment.

I never thought about that...thanks ZZ and more than likely, you are right...I was thinking of a REAL bearing. Duuuuuuuuuuh on me.

Makes sense abt the u-joint bellows retainer ring install tool. I've only replaced Alpha bellows and the early models didn't use a retainer ring.

Starting to make a list of special tools I'll be needing:
I have the alignment tool.
I have the hinge pin removal tool and a torch, so I should be OK there.
Think I saw somewhere on OSO abt where you can use a large PVC coupler to install the bellows retainer ring.

I do wanna get the bushing install tool, but haven't found a source yet.

The bellows installation tool might be nice, but I think I can get by without it (did my alphas without one).
Not planning on replacing the gimble bearing at this time, so don't need that driver.

Any other tooling I'll need?

You will need two 12 point 5/8 box end wrenches to take the bolt and nut loose on the tiller arm if you cut the window. The measurement doesnt have to be done with calipers but try to get close. Take a sharpie and a ruler and measure from the center of the box end towards the open end 1-1/2 inches and draw a line perpendicular to your measurement from one edge of the wrench to the other. Measure from this line towards the open end 13/16 and draw another line across. Now from each edge of the wrench between the two lines, measure across and it should be something like 1/2 inch if it is a Craftsman. Measure from the edge towards the centerline of the wrench 1/8 inch and do the same on the other side. You want to have something like 1/4 inch between the two lines. You are going to make a cutout on the wrench so that you have more room to turn it on the bolt head and the nut. When you get the window cut out you will see what I am talking about when you put the wrench in the window area to the bolt and nut on the tiller arm. This pic is something like what your wrench should look like on the box end. If you have a way to heat the wrench up and take out most of the bend at the box end to where the wrench is almost flat...this will also help. Dont make it totally flat, just take out about 3/4 of what there is.

I used the correct tool and I usually go get the correct tool. I have screwed up too many different things trying to get it done without a tool that is called for. I did put the bellows ring on one time several years ago with a cut down to fit inside the housing 2 x 6. When I posted the link for the installation tool, I saw one for $23.00. You screw up the ring and by the time you go get another one, you have spent enough to get the tool and a 6 pack on the way back.

The bushing install tool is going to be a Mercruiser dealer/special tool. I dont know that it cost since I can borrow one from a friend, so I really dont need to spend the money on it. Trying to get the upper (small) bushing in without it and not bending the bushing is going to require either extreme skill or good old fashioned luck. The first one I did made the bushing close up some and I couldnt get the top of the new swivel pin in it, so I had to pull it out and go get another bushing. This is when I got the install tool from my bud. I told him what I did and what happened and he just laughed and said use this. The pic ofthe silver tool just before the white donut thingy is it. Put some blue loctite on the outer diameter of both bushings and also on the seal. Make double sure that when you install the seal, the lip goes up and the split in the bushing is either in the 3 or 9 o'clock position. I put my upper bushing at 3 and my lower at 9. Push the tiller arm out of the way and slide the tool up...get it in place and lined up, then tap it in place. I used a 3 pound brass hammer with soft taps and everything went right in. I might tell you that the real fun starts trying to get the upper bushing out. You are going to have an entire new vocabulary. The bottom bushing can be driven out using a 1 inch deep well socket. Put the socket on the bottom after you pop the seal out and drive it upward. Once you get it about half way out, you can hit the side with a big screw driver and bend it, then reach in with a good pair of needle nose pliers and yank it out. There is nowhere to hit the upper. Use a small tipped punch to try to bend the outer wall in towards the center and you can grab it with the needle nose pliers. I dont know if they make a tool to pull that out or not.

After you get the new bushings and seal in...let the blue locktite set before you do anything...about an hour or so depending on the temperature. After that put a sizeable dab of good marine grease in the upper bushing hole as well as on the lower area all around the seal and the bushing above it. I also put alot of grease on the new swivel pin. Then slip it up in place for a test fit. With the tiller arm out of the way, it should slip right up and in place. You should be able to turn it to check if it has free movement without binding. Next pull the swivel pin out and set it aside and go after the tiller arm to put it back in place. Put some more grease on the new swivel pin and slide it up while turning it slightly so that it will go into the square hold and into the square hole in the tiller arm. You might have to tap it slightly...just dont tap it hard.

I should have made a video of all this stuff but I just forgot about it. I was working and on a roll and just never thought about it until I had finished...alittle late by then.

I forgot...use bellows glue. Some of my Mercruiser buds told me i can use silicone or 3m weather striping glue in a pinch, but use the bellows glue if you have it...and wear some disposable gloves. That glue is pure Hell to get off your hand and fingers.

Could you not use a die grinder with a cut off disc instead of drilling 66 holes?

I feel like I've been short changed. You said in the beginning you were going to make a movie. Could you please take it all back apart and put in back together so we can have the movie that you promised?......................................... .......JK, nice informative post. I think I have the same thing going on.

I did this kit on our old Baja 272. Very easy to install and the quality of the upgraded JR stainless parts is really welcomed. They make all their parts in Mentor Ohio, so I drove over to their shop and traded my gimbal ring in and picked up the parts. I used a small cutoff wheel for the access window. Just had to watch the depth and it was fine...plus didn't look like Godzilla chomped on it for breakfast. That's a good one.

I would think that you could use a die grinder, but you have to be very careful and follow the hole pattern closely because if you get too far over one way or the other, you will cut into something that you shouldnt and this could be a real problem. Drilling the holes isnt that bad especially after you center punch them all. You just cant let the drill go thru very deep or it will hit something behind what you are drilling thru and break off. The drill is only 3/32. Four of the holes will need to be drilled again with a larger drill that is furnished so that you can tap the holes for either the bolts of stud.There are three small disc furnished with the kit, but I would still recommend drilling the holes, then cut out the window after you have all the holes done.

Thank you for the clarification on that. Most of all, thank you for not taking offense to my wording. I tend to be a little sarcastic at times. Winter is getting a little long this year and I'm seeing tempers flare quicker than normal this off season. It's nice to be taken lightly for once.

Thanks for sharing the write up too.

Buck.

It ended up being one of those things where I was on a roll and I completely forgot to video some of the stuff...my bad. but the good news is...what I did video is all free... :o). If you have any issue when you do yours...just holler and I will try to help you out.

No worries Buck...we're good.

I do have a few bozo's on this site that love to TRY to irritate me and they go out of their way to do it. They have a little boys club where when someone doesnt agree with them or worship them as some sort of GOD, then they get together thru emails and what-have-you and go after the person...usually me. They make all sorts of claims and assumptions that they are THE GREATEST, their word is the same as if GOD said it and I guess I am suppose to he THE DUMBEST. LMAO...they have no clue what I have as I have better things to do then worry about them however I do get a good laugh at some of their BS. Most of them are still mad at me because I am good friends with Jeff Murray...the guy that took the Cardshark boat a few years ago, and also the fact that I posted what was asked of me to post by the investigators and detectives resulting in almost everything that I posted becoming fact ahead of when it would have actually played out. Oh well.

No worries Buck...holler anytime and I will do what I can to help you out and keep that big "dina-sewer" chained up.

I understand. Hey I appreciate you taking the time to post all of it.

Would adding external steering fix this issue all together, or do you still have to have the swivel pin operational in order for the external steering to work?

Internal or external steering...doesnt matter. The swivel pin has to be there or there will be nothing holding the top of the gimbal/outdrive in position. The seal on the swivel pin must also be in good condition or you will take in water.

That makes sense. Another question I have is, when putting an add-on external steering kit, do you have to leave the "tiller" arm connected to the power steering ram or can it be disconnected? just trying to figure out the best way to fix the slop in my steering. in my case the slop is in the pin and tiller arm connection, there is no play in the pin and gimbal connection. thanks



been browsing the forum trying gain some knowledge on how the add-on kits work before i fork out the $ to install it on my boat. so any info you have is greatly appreciated

Just wanted to say on the JR Marine video of the disassembly that there is a wrong measurement of the trim limited from the trim ram anchor pin bolts centerline. I can careless what it measured in full trim limit from disassembly - Mercruiser OEM spec is 21 - 3/4 inches not 22 inches that the JR marine tech reported.

99 % of the time this measurement is off to begin with because most dealers and or boat manufacturers are lazy or miss this measurement to begin with plus is never checked just before the boat goes out the door. Again the correct distance full trim limit is 21.75 inches - center to center of the trim ram anchor pin bolts. This measurement is for Bravo's and the older Alphas / MR/ R
The Alpha Gen II is 20.75 inches. FYI

bump.. I am doing this right now and keep referring back to this thread.
I figured I would make it easier to find.
Waiting on parts, but I have it down to the ring, just need to do the JR part. Supposed to call him monday for him to ship.

Does anyone have a copy of the diagram so I can start drilling? email? thanks

You are correct sir. And I might add that trimming out too far really agitates the U-joints. If one of them breaks, the damage that will be done is going to be expensive.

I have a copy of it...be happy to share. email me an address and I will make a copy and have it in the mail to you this evening.

Let me put this out there as it covers almost all on my project. If anyone has questions...please ask and I will try to help you out.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?lis...6Dn2oZUFhfpXpc

rduhon@imperialtradingDOTcom

thanks!!

email has been sent.

Thanks, I just replied to your email.

Also, did you rebuild/replace your rings? Mine dont look too bad compared to pics I have seen on worn rings?

My rings were fine. After I got everything together and tightened things up...all was good. We did an experiment on a buddy's boat last September. His ring was not so good so I measured the new swivel pin and we went to a local machine shop and had them build us a square. They did a great job on the square and it fit just a little tight over the square part of the swivel pin. We had to tap it down in place but it worked. Instead of sending his ring off tobe welded up and then machined down, we just added some extra meat tothe swivel pin and pushed it up into place. It worked perfect and is still working. It fit on the swivel pin like a small sock to take up some wobble room on the ring. It worked perfect, but if I was going to have my rings repaired, I think I would send them to J&M and let him do it. My bud just didnt have the dollars at the time and didnt want to sit around and wait several months.

thanks for the info.,
I will know better once I get the ring off. I can still see the lil divits on the ring around the square, so I will probably take a measurement (caliper gauge) of the pin and the gimbal square to see how far the ubolt has to bend the ring around the pin. Guessing, its probably maybe only an 1/8" before its in jeopardy of breaking the ring.

any clue on that measurement? (how much the gimbal should move to tighten down on the pin?

On the gimbal that we put the square spacer on...it needed about 1/8 inch to tighten up. After we got the square spacer on the swivel, it was a little less than 1/16 inch. Mine were about 1/16 inch to tighten it up +/- a hair or two. I'm sorry but I did measure mine with some calipers, but it has been right at a year since and I just dont remember. Prior to changing my pins, I could move my drives up and down slightly when trimmed up a ways. I was told that this was not suppose to happen and that it should not be able to move the drive up or down by hand. After I got my new pins in place and everything torqued down as specified, I tried it again and I couldnt move the drives up or down like I did before. It was like pushing on a fire plug trying to push it over. I did talk to Ron about it at J&M and he said that that was good...not being able to lift the drive when it was trimmed up a ways. Now my drives feel solid and my steering has no play in it like before...almost like external hydraulic steering.

You are pretty close to a friend of mine over there...Paul Duke. He use to have a Baja 302 with massive MPI issues in it. I pulled all the MPI stuff off and installed carbs and his boat woke up. Paul told me that it never ran that good before.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8FMvAWyBes

Mine didnt move up or down, just have the S seal leaking and have slack. both pins were loose and not holding the ring up against the housing like they should. I will check the measure before I make my next move.

We talked about the 302 back on TBM thread a while back when I had the 25ol. Thanks for the help.

Slack...are you talking about the slack going left & right? I had some slack there too but all gone now. I just barely have some wiggle. I could lift up on my drives whenever I was trimmed about 1/2 way to the top and move them, lifting up about 1 inch or so. I found out that this as well as the left and right slop was because there was not a good fit on the square part of the old pin to the gimbal. Got the new pin in as well as the J&M u-bolts. Tighten the new U-bolts to 60 pounds feet and no more slop.

Holler anytime and let me know how this works out for you.

yes, just left to right. I tried pulling up on the drives when trimmed up and they didnt budge.(you mean J&R?)

If all you have is some slop left and right, then from what I have seen and been told...your rings should be good and not need any repair work done to them when trimmed up about half way and then grab hold of the bottom of the skag and lift up. Yes...I mean J&R...sorry...think I said J&M. J&M is where I get a lot of my audio stuff for my motorcycle.

Almost done... Just need to put her back together, she came out really tight!!

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Well, thanks shooter again for posting this. I did not have to rebuild my rings, they had a small amount of wear, but overall still looked good. Proof was in the finish product, couldnt move the rings by hand once installed.

I also painted the plates black also, and will get some new stickers to make it looks as factory as possible.
I made my own tools for this project. thinned the open end of a 1 1/16 wrench as I couldnt find a pump wrench and also grinded the 2 5/8s wrenches.

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Easy project for those wanting to attemp this. I went from about 4-5"s of slack to about 1" measured at the end of the cavitation plate!!

How much total time in that