How do you tell if they are the thick floor gears. My serial numbers on the drives start with OD. According to the the guy that owned the boat and redid it back in 2003 he said nothing was upgraded but i did notice a slight difference on the port noisy drive. This drive has the height adjustment on the back where the trim cylinders hook up for bravo 1 or 3. The other drive starboard does not.The boat is a 1992. So what now do I get a set of .051,.054 .057 shims and see which one quiets it down lol
Looking back at the previous pics on the starboard drive with the cracked tower race, looks like the race on the cap is the upgraded style also thinner and wider . So maybe the gears were upgraded
I think I am getting closer to this rattling noise . It's been rattling like this since last summer so it can't be that serious or else it would have blew up by now. Is it possible the race just wore out or should I just take a measurement of that race and order one the next size up?
Look at the height of the race on the starboard side( this drive is quiet no knocking) That's above the casting..The port drive the race was below the casting see previous pic

I am going to venture a guess without knowing all the facts completely.
Someone installed Thick Floor gears into the OD code Thin Floor housing,, then used the Wrong Shim ,,and did Not use a dial indicator to set the Backlash,, this drive had to be way out of spec,,loose,,

Ok , i agree with you...what is my next step with out taking the drive off and bringing it to my mechanic. Can i install the next size shim after measuring the existing one. Can that do any harm?

The problem is you do not know which shim is needed without using a dial indicator to check backlash,, it needs to be removed to do this,, does your mechanic know hou to correctly install the tower races and shim it correctly.
are welcome to call me so i can explain it,, I rebuild Bravo Drives here.
Mike
618-316-4755

I'm sure he knows how to do the tower races he did not build this drive. This drive came with the boat
The problem i have now is he recently moved a long distance from me and I have no one in my area that does drives that know of
. I'll call you in a little while thanks

Sounds like its time to buy the tools/manuals and learn to do it yourself! I find that's the best way, then you know what you have!!

I'm almost there...bought a lot of tools already lol

Special lubricant 101 no longer available. I think that is the green grease on the shift ball. What do i use to replace that grease?

After doing some research today. I believe i have the Mercruiser gear set upgrade kit part # 883473A4 . My shift fork cam # is 806790 as it shows in the upgrade kit. so this accounts for the wide and thin shims

thanks