I was told by the shop that my bell housings were loose and would need to be replaced without taking them apart, sound right? I had no symptoms of a problem in for routine service. Has any one else had this issue? 1991 Merc 465's Bravo 1's 250 hours. Thanks

Seems odd, especially both. Even if they were loose as long as the mating surface to the block was good they should just tighten up. They serve no other purpose on a Bravo than just the rear mount, so if they are loose you would want to check your alignment.

Bellhousings are also the pieces the drives bolt to. The side pivot pins get loose at the threads. Thats why merc offers HP gimble rings that use different bellhousings with no threads. Dual tie bars will eat gimble rings and bellhousings.
Jim

Sorry wrong housings. I thought it odd the ones bolted to the engine would be loose.

I have only one tie bar and it is internal. Is the bell housing removed from the transom or the engine compartment?

Thanks

I was thinking engine bellhousing also...

The drive bellhousing is removed from the outside. The actual drive is bolted to the bellhousing. Behind the trim senders/limit switches are the pivot pins that the bellhousing tilts up/down around. The pivot pins connect the bellhousing to the gimbal ring. The knee bone is connected to the shin bone...

If those pivot pins have opened up the holes on the bellhousing, then like Mobilemerc says, bad things can happen. But if that's the case, i don't see how it gets fixed without taking it apart. The bellhousing usually gets replaced but can sometimes be repaired: http://www.jrmarine.com/products/bellhousing.htm

Thanks for the help! Would I feel this when driving the boat? Because the boat drives great (I thought)

I have an external tie bar off my 311, left over from when I switched to hydraulic steering. I do think it helps stabilize the drives. It was on my boat forever and my housings are still in good shape. If you're interested in it make me an offer, I don't need it any more.

If you add an outer tie bar the inside bar needs to be removed or have a slotted end installed.
Jim

Never knew that was the correct way with two bars but it makes sense when you think about it. When I ran two bars I always worried about keeping both drives trimmed/tilted even so one bar wouldn't work against the other.