I just had the seals and shafts replaced on the steering on my Bravo's. This is the upper shaft that the gimball pivots on. They were able to do this without removing the engines by using an after market kit where they cut a hole in the upper rear area of the casting on the transom and install a polished stainless steel plate over the hole when done. The installation came out very clean looking. This was done on both drives and the cost was $2,100.00 My mechanic told me that he gave me a 15% discount on parts and labor. I have nothing to compare this to. I don't know if that was a good price or not. The shop labor rate is normally $100.00 per hour. I know that they are expensive, but they do good work.

What have others paid for a similar repair?

The shafts, part number 98230A1 cost $291.60 each, that seemed like a lot of money, but again I have nothing to compare it to.

Sounds fair to me

Marine Mechanics aren't cheap.......but the alternative is to do it yourself. I prefer pulling the engine (s) method but that would have cost more than $2,100 on a twin engine boat.

If your gimbals are now tight and you cant move the drives up and down, then the 2100 wasworth it.

I did one on my buddies 35 and he had boxes so we didn't have to pull the engines. I was able to get it through the inspection holes. It took me about 4 1/2 hours for one , and the seal is about 5 bucks . so it sounds like you got a pretty good deal for the two of them.

There was no problem with tight gimballs, but there was a water leak. I didn't want to end up with wet wood in my transom. When everything was apart it was clear that the seals were bad and the shafts were badly coroded, so I am glad that the work was done.

Good deal - sounds like they needed to be done.

I'll never understand why Merc uses a steel pin that rust and wipes out the seals. I recall Ron Bender making those pins out of SS. They way it should be.

Surprised to see your boat need that work done already. Doesn't look to be that old.

The boat is a 2000 model, it has 300 hours on it. It has been in both salt water and fresh water. The area of those seals and shafts is not servicable, can't grease it or flush it. I asked about stainless steel replacement shafts and they said that they are not strong enough. They did say that the new Mercruiser shafts have some kind of coating on them that should make them last longer. I hope so.

That's not bad ... Considering you pull the drives, the bellhousing and all bellows, cables, etc... Gimbal ring, re-set the ring height...

I'm curious about the stainless cover plates you mention. I've used the Merc Access kits with the plastic plugs - but it's still a pain.

PM me if you have more info on the covers.

Thanks

Capt Ross