This is all very sound advice .
When I originally stated that I was going in the direction of the U joints I had never seen a Gimbal bearing do that before .

corrosion caused the GB coming apart. Not that uncommon but not everyday common either

That seems to be the category of most of my problems . Always compounded by uncommonly inept mechanics trying to figure them out . lol

the black coloring is a form of corrosion as well -- corrosion also comes in other colors -- white - yellow - black - brown and so on hmmm sounds like people

Remember, this is how rr's boat was shipped over to Asia. The boat was on it's sides for weeks; along with the jarring of loading and shipping.
I would make absolutely certain that the engine mounts are sound.

Other pictures and info he posted leads one to believe the boat had a rough bout on the way over.
https://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/...-thailand.html

https://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/...d-img_7019.jpg

there is not one spec of grease on the GB ball bearings as well. They are pitted and scared and black corrosion badly. the pitting and scaring is no grease and corrosion damage. Water washed out whatever grease was left. The GB never got greased nor did the splines for the engine coupler. Lack maintenance all the way around. they other cause for GB wear and or coming apart is the wrong GB was installed. There is different versions of GB to be installed per what u joints and input shaft is used in the upper. GKN shaft and GKN u joints uses a different GB that the past NLA set up thru Merc . The old set up was Metitor components === (spelling ) I have no idea how to spell the past set up.

If the drive pulled off like butter then more times than not the alignment is good. If it was very hard to pull away the drive - alignment could be the issue as well. Just saying for a laymans term about alignment. Not set in stone. Yes alignment can be the issue but IMO the coupler would have been really worn out and it would have pointed teeth for the coupler splines. I would change the coupler as well here.

https://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/...autosales.html

Mike aka M&RAutoSales here on OSO had a problem with one of the 496HOs in his 35 Fountain where the mounting 'post' (sorry, using bad terms) pulled out of the stringer, and allowed the motor to lift and twist against the drive with the torque of the motor. Given what he told me about this and this only happened over typical operating conditions, I could see this happening with a boat that was stored on it's side like yours was for the shipment/trip.

Great replies as always. I know a lot of you are very busy workwise and you still take the time to post knowledgeable and sensible opinions. Thank you :)

A couple of points....

There's only one dealer over here (2 locations). They send technicians to Cambodia frequently to do work for customers so I think they're pretty good.

If you collected all the sports boats in Thailand at one location, they'd fit in the car park at Walmart.

I speak a bit of Thai but I don't know the Thai for technical words and 'Mercury specific' words like coupler, gimbal, alignment etc so there is a language barrier.

The boat has not been mistreated but I suspect it hasn't been serviced properly given the low hours but it's still 10 years old. It was a fresh water boat. It gets flushed after every use here, on the ramp, when they pull her out. The last time out it ran flawlessly, about 8 weeks prior.

My guess now, the bellows split towards the end of the previous day out and the salt water came in and started doing its damage. The engine was flushed and the damaged bearing sat in fresh water for 6 weeks. Put her in the water this time with split bellows and it quickly flushed all the grease out and then the bearing collapsed completely. The engine was flushed and she was put away. The water you see inside is fresh water, I tasted it to make sure. Yuk!

The technicians say the coupler should be good. The drive is now in their workshop to check it out properly. I will go and have a look when they contact me with an update.

There is no visible sign of stringer damage around the engine mounts and I'll be poking my hand around inside to feel the coupler splines and anything else I can find. I will ask the technicians to double check the coupler and the engine alignment.

Fingers crossed and thanks again for the advice, it's been a HUGE help. (Oops, capitals...)

RR

Bup, surely the drive will always come out easily with no gimble bearing left ( unless the splines are corroded)?

If the front of the engine has dropped down due to the front mount lower nuts backing off it will pinch the input shaft in the coupler and can be all but impossible to remove the drive. Have had that happen to me on a previous boat. Drive would not come off until I lifted the front of the engine back up. It doesn't take much movement either to pinch the drive in place.

understood, but the pinch point is the gimbal bearing, add clearance there when the bb's come out and no pinch point.

True. Typed before thinking..

:):)
Service report has come back, uni-joint, coupler and alignment all ok but will check the last two again before refitting the drive. Quote for bellows and gimbal bearing sounds very cheap, about 420 USD. I'll check they are using OEM parts, they always have in the past. (To convert to USD, divide by 32)

RR

All fixed today.
Damn hot so it's hard work 'on-site', no luxuries like a stand or trolley for the drive so I stocked the ice box with water and M150 (like Red Bull but better).
Tools looked pretty crude, simple input shaft (or similar) checked alignment, spot on. While they were there I had them change the impeller too. Difficult job with poor access to remove the pump. I suspect it's never been touched in 10 years and the old one (pictured) didn't look any different to the new one. Preventative maintenance is a good thing but this time, it was a waste of money. Bought some peace of mind but I'd happily trade peace of mind for a few drinks with a pole dancer at my local! [insert glassdave's avatar]
OEM parts used for everything.

Water test went perfectly, the guys enjoyed it, don't see many sports boats here.
Than you OSO. :)

RR

Some marinas in the US have probably charged your invoice amount for the same work without dividing by 32. :eek: Looks good. I don't envy those guys horsing that drive on and off with no drive cart. Been there/done that in a marina parking lot once for an emergency shift cable repair and it sucks.

Those are some Texas sized ice cubes :drink:

Glad you got her back up and running. Enjoy.

Any smaller and they melt too quickly here........

Incredible. Most places probably charge that $420 for shift cable bellows now.

I find the service charge (labor) the amazing part......
2 guys have driven to the marina 3 times and including all their travel time (around 2 hours) I get charged 5,000 baht, or about 150USD. :)

Just have to say and wanted to add as many know as well ---- running and operating a true business with a storefront in the USA is prob 1000 times the cost than Thailand. For anyone that has owned and or ran a real certified boat service center and or boat dealership especially in a major market area - knows that just operating expenses is 5 figures per month. Not one marine shop in the USA could ever do that job for 150 bucks even if you brought that boat to them. Maybe some craigslist jack of all trades might do the job for 300 bucks but I know how those end results would turn out. Hell the real Merc alignment tool in the pic is that cost for the techs labor. Just my 2 cents FWIW

Thailand is NOT the 'real world' when it comes to labor costs. A mechanic gets paid around 10-15 bucks a day but he can eat lunch for $2, it cost me $4 to stock the icebox, etc, etc. The costs for renting or owning a decent size workshop are probably 70% less than the equivalent in the U.S. so my posts are just a little point of interest.

BUP, you're one of the most helpful posters on OSO and I hope all the time you spend on here helps with your business too. You guys can all dream about how cheap the labor costs are in Thailand and I will continue to dream about how cheap all the boats are in the U.S. and how expensive it is to get one shipped here!

Another bit of info, the local dealer priced a new 350 Verado at 33,000 usd and a 300 was nearly 28,000 so I don't have it all my way....

Happy Christmas guys:santa:

RR