Uh Ohhhhhhhhhh
 

Well we pullled the boat up in the driveway to checkout the infamous Gimbal bearing noise.....started it up to check it and noticed NO water from the pipes.....Uh Oh!!!

Yup driveshaft NOT moving at all.....this is bad...well for me.....Pulled the drive off and that was no easy task....imagine the splines loaded up with metal and tryng to pull it out by hand.....not fun but it came off.....well the part behind them motor whatever it's called it stripped cleannnnnn........the shaft for the outdrive is a little filled up with shavings....Oops.....but it looks fine after cleaning......

So I know the motor had to come out and doesn't look to hard.....260Merc Alpha drive Gen1....so what should I need in order to fix this *****.....?.......Me not to exicted about this...:mad:

Sounds like you spun a coupler.It bolts to the flywheel. Pull the engine, replace the coupler.

And then make sure you realign.

Yup, coupler. You can pick them up used if you look around, or get a new one from any Merc. dealer. Make sure you clean up the input shaft before you put it back in. And yes, ALIGN the drive!! You need a special tool for this, any Merc. service guy can help you out with this.

Sounds like maybe you don't grease the zerk fittings (there are two of them) on your coupler?? Part of the spring un-winterizing for me, but since you don't have to winterize, you should do it twice a year (we boat for 6 months here, you do it year round so do it twice as often).

Not hard to replace except you MUST remove the engine.

Mike

1.5 hrs if you stop and drink a cold beer,if you got enough room just pull the mts loose and turn the engine sideways,pull the coupler and reinstall new one,only about 15 or so bolts and your home free,and you have to align it...........ck your ft mts to make sure there not corroded up while you have it turned and loose,saves you a whole lotta time...........shouldnt have to pull the engine all the way or even the electrical systems,just look behind the motor and make sure theres no cables tied to the transom or stringers.just lift it an inch and turn it...........

coupler
 

sure is, usually makes a whole hell of noise but if something has to go its not a major deal. my coupler sheared clean after i had broken a motor mount running in water i had no business being in. pull the drive, pull the motor, replace coupler and reinstall everything. i would recomend buying a new one though, they're not too expensive at all

I blew a coupler this year myself. :mad: What really pissed me off, was it was only two years old!!!

I had to pull my engine to put silent choice on. While the engine was out of the boat, we noticed the coupler looked real dry and worn. (boat was only 4 yrs old at time) Previous owner never greased it. Anyways, we replace it to save future expense and being stranded.

...............this summer at 7:00am with the worlds worst hangover, just getting on plane - Wwwwwhhhhhiiinnngggggrrrrggggg!!!!!!!:eek: :eek: :mad: :mad:

There was no reason for that to happen!! I kept that coupler well greased, stock power, never beat on, installed by "certified Mercruiser tech" and less than 2 yrs old! I contacted Mercruiser and expressed my concern. They only warranty for one year. However, they did admit that should not have happened. I had to pay all labor, but they sent back 1/2 the $$ for parts. It cranked me to pay anything - but they didn't HAVE to send anything. It was only good customer relations on their part. So, cudos to Mercruiser. I just have sh*t luck I guess! :rolleyes: :D

Well I used to have pics of the engine compartment but they went be bye bye a while ago.........I dunno.....I can tell you there will be NO turning this motor sideways.....not nearly enough room for that.....Now on the other hand......behind the coupler is about 6 inches of room between it and the transom assembly.....would this be enough room or no way not close......Explain what's involved in pulling the coupler out.......Plus the Gimbal bearing is shot too.....I think that is the culprit of it all....:mad: It still spins freely but put a load on it with your fingers and it will lock up......Not good again.....Lot of sludge behind the bearing too...nasty looking.......but the bellow looks good real good.....:confused:

six inches is enough,just gotta get the bell housing off

So if i can manage to get the bellhousing off then what will I be looking at???????...........:confused:

The biggest problem with getting the bell housing off in the boat is that plate that bolts to the front bottom of the bellhousing and covers the flywheel. That can be a wiener if you can't get under the engine. Once you get it off, you will either see a triangular shaped coupler with 3 bolts or a full round one. If its triangular, you can have one of mine, Im replacing with full plate style for bigger HP. I always make a pilot bore shaft (fits tight) for the splines and rotate the engine and check for any runout. I have seen some real bad.

Any idea where I should start looking for an "affordable"...coupler......;)

Oh and mercruiser is not my idea of affordable........:rolleyes:

boatfix.com. Theres a full plate one on ebay that I want to buy. Dennis bid on it already but I need one more desperatly. Like I said, if its a triangular one, you can have one of mine, their in good shape and should be fine for that 260.

Even if it won't work thanx for the offer......I have no idea of what I am doing here short of asking questions so thanx......Terry

But then again I had no real problems getting the drive off so who knows......How do I go about finding out what type it is?....:confused:

Its not easy to see with the housing on. You might have some luck with a mirror and flashlight looking in the gap between the coupler and the housing. Ask Mark at Bam or George at Boatfix. If you know the year and maybe serial number, they might know exactly.

Shore: Hit your local deler and get the manual for this thing. I believe it will only cost you about 35 bucks. You have no problem working on cars as I recal so this will be a snap. The book will help you out a lot however and also show you the differences btwn all the drives. Hardest part is figureing a way to safely lift the engine. You will not have to pull it all the way out just up and forward a bit so that you can get to the plate and remove it.

Jon

My buddy down the street has a merc manual for the engine and drives......he said come and get it......I have serial numbers for the drive and motor....BUT....the numbers on the motor have been changed.....all the stuff is Merc but the motor was swapped out.....don't know what difference this would make but that's it...:rolleyes:


So far I see 6 bolts that hold this motor down....two on the bottom of the side motor mounts......these two are going to the stringers..they look Brand new so I'm gonna think these are the ones to tackle.....the single mount bolts don't look to pretty.sooo I dunno if that nut will back off...so i will opt for the stringer bolts unless this is a bad idea....

The last two bolts are the ones on the back side of the bellhousing?......right up against the transom assembly!


:confused:

Did everyone notice Terry said his gimbal bearing locks up with a load on it???? This MUST be REPLACED. To do so will not be easy.....the entire transom assembly has to come off, or you can try to do the drill the holes method, but it sucks, and will probably leak at some point in the future (ask Tinkerboater about this problem).

Pull the motor. Set it on jack stands next to the boat or in the garage, wherever. Remove the transom assembly (many bolts, both on the inside and outside of the transom....check the manual) and take the assembly to a merc dealer/service place if you don't know what your doing or your buddy doesn't know what he's doing here. The coupler is easy....unbolt the bell housing (several big bolts)...now your looking at the coupler.....if it's the triangular one it should have 6 bolts holding it on. Take em off, replace with new coupler, done deal. The gimbal bearing is a whole different story...it has to be pressed in if I'm correct....I don't think I'd even want to do it without some help, and I do almost all my own maintenance.

You would do fine to take formula1 up on his offer. Even if you have the round coupler, the triangular one will work fine for you.

Mike

The gimbal bearing can be replaced without taking anything apart except removing the drive. You need the right puller and then the right installer. If you cant borrow them locally, Im sure somebody on here can help. I have them for a bravo, not sure if they are the same for alpha, I dont think so.

AS far as the engine mounts, you can pull the stringer bolts as a last resort but you really should take the top nuts off. They are 1-1/8". Check to see if the locking tab washers are installed. If so, you may need to bend the ears up. The 2 bolts in back take a 3/4" socket and lots of extensions.

Thanx Guys.....I believe we will be all good on the Gimbal bearing it was gonna be replaced anyways.....It takes a slide hammer and the correct attachment to do......My buddy just did couple in his Formula.....Pull the Gimbal out with the slide hammer and freeze the new one for while and use a race to run it back in.

Now the deal with the Engine mounts is this......the bolts to the stringers are NEW looking.....and by this I mean they look perfect!...Like a few months old perfect.....the single nuts that hold each side of the motor mounts look real good BUT....and I reiterate BUT....the threads look real bad.....real bad....I can't even see threads t tell you the truth......kinda of odd....but hey whatta expect?........It looks as if who ever did the motor swap did it via taking the stringers bolts out.....I don't believe we will be tackling those mounts!:(

My drive is currently sitting next to my friggin Formula in the garage.....funny site for sure....if that thing falls on the car you guys are gonna hear the scream from all your houses!!!!!!:mad: that ***** is heavy!....especially for one person taking it off.....LOADS of fun there...

:rolleyes:

I'm a little concerned about this alignment issue.....I do believe that the gimbal bearing went bad and took out the coupler but why would the splines in the coupler strip out and not the rubber it sits in...or is the coupler just metal period?

aluminum splined hub mounted in rubber,when you pull your engine loose take one mt off at a time from the block,sandblast or glass bead the threads,break'em loose in case your alingnment needs adjustment.......set the coupler in and change the gimbal and align it......making sure to lube the new coupler splines and the drive slines on reassembly...

Alpha?? Heavy?? Not really!! Try yanking a Bravo off by yourself a few times!!! I can do it alone, but REALLY prefer a second set of hands to do it.

At least you have the gimbal bearing covered. Sorry about the misinformation....I was under the impression they had to come out from the inside....not the outer side of the housing. Good to know!!!!

As for the top nuts on your mounts, you might just give it the ole undereducated try.....lube em up with some antisieze and see what happens. Taking the stringer bolts out would be the last thing I would want to do.....much harder to align when putting it back in. The mounts aren't that expensive either......might consider just getting new ones.

Mike

That doesn't sound like any fun at all!! :(