Gimble bearing
 

I need to replace the bearing while the motor is out and being built. My question is what bearing to use? Are there better brands of bearings to go with or just a factory merc part number? The drive in question is a 1998 bravo 1.

Thanks

factory merc. the new style are non greaseable but it comes with a stainless torx plug that you replace the old grease fitting with.

A non greaseable bearing is better?

No, but that's all that Merc sells these days....

Get a sierra marine 18-2100. This is all I use and you can grease it.

agreed .i just bought 6 the other day and they are all greasable .made by link belt not china brngs .and they work with xr drives as well . plus cheaper than the non greasable basically a no brainer

My gimbal bearing is also shot. I had planned on replacing it this spring. Will the Sierra greaseable bearing p/n quoted above also work for a '96 Bravo 1 drive?

Thanks. I'm going to order one this week.

yes it will

Just ordered one. So I will change it out this week.

I'm trying to replace all these type of wearable parts now while the motor is out. I'm obviously going to replace the water pump, but I think that's about all there is to replace.

The belows seem to be new and very plyable.

Yes, Could not understand why, Merc went to the non grease able bearing. Maybe to save 1 machining step for the grease port in the housing. Usually the bearing for the XR has the drive side shoulder machined down on the inner bearing race. Also I have seen the engine side splined shaft show wear in the areas of the gimbal bearing surface at the o ring, which will cause chatter, indicating the universals are bad. .003-.005" wear, taper will cause this. Just something to look for.

The new Sierra brng is machined for the xr already

While it's out...

Check the fit where the square shaft is clamped into the gimbal ring. If it's not perfect, then get a new shaft and have the ring welded and remachined for it.

I'm not familiar with what your talking about. Ill have to get I. There and see it I can find it.

I'd assume he's talking about the upper swivel shaft. That the u-bolt clamps down.

Put it in BACKWARDS - you'll thank yourself next time it ****s the bed....

yep! sierra one,,made by SKF...

Stick your fingers in the brg. If its smooth an free of slack. I would not replace a good part that if no water has been there its fine. Just my .02 Artie

Where is the best place to buy the bearings from? Assuming you want the greasable Sierra ones.

Artie, mine is freezing up and is very hard to turn so I'm going to deal with it now while the motor is out. I agree with you on not replacing good parts.

Yep use the Sierra part #18-2100

Buy a valvo penta bearing its same as merc but there still using grease fitting. both companies are buying from the same supplier.

Absolutely put it in backwards then next time it is a 2 minute job after you get the drive off and no puller needed.

It doesn't cause a problem? Which was is backwards? The dots facing the motor?

wont cause any problem .ive put tons of them in backwards .when you put it in you will see the 2 big cutouts looking at you .if it ever goes bad again simply knock the gimble brng with a screwdriver at an angle and it will pull out thru those notches

I replaced the gimble bearings on my Kachina when I replaced the engines just because they are not serviceable. Better to be safe than sorry, However I bought a puller from amazon.com that made the job about 10 min per side with drives off. I cant believe I used a slide hammer as long as I did. Best 150.00 I ever spent on a boat tool. Randy

flip bearing sideways and pull out the cut-outs. just check where the grease slot is and put bearing back in with grease hole lined up with the slot. otherwise you have a new style merc (read that non-greasable) bearing. grease slot in cage is off center...

You are really putting the carrier in backwards so the bearing can be remove from the carrier far more easily next time. You don't need tochange the carrier,just the bearing.

I'm interested in trying this job myself vs taking it to the marine shop. I'm fine with buying a tool to get the bad bearing out. What tool is required, and what's the trick to getting the original bearing out?

Also, I thought this was interesting when i did a search for the Sierra p/n.........

http://www.oreillyauto.com/site/c/de...2258&ppt=C1980

Same one, or not?

Cloudmaster 321 The puller I got from Amazon.com was 165.00 gimble bearing puller. the bearing you looked up is the right one & on the other side of the bearing you will see the cut outs everyone is talking about. If you install the bearing "backwards" like everyone is saying you will never need the puller again. I have had the privilege of working on some seriously unmaintained junk so that is why I bought one. BTW they also sell an installer & alignment bar very reasonable.

zincs if you have them, any hoses that are old, check all the wiring for wear or corroded ends, spray the whole thing with corrosion X before you put it back in.

Maybe I would be better off having the local shop do this. I can have the drive pulled of course. What's the typical man hours to get the bearing out with the drive already pulled? If i buy the tool and change the bearing, i'll probably never have to do it again on this boat.

Don't let all this talk discourage you from doing this. Although its all great advice, to much info can be well, just to much info. Pull the drive, rent a 5lb puller from advance, pull the bearing, check all the bellows, knock the new bearing in, check the alignment with an alignment bar, if all checks out, put the drive back on. Grease the bearing if its the greaseable one. This is a 2 hour job tops. It can be done quicker as long as you get the bearing out easily.

If you decide on buying a puller or Alignment tool or any others let me know. I give fellow Osoer's 10% off if I invoice you straight thru Paypal. You can buy a bearing puller for $90.00 from me.
My Ebay store is in my signature.

what signature?

This should be showing up under my post
http://stores.ebay.com/Whoya-Products

Saw that on Ebay .have you got any better pictures of the working parts .Picture in ad is dark.

With the drive already off it takes less than 5 minutes to change a gimbal bearing. Do it yourself.

PM message sent.

Just pulled my original bearing out to replace as a precaution and it was much easier than I expected. Borrowed (free) a 5lb puller from local auto parts store and popped it right out. Bought the replacement bearing, Sierra part #18-2100, but when I took the drive and both new and old bearing to a Merc. mechanic to get checked out I was told the Sierra bearing was a different thickness on the inner part where shaft rides and wouldn't recommend using it. I saw the mechanic measure it and it is different but I'm not sure if that will make any difference or cause a problem. It doesn't sound like anyone on here has had a problem using this same Sierra bearing as a replacement. Anyone have any insight on this? I've tried to research online and cross reference the part numbers and it does appear that the #18-2100 is a direct replacement for the older bravo's, pre '98, but there's no direct cross reference for the newer drives. Mine is a 2001 Bravo 1.