I need your opinion on gimble repairs
 

My gimbles are shot, and the steering is very sloppy. I have a 10 year old, 32’ twin engine boat (supercharged 502s) with stock steering (not external). In your opinion, what should I do?
1: Have the gimbles replaced, where the engines are removed, and the gimbles replaced.
2: Have the gimbles repaired, where you cut holes in the gimbles, wrench it out, and have a shop build up the worn area.
3: Get external steering without replacing/repairing the gimbles
4: Get external steering after replacing/repairing the gimbles.
5: Other

I’m having a shop look it over right now, but your feedback will help me in my decision making process. Thanks

Do it the right way and replace the gimbal with HP gimbal assemblies if you don't already have them.

Get pricing on doing it both ways if your not doing it yourself.

#3 is not and option
I would look into installing external steering but first you have to decide with route your going to go to fix it.

Anyway you go, on a ten year old boat I would pull the transom assemblies, & totally go thru them with new boots, bearings, seals, etc. AND new transom plate gaskets. It is a whole lot easier to do off the boat. You can also clean out the bilge & repaint while the engines are out & repair any oil leaks, replace plugged drain petcocks, old hoses, corroded bolts, replace/rebuild the starters, etc. Clean up the whole works while the transoms are being done. A bit more money, but cheaper in the long run.

Thanks for the feedback. I’m still waiting for the shop to get back to me on the estimate. I’ll probably take your advice and get the whole thing redone, as well as anything else they may find while the engines are out. I’m sure it will be a pretty penny. Thanks again.
Dan

I just got done rebuilding my transom assemblies. I didn't have to do anything with the gimbals though. It is very important to keep the pinch bolts tight at the top of the gimbals. If you do they will last a long time. Mine are 92's

#1 and have all the gimbal seals and bearings replaced while your at it. If you do it half a$$ed, you'll probably have to remove them again next year to fix something else.
Get the HP gimbals, as someone else pointed out, especially if you dont add the external steering.
You might want to check websites like BAM and Doller. They will probably have much better prices on parts than a local dealer.
Gary

# 4.
With supercharged 502's in a 32'
boat, you need external steering.

jt

If your thought goes toward the replacement option, I found a company that is able to get a complete transom assembly for $2250 + extras. I needed to rebuild my units for $1850 a piece. Just repairs and slop... So, I decided to replace the units because they included everything including the inner plate, new inner steering ram, and trim rams. It seemed to be well worth the extra cost to get completely new assembly.

Let me know if you want the phone#.

Thanks all.
I still have not heard back from the shop. I'll bug them today and see what they say. I'll run your suggestions by them as well.
Dan