Gimble growl

kleake

2004 212 with the 5.0L, Alpha 1 Gen 2.  All was smooth other than a slight knock due to a bad u-joint in the outdrive especially when turning at slow speeds.   Pulled it apart and found one u-joint that was tight and sticking, so I replaced both.  The second one felt good, but were dry when I pulled them apart.  I replaced bellows and gimble bearing while in there and all else checked out good.  

Going back together, I checked the alignment, it was snug, but since it ran butter smooth previously I didn't make any adjustments.  First test run I had a VERY pronounced growl as soon as I throttled up to plane out, and figured it was alignment.  Pulled the drive and proceeded to adjust the alignment.  What I found was the starboard side engine mount was about half way up the adjustment while the port side was completely bottomed out which made it VERY difficult to get the tabs bent out of the way so I could adjust it.   Moving the starboard side didn't seem to help, but the port side I moved up about a full inch where I got the best alignment.  I'm still getting a growl, but it's MUCH less now and smooths out pretty good when I trim up a little, but if I go too far it comes back slightly.

Alignment tool can easily be pushed in with a single finger or thumb, and two fingers can pull it out easily as well.  The spline marks are much more pronounced on the bottom of the alignment tool.  Should I have to move the engine mounts that far?  And do you suggest moving the front of the engine up even higher to get the alignment correct?  It just seems pretty extreme when all was smooth before changing u-joints and gimble bearing.

GMSLITHO

are you sure the bearing is seated all the way in 

kleake

GMSLITHO said:

are you sure the bearing is seated all the way in 

Yes, it is seated.  The original was quite a pain to get out, but the new one went in easier than I expected.   Gave it a couple of extra whacks to confirm but yes it is seated the same as the original.  The growl is anytime the drive is not in the straight position.  Down is the most pronounced, but up too far or turn left or right under a fair load and it's there.  

aero3113

Is it possible you didn’t pump enough grease in?

J3ff

I also have a growl.. def doesn't sound right.  Checked alignment tool this year and it was just as you, easy in and out, splines looked fine. Going to run it till it breaks I guess?

kleake

I pumped in enough grease, when I pulled it to check then there was extra grease around the edges.  Not a ton, but enough I know it was coated good.  The way it is now it's not "alarming" bad, but definitely noticable.  I hesitate to run it because it was perfectly smooth before.  Maybe I should have just done u-joints and then the gimble later since it felt good and smooth, but I wanted to prevent other issues.

Should I raise the front of the engine more and see what happens?

kleake

Alswagg said:

Exactly what gimble bearing did you use?   If you used the wrong one, which many do, the shaft will bottom out and cause significant noise.   The old style “cheaper” bearing is .100 wider or thicker than the correct bearing for an Alpha gen 2 

I used the old style greasable bearing that I had purchased for my 97 182 as a spare.  It appeared identical to the one I pulled out.  I got one of the newer sealed style with my kit, but didn't use it.  I know it is in the right direction and seated completely.  It doesn't just growl when all the way down, but that is when it does it the most.   I remember my 182 had just a tiny growl when fully down, but was silent after to tap it up just a touch.

kleake

Alswagg said:

Measure the bearing.    I can visually tell.   You can use the newer bearing in everything but can’t use the old style in anything current really 

I'll pull it back out and take a look, but i'm pretty sure it was identical.  The bearing was purchased for a 1997, this boat is a 2004.  Both are alpha 1 gen 2 and there isn't any SN designation that i can find that says there are two different bearings.  It does have the newer style u-joints with the clips on the outside instead of the inside like the 97 had.  Those things were darn pricey!

kleake

Alswagg said:

They are different.  Your new drive has larger non greasable u joints. This takes the thinner bearing.   

Ahhhh,, do you happen to have the PN of the bearing I "should" have?  The bearing I pulled out was greasable, and I preferred that over the non-greasable so I went that direction but I believe physical sizes looked the same.  I need to confirm I have the right one before I put it in.

kleake

I think I see the issue, correct me if I'm wrong.  This bearing was purchased for a 1997, which shows pn:879194A02.  This boat is a 2004 and shows bearing #879194A01.  However, when you buy these transom kits they all state they will fit 1991-current so I assumed they were all the same.  I'm guessing the A01 will work in previous years but the A02 won't work in newer years?  Is that correct?

kleake

Well, I looked at the original bearing and I see that the drive side has been shaved off for more drive clearance.   The new bearing is equal on both sides.  Definitely a problem.  I'm going to install the original bearing back in for now since it's in good shape and order the right one.  Thank you for the info!

Dream_Inn

I can see this post helping out many others for years to come.  Thanks Al for your expertise!

kleake

Found some good info at https://www.ravnsgarage.no/content/mma/publish/01/109/10908/Smorefritt+hekklager.pdf
Mercruiser Service Bulletin No. 2009-13
It goes over the bearings and the differences.  The odd thing is it says X/XR/XZ transoms used on the Bravo drives use the red dot bearing with the thinner side.  The odd part is that I have the Alpha, but with the updated u-joints and red dot gimble bearing.  It does not show that to have been used in the Alpha's, but evidently it was.

kleake

Perfect Alswagg, like Dream_Inn said, this should help MANY more people over the years.  I am pretty surprised how hard it was to find the correct info.  Usually these changes are pretty well documented, but even several marine shops tell me the older bearing will work fine.  But this is the proof in the pudding.  Thank you again for all of your help!

reneechris14

 The dimple goes on the out side right? And the other side has not no dimple right?

reneechris14

Thank you this is valuable info.

rasbury

dimple out then...I need to check mine before I re install but I think I went through this when I did the bellows, asking about which way...is the bearing tapered? Also, that other ring that is around it, mine is greasable ( not a word?) so that slot would line up for the grease gun??