Transom Housing needs replace

rasbury

Yes, it is tuff to know...get a quote but tell him you need to get another quote and see if that don't change his tune...for that kind of money I would do that anyway....I don't recall the boat, is it trailerable?

raybo3

In my cases there was a small leak causing the brackets to rot. The water from the leak froze causing the bracket to break in half. Both (a year apart) ending up breaking and damaging the fiberglass. Trust me you do not want to see the bills......

onislandtime

@ rasbury its a 342

rasbury

Ain't dragging that around are you.....have other boaters that can go with you? I don't know much other than what I dealt with- was able to rebuild without replacing the TA....

GMSLITHO

I replaced mine last year with stainless pin and ring used the jr marine kit so the motor didn’t need to be disconnected 

Ian

Same - my port the year before using the SS pin but the Mercruiser kit.

ruggerole

I had min replaced last year as well. My mechanic persuaded me not to use the jr marine kit. Used the merc kit.

pault1216

randy56 said:

Had to replace my transom assembly on the ole 270 for same reason. But it was half as much money. At a local boat shop. Guy had engine out in 2 hours. My biggest problem was low speed wander. And someone in the past had JB welded just in front of the Gimble. You could not keep the boat straight. You will be able to grab a hold of the outdrive by hand and move it back and forth. All bushings were wore out.  I think the boat had about 500 hours on it at the time. Hazzard? I don't know about that. It's not going to fly apart. You will see, when you get there. Good luck.
@Alswagg may have some input.
This one is $3000 

My 2000 270 wandered at low speed before and after the repair even though there was no more play in the steering. I had heard it was a trait of that model.

-Paul

Cableguy Greg

@pault1216 , any single engine stern drive will wander at low speeds. My old 232 did it, my 280 does it, my friends old 212 did it along with his current 270. Play in the steering wheel is what is caused by the gimbal ring going bad.

onislandtime

@pault1216 thanks for the input. I have alittle over 600 hours and I am sure it needs replacing because of the hours however I was put off by the several attempts to use scare tactic, Extreme Hazard! They did this same tactic last season when Hurricane Florence was bearing down on the east coast calling all slip holders saying it was going to hit our area and if we wait to long they may not be able to get your boat out. Some people listen to them and the marina got paid for a haul out/launch back in and then another haul out for the winter. The hurricane missed us by 3 states and was a Cat 1 when hitting land fall.

rasbury

@Cableguy Greg  curious about your comment.....what would be a :"bad gimbal"? Does not seem like much to fail unless it just corrodes away...? I have play in my steering to address at some point but I sure did not see anything wrong with it....don't mean to hijack your thread onislandtime but it might help you too....

Cableguy Greg

Where the pivot pin is mounted in the gimbal ring, you have a square pin in a square hole. If someone doesn't torque the bolts each spring, the hole in the gimbal ring, since it is aluminum, can round out, causing slop in the steering.

Dude_Himself

Cableguy Greg said:

Where the pivot pin is mounted in the gimbal ring, you have a square pin in a square hole. If someone doesn't torque the bolts each spring, the hole in the gimbal ring, since it is aluminum, can round out, causing slop in the steering.

Tighten which bolts?

Cableguy Greg

Dude_Himself said:

Cableguy Greg said:

Where the pivot pin is mounted in the gimbal ring, you have a square pin in a square hole. If someone doesn't torque the bolts each spring, the hole in the gimbal ring, since it is aluminum, can round out, causing slop in the steering.

Tighten which bolts?

The two at the top of the ring, at the pivot pin location.

GMSLITHO

From what I understand those are torqued once and that’s it ,you don’t need to tighten them every season 

reneechris14

I agree if there is any movement from ring to the pin it is not tight. Just another thing to check every season.

onislandtime

@Cableguy Greg any pictures of this?

skennelly

onislandtime the bolts below the mercruiser sticker.

rasbury

I just replaced my pin and that U bolt was not a square fit but round...not sure what your talking about there Greg...the steering arm is square as I recall where it mounts to the steering pin but that's the only thing I can think of..I still say, if you consider that round pin nestled in a round U bolt, as long as the pin is not worn to a pencil and the part below that mounts into the gimbal, the whole assy will naturally want to swing back and forth- there is nothing in the assembly of these parts to make it "tight" if everything is up to spec that I saw....it would have to be in the rest of the steering system where you would get the play. Also I mentioned above and have not tested, when the motor is running and the power steering system is all pumped up, there would be holding pressure in the system vs. when it's not running and pressure leaks down...yet to be tested however! IF the pin is worn and you can move the asy from side to side, that's a problem but that is not the same as pivoting/turning from side to side. 

Dude_Himself

Cableguy Greg said:

Dude_Himself said:

Cableguy Greg said:

Where the pivot pin is mounted in the gimbal ring, you have a square pin in a square hole. If someone doesn't torque the bolts each spring, the hole in the gimbal ring, since it is aluminum, can round out, causing slop in the steering.

Tighten which bolts?

The two at the top of the ring, at the pivot pin location.

I've read the Mercruiser bulletin (but not recently) and didn't think it was prudent to retorque those - you stretch the threads and the bolts eventually fail. @Alswagg
 - your opinion please?

Liberty44140

Play in the steering could be a sign of a bad gimbal housing, but it could also be in the cable and linkage wearing over the years. My gimbal housings are just fine, no play in the drives, but I’ve got a little steering play in the cable or linkage. Steering play does not mean you definitely have a bad housing. While on the hard try to move your drive side to side. A slight movement is normal but if you can move it an inch back and forth or maybe even a half inch then you likely have a bad gimbal housing.

Liberty44140

Agree with dude I don’t think your supposed to do it every year. I did mine 3 springs/65 hours ago and just did them again last week and they were exactly where I left them in 2016. 

reneechris14

A good sign of ware at the pin is to lift the drive by hand there should be minimal play up and down. All so look up at the pin when moving the drive there should be no play. My 2 cents.

rasbury

Ok, will state again, brand new bin and I can move the drive...so what is bad?

Ian

New ring too?

skennelly

@rasbury - the pin fits into a square on the gimbal ring as you know.  That square can be worn out and the gimbal ring needs to be replaced

rasbury

yep....not my question though....if I have a new pin and it will still pivot, does not mean the gimbal ring is bad...I need to work on this...it's on the list! I got bigger fish to fry at the moment!

onislandtime

Update: On the Bill for the upper seal replacement it was written "It is recommended to replace Transom Assys, It could become a safety issue" Completly different from the phone conversation of "Extreme Hazard" lol. 

Ian

I’d ask them to explain what they are talking about. Play dumb maybe and see how far they go. 

onislandtime

If your interested, here is a video of me moving the drive. The drive seems to only have play to the right though Idk. Let me know your thoughts pls

https://youtu.be/yUcyMZFFO-U