alpha one won't go back on

[nightdagger]

I get the lower unit 1 inch from going all the way on. Could the prints on the shaft be going into the new gimbal rough? This is a pain lol

 

[themikehyde]

Presuming you checked the engine alignment, greased the driveshaft, have the shifter in forward (Reverse if a CR), the shift fork pointed forward, it should slide right in.

 

[nightdagger]

The alignment isgood. Other shifter is in forward and is actually seated into the bottom of bell housing. I can slide it right it until the last inch. It is partially on the studs just seems like something is stopping it.

Frustrating this is lol

 

[themikehyde]

I feel your pain. Been there! Did you lube up the o-rings on the drive shaft?

 

[chandalen]

If its lined up... and you have threads through the 6 holes, AND new O-rings... I started tightening the bolts and it popped in. The new O-Rings gave a bit too much resistance to push that heavy thing in.

 

[nightdagger]

Thanks guys. I rechecked alignment then grabbed the old bearing and put it on the shaft and it would not go. After a lot of lube and some cleaning I got it to go. Put the drive back on and same as before. Got mad and kicked it and bang, it was in place lol. Tightened erything down and job complete.

Wow what a piece of work.......

Ty so much

 

[themikehyde]

Sometimes thats what it takes, just dont hurt your foot! Like i said, been there, done that!

 

[Molson]

the good ole Alpha kick

 

[Gunn]

Thanks guys. I rechecked alignment then grabbed the old bearing and put it on the shaft and it would not go. After a lot of lube and some cleaning I got it to go. Put the drive back on and same as before. Got mad and kicked it and bang, it was in place lol. Tightened erything down and job complete.

Wow what a piece of work.......

Ty so much

:smt038 Sorry I'm late to the party, but glad you figured it out! I've been in the same predicament before. Everywhere you read they'll tell you it "should" just slide right in, and if you have to force it, someting is wrong. But sometimes it just won't. Those splines have a tight fit and even if you get them lined up correctly as you did, they'll not slide together easily. Occasionally I've been able to get one nut on the stud and that can help pull it all together. But other times a good kick is all it needs.

 

[Molson]

if there is grease on the orings it will make it harder to go in. If you use a light oil instead it will insert better. (Thats what she said)

 

[kbsunlovers]

A shift slide tool helps when getting things aligned:
http://www.mercstuff.com/shiftcable1.htm

And sometimes a 4x4 timber....

 

[nightdagger]

I had my dad helping me and he wanted to see how easy/hard the job is. He just paid 1000 to get his gimbal and bellows done and wasn't sure if it was worth paying someone to do it all.

Taking everything apart and cleaning it was easy. Reassembly sucked lol. Water hose was not to terribly bad except for attaching to the bell housing but I figured out the trick there & U-Joint bellows was a breeze. I have the exhaust tube so that was nothing but the shift bellows was a pain. I cleaned everything and used adhesive then pushed the bellows on. It was all the way on but when I would tightened the gear clamp it would just start to get tight and then slide the bellows off its spot. After failing 5 times I put Copper RTV Adhesive on the spine and slid the bellows on. Let it sit for a coupe minutes then I tightened the clamp, this time it did not side off when it started to get tight.

After all this I used new hinge pins with merc tool and then was time for the drive. The engine was aligned 3 weeks ago when the drive was replaced but the dealer I bought the boat from could only do the gimbal and bellows 8 days after I bought it since that was the next available spot. He said the books says it is a 6 hour job but they can do it in 4 no problem. Well I rechecked the alignment and the engine seemed fine but the gimbal appeared to be out of alignment. After 3 rechecks I adjusted the gimbal accordingly (about 1/8" in on starboard side) and then was satisfied with the alignment. I inserted the drive and it stopped 1 inch from being fully seated. Tried for one hour before taking a break. Went and rechecked alignment this time moving the gimbal back that 1/8 to original. Then inserted the drive, same thing, one inch short. Then I came inside and checked to see if anyone responded to my post on here and people had. After reading the responses I went outside and put the drive in place, pushed it into spot and was 1 inch short, gave it a good kick and it popped on no problem, so I kicked it again just cause I could lol. Then 5 minutes later it was all tightened down and everything hooked up, still have to set my trim limit & sense but that is easy.

Thank you so much for your help, this site has taught me a lot and has given me ideas of what to do to mine.

Next I am taking all the wood off the boat and redoing it. Anyone have a recommendation about sanding/treating the teak? This will be my next thread

Steve

Sent from my Xoom using Tapatalk 2