Outdrive bearing play

[FuzzDaddy]

Hi everyone,

I noticed that I have some play in the bearing between the outdrive and the gimbal ring. With the ram cylinders off the drive I can wiggle the drive and have about 1/8"or more of play. Is this normal or should they be tight? Please see pic for reference.
Have a good night
Corey

 

[Loyd Dinneen]

Looks like you will need to replace the pin and seal that is there. There is videos on it on the internet, it is quite a job.

 

[scoflaw]

Or the play could be between the steering pin and the Gimbal ring. Did you torque those 2 bolts down?

 

[Nater Potater]

I'm thinking it should be tighter than that. However, is it super critical? Probably not. It'll mess a bit with your steering as far as slop at the helm is felt. If you have the special pin tool (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077Z8VCDC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1), make sure the pins haven't come loose. It's possible the wear is in the pins, which, in that case, it's as simple as installing new pins. If not, then it's down to the gimbal ring. If so, it's possible to have a machine shop overbore and sleeve back to size. You'd have to balance that against the cost of a new ring (approx $1000).