Bravo 2 makes noise when turned full left

[Last Dollar]

Just replaced the gimbel bearing and both U-Joints on a 2001 Bravo 2 drive. When the outdrive is turned to full left we hear a chattering noise. If the drive is moved slightly back to center the noise goes away quickly. It does not make a noise when in full right position.
What could cause this?

 

[paulswagelock]

Normally I would say a bad bearing or u joint so not sure what to suggest. Maybe someone who has done the repair can chime in.

 

[Last Dollar]

When you say bad bearing I assume you are talking about a bearing in the upper gear case? I also thought it could be a bearing but then again why does it not chatter when turned full right?? Looks like a bad bearing would do it in both directions. The boat is not at my house and I have to drive a few miles to work with my son.....it's his boat. After leaving yesterday I wondered if we could get it to chatter by having the outdrive straight forward then then tilt up the drive some. This would create the same angle as turning full left. Hmmm, will try this today. By researching this problem on the Internet it seems others have experienced this same problem with one owner saying he bought his boat new, had it for 12 years and it has always made this noise when turned full left. We would appreciate any comments or ideas.

 

[BillK2632]

The noise thing when turned hard over is a tough one - all outdrives make some noise when turned hard over either direction - it's just the u-joint making a different rythm sound - normal. I generally try not to apply any power at all when turned hard over. Every outdrive boat I have had (Alphas and Bravos) have done this, except the noise is consistent turning left or right. Now when that noise becomes a loud knocking then something is wrong. I personally have never replaced u-joints on an outdrive. Some have grease points some do not. If it were me I would put the drive off and re-check everything.

• Check gimbal bearing to be sure it is fully seated.
• Check the alignment, assume you did then when you replaced the gimbal bearing, but check it again.
• Make sure the input yoke is greased good along with the gimbal bearing if you can - the newer gimbal bearings are sealed and cannot be greased.

 

[Last Dollar]

The noise thing when turned hard over is a tough one - all outdrives make some noise when turned hard over either direction - it's just the u-joint making a different rythm sound - normal. I generally try not to apply any power at all when turned hard over. Every outdrive boat I have had (Alphas and Bravos) have done this, except the noise is consistent turning left or right. Now when that noise becomes a loud knocking then something is wrong. I personally have never replaced u-joints on an outdrive. Some have grease points some do not. If it were me I would put the drive off and re-check everything.

• Check gimbal bearing to be sure it is fully seated.
• Check the alignment, assume you did then when you replaced the gimbal bearing, but check it again.
• Make sure the input yoke is greased good along with the gimbal bearing if you can - the newer gimbal bearings are sealed and cannot be greased.

Thanks for your input. My son bought this Sea Ray 245 in February and we have spent a lot of time going over the engine and boat. We pulled the outdrive and replaced the gimbel bearing and all bellows but decided the ujoints seemed tight so we just greased them good noting that no rust came out ahead of new grease. Then after about 12 hrs of operation we noticed an obvious ujoint noise when turning both left and right........classic ujoint condition. We pulled the drive and replaced both ujoints (one being obviously rough) and felt the condition was solved. We fired up the engine while on the trailer and only hear this chatter when in full left and raising the rpms some. It may not be a problem and by raising the rpm in full left is not the thing to do. If we tilt the outdrive up significantly and rev the engine some we don't hear anything. It's just when in full left. There may not be a problem?

 

[sbw1]

Do you have the rattle only with the drive in the trailer position or even if it is up just a bit? The I/Os I have owned would rattle when in trailer position or even trimmed up somewhat and reved in neutral. I never considered that an issue. When the u-joints were starting to fail, I could hear the rattle when backing into a slip and at slow speed maneuvering while in gear and much louder when out of gear.

 

[Last Dollar]

This rattle we hear is only when turned full left with the wheel and reving in neutral. Our after repair test method may not be appropriate. After replacing the ujoints we fired the engine on the water hose ear muffs and ran the wheel to the extreme in both left and right directions. It was only noticeable in the full left. Here's the odd part, it we put the drive in the straight forward position and tilted the outdrive up nearly to trailer height, then reved in neutral or forward gear we heard nothing! In my way of thinking, this speaks a lot about the drive condition. There is no reason to turn the drive to full left and rev the engine!!?? We were just trying to test our new ujoints. You know how us boaters are, we want things perfect and any noise means something is about to happen.
By it being quiet in straight forward alignment and tilted up to trailer position I would think there is no problem. Maybe we over react to things?? Time will tell...........

 

[Thornton69]

I would say a slight vibration at the end of steering travel is normal. It should be the same in both directions though. Have you checked if the swing of the outdrive is the same in both directions? Possibly travelling more one way than the other? If it does have the same travel, then something may have shifted or settled in the past 12 hours. You might want to recheck your engine alignment. What you describe as a rattle, could be more than what others are believing it to be.

 

[Last Dollar]

I describe it as a rattle or chatter, hard to actually describe. I believe the drive moves more to the left than the right. We don't hear it in the right hand swing when the drive moves toward the starboard side. It stops very quickly after the drive is moved toward center.

My Alpha drive does basically the same thing I have discovered. We noticed this issue after installing new ujoints and being very thorough in our after repair testing. Going to be a big weekend and we will hopefully put many hours on our boats. Will monitor the noise and know more by Tuesday!

Thanks for all the input. This is a good forum!