outdrive removal

boatman37

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thanks for the videos achris. i'm sure i would still have questions even after watching them...lol
 

boatman37

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got the outdrive off this morning. went pretty smoothly. no issues but took my time.

should i leave the shifter in gear over the winter or put it back in neutral?

outdrive is in the garage now and next step on it is to start sanding and prepping for paint. impeller and other stuff will wait until closer to spring so it isn't sitting all winter.

everything looks good and clean. shaft is clean and has a little grease on it. u-joints look good. no rust anywhere. shaft bellows is dry inside
 

thumpar

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I always left mine in gear so I didn't forget when I reinstalled the drive.
 

bruceb58

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Make sure you buy an alignment tool and inspect alignment before you put it back on.
 

boatman37

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already thought about that bruce...lol. gonna pick one up or borrow one before reassembly.

got all water drained and all plugs and hoses reattached. porta potty emptied, fresh water tank emptied and lines also emptied. all thru hulls are duct taped up, batteries removed, all dock lines and fenders and anything that could hold moisture have been removed, additive added to the fuel tank, and anything else i could think of, is done. boat is going to underground storage tomorrow morning. kept it there last year too. really doesn't need winterized as it doesn't go below 55* in there but i drain everything anyway and plan/hope to bring it home late March to get an early jump on getting it ready for next season. may get some freeze early April so trying to prepare for that.

with it being stowed away for winter the only thing i can work on will be the outdrive so that will be my focus for the next 4 0r 5 months. should be enough time for that...lol
 

achris

More fish than mountain goat
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Strip and fully rebuild top box in about 5 hours (not including water pocket cover). Lower can take longer depending on the level of corrosion.
 

boatman37

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are the alignment tools all the same or do i need one specifically for the alpha one gen 1? its a 1986 merc 260 if it matters.

achris, not sure how far i will dig into the outdrive. definitely going to paint it and will check and replace the impeller and anything else i find while in there. i looked in the outdrive and the pump shaft that runs vertical looks clean. no corrosion or anything that i can see on it without taking it apart. there is less than 20 hours runtime since the impeller was last replaced though
 

thumpar

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The alignment tools are all the same. I went with the ebay one. It worked on my Alpha and now my Bravo.
 

achris

More fish than mountain goat
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The early alignment tool (before the gen II) required machining for use in the gen II and Bravos. That machining doesn't alter the use in previous models. So basically any alignment tool will fit your engine.

As I said earlier, it's not hours on the pump it's years. Also check (pressure test) the water pocket cover while you have the drive split.

Chris.....
 

H20Rat

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bruceb58

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There are places for those electric impacts but using them on the stern drive is not one of them.

Make sure you use a torque wrench when installing the 6 bolts when you put the drive back on an tighten them in the sequence specified in the manual.
 

boatman37

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i don't use the impact to tighten anything. removal only. yep. pretty disciplined when it comes to torqueing and sequence. comes from my engine building days i guess

boat is in the mines now. dropped it off this morning. put some buckets of humid-dry in it and closed it up. i'll check on it in a couple of months and replace the humid dry
 

crazy charlie

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May 22, 2003
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got the outdrive off this morning. went pretty smoothly. no issues but took my time.

should i leave the shifter in gear over the winter or put it back in neutral?
I always grease it and shift into reverse to keep it fully retracted instead .
 
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