2005 Mercruiser 5.0 liter mpi with dual cooling Where is the Lifting eye ?

mhound

Cadet
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Messages
13
Having trouble to get the engine alignment correct on my boat, A 2005 Trophy 2352 Walk Around with Mercruiser 5.0 liter mpi with dual cooling

I had to replace the gimbal bearing because rain water put the water in the bilge so high, (Fuse blew in the bilge pump circuit) that water got into the coupler.
I have the needed alignment tool. Attached is a shot of the housing and gimbal with a 1" pipe stuck in the coupler ... You can see the alignment is off to the right and down.

Have spent hours adjusting the front motor mounts up and down and getting no where. I want to put a chain hoist on it so I can move the engine up and down etc. til I get the alignment close.
In googling around, everybody says the lifting eye is on the thermostat housing, but this housing is completely different than the diagrams I have looked at., I guess because of the dual cooling and the manifolds being cooled from the heat exchanger.

Anyone know where the lifting point is on this engine. or where it should be installed if I have to add one. . Or any other good ideas..
M
 

Attachments

  • photo281940.jpg
    photo281940.jpg
    273.8 KB · Views: 1

Rick Stephens

Admiral
Joined
Aug 13, 2013
Messages
6,118
Use a piece of chain bolted to the front of each head. There are two 3/8th threaded holes on both ends of both heads. You can make that chain long enough not to hit anything when tight.
 

alldodge

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
40,581
Use a piece of chain bolted to the front of each head. There are two 3/8th threaded holes on both ends of both heads. You can make that chain long enough not to hit anything when tight.

Agree with this unless you have the thermostat housing ring hook installed, if its there use it. Loosen the top nut on the engine mount. Pick the front of the motor up until it is just off the front mounts. Adjust the lower nut until it makes full contact. Now lower weight off of motor lowering it onto the front mounts.

From this point forward adjust both port and starboard nuts the equal amount of turns up or down until it comes into alignment. Every time the alignment bar is inserted, smack the bar with your hands several time up/down/side/to side, doing this centers the bearing. Then push bar in/out to test for alignment.



From your pic I have some concerns. It appears to me that there is rust showing, this isn't good but not a show stopper. The thing that concerns me more is it appears the bearing may have been installed with the incorrect tool and may have been damaged. Things don't look right

bearing.jpg
 

Bt Doctur

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Aug 29, 2004
Messages
19,092
would not be the first boat I have seen that far off but if that was the case the engine coupler would have stripped in short order.
Only other thing would be the bearing is not centered during the install.
 

mhound

Cadet
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Messages
13
No Title

Thanks for the suggestions..

Rick.. There is no access to the front of the heads, without major dissasembly... the heat exchanger and about 10 different hoses are mounted on a steel plate that covers all of the head ends.

On the starboard side, on top of the head, or maybe right beside the head, a couple of inches from the front, there is a 3/8 bolt screwed in, that doesnt appear to be holding anything. Not much room around this bolt to put a ring on..

But even if I did attach here, there is nothing on the other side, so the engine would be unbalanced.

The only thing I can see is to put a strap around and behind the crankshaft pulley, but even that would be a few degrees off a straight lift.

I will attach a couple of shots I took of the front mounts. It looks like they are crooked in the slots, and one of the bolts isnt even in the slot.. It looks like the original installer drilled a hole beside the slot.

Alldodge.. the Gimbal was installed with the alignment tool which has a Gimbal driving collar which ?? insures ?? the bearing is straight

The brown stains in the picture is just colored grease.

I am worried that the factory mis installed this engine.
 

Attachments

  • photo281946.jpg
    photo281946.jpg
    159.6 KB · Views: 0
  • photo281947.jpg
    photo281947.jpg
    320.1 KB · Views: 0

Bt Doctur

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Aug 29, 2004
Messages
19,092
remove the bolts holding the front mount to the aluminum plate, loosen the rear mounts a bit.. Slide engine left or right to center and adjust up or down to correct the alignment.
locate and redrill new holes for front mounts
 

mhound

Cadet
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Messages
13
Thanks Bit Doctor.. This is going to be hard to do.. This motor is in a 2005 Trophy 2352 WA. All this stuff is way below the deck, and can barely reach or see any of it, but thats life..
Another thing worrying me, is that in all my mount adjusting, at one point I had both sides adjusted as low as they can go. In my analyses because in the gimbal picture the pipe is way too low, I figure the front of the engine should go down more to pivot the pipe up..

It didnt seem to make much difference where the adjustments were. I was wondering if somehow the engine be could hung up somewhere and if I winched it up, and wiggled everything around, I could free it.
.
 

Rick Stephens

Admiral
Joined
Aug 13, 2013
Messages
6,118
You could also have collapsed rear mounts. I'm really afraid that is what it sounds like. You mention the center of the coupler, with the pipe stuck in it is way too low. That is exactly what collapsed rear mounts do - the engine seem like it is too low altogether.
 

alldodge

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
40,581
Rotate the motor 90 degrees to see if the adjustment changes
 

mhound

Cadet
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Messages
13
I,ve already tried the Half rotation trick... The way the picture looks right now is very slightly worse than I originally had it, but basically the same.

If the rear mounts are collapsed, Would the engine have to come out ? They are very hard to get at, and I'm not sure I could get a wrench on the bottom nuts....

I just went out to try to measure the distance between the lower part and the upper of the rear mounting tabs.
I make it about 3/8 " on the starboard side and 1/8" on the port side... Everything on the transom plate looks mounted properly, and the fiberglass looks solid.

Any idea what should be normal, or what would a collapsed rear mount look like ?

I like to do my own work, may have to end up with a Pro doing the job, but I want to know exactly whats wrong before I do.

The boat probably has only about 400 hours on it, so I didnt think things should be worn out too badly yet.

M
 

Bt Doctur

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Aug 29, 2004
Messages
19,092
I just went out to try to measure the distance between the lower part and the upper of the rear mounting tabs

The height between the mounts where the fibre washer is should be the same.
 

alldodge

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
40,581
I just went out to try to measure the distance between the lower part and the upper of the rear mounting tabs.
I make it about 3/8 " on the starboard side and 1/8" on the port side

Forget the spring washer on one side or maybe it fell out during install?
 

Rick Stephens

Admiral
Joined
Aug 13, 2013
Messages
6,118
I would bet the new design without the double wound washers would collapse less often. But no way to tell other than measuring the separation between the transom plate and the flywheel housing - just like you looked at - or removing the engine. You might be able to get a phone in there and take good pictures to post comparing the two sides. If the mount is collapsed, then the gap will be different and it becomes impossible to align.

Rick
 

Maclin

Admiral
Joined
May 27, 2007
Messages
6,761
mhound, If you decide to install new fiber washers then maybe the method I am about to describe could be applied, to keep from having to raise/remove the entire engine. All of what follows assumes the drive is removed, and you have solved your problem with lifting just the front of the engine.

I had a problem with engine alignment each time I would sock down the front mounts after a good result from the alignment bar. I found that one corner of the rear bell housing mount could move a little, as one or both of the fiber and lockwasher had been squished enough to let it move. I had a lot of problems initially getting the bolts in due to the shape of the boat itself, having fiberglass right above the true center of the lifting point, and did not want to go through that again. With the goal of leaving the engine where it was fore-aft, I used the front mount nuts to aid in getting one rear corner to move up at a time. I would leave the bolt in the opposite corner mount, bolt removed in the target corner mount. With the engine weight supported at the front, I moved one of the top nuts way up on the threads and the other just a little then raised it some while watching the opposite corner (target) mount. With some rocking I was able to get enough gap to replace the lock washer and the fiber washer this way and drop the bolt back in. rinsed-repeated for the other side. I then went through the alignment procedure again.

Your config may be a little more difficult, needing more gap due to that piece of the bellhousing mount protruding down, where earlier versions used the double wound lock washer placed into the well and the bellhousing bottom mounting surface flat.

Good luck with your efforts.
 

mhound

Cadet
Joined
Jan 31, 2010
Messages
13
No Title

Thanks Maclin... I might try that.. My understanding of your post is that you are rocking the engine by adjusting one front mount higher, then rocking the engine on the diagonally opposite mounts ??

Attached are couple of pictures of the port side Rear mount.. The upper tab is obviously resting on the fiber washer and cannot go any lower, but it needs to be higher... So far I couldnt get a picture of the starboard side mount, but by feel it is higher by at least 1/4 " than the pictures.

Does this Mount look like its collapsed ? It doesnt look like it to me.. The top of the rubber part is about 1/4" below the top of the upper tab. If the mount had collapsed wouldnt it be pushed up ?

I don't understand what is needed to make higher. which I think it needs to be... It looks like some spacer washers/shims would work ??

M
 

Attachments

  • photo282164.png
    photo282164.png
    756.5 KB · Views: 0
  • photo282165.png
    photo282165.png
    580 KB · Views: 0
  • photo282166.png
    photo282166.png
    842.5 KB · Views: 0

Maclin

Admiral
Joined
May 27, 2007
Messages
6,761
I let the engine come up against the lowest nut so to speak, then went up a little at a time to cause the engine to want to lift the opposite back corner more or less. I said rock it, but it was more like push it some and it the corner would try to stay up. I had to jockey one side as I installed the washers, the other side did exactly what I needed to get the gap.

That was my method when using the alignment hook up front, to get it to lift unevenly on purpose.

Hard for me to tell what your gap means, but if the engine is not moving when given a good jostling then it may be ok as is. With mine, I heard a slight clunk when I let the engine down onto the nuts each time to tighten the front mounts until I put the new washers in.
 

Maclin

Admiral
Joined
May 27, 2007
Messages
6,761
Sorry, I just remembered I did the engine lift for the rear mount washer replace from the corner lifting brackets, dang. Left the bolt in the back opposite target mount and used the front nuts to make it go crooked. Sorry about that. Avoid strokes at all costs.
 
Top