1987 Chaparral 198 XL, MerCruiser Gimble and U-Joint Replacement

[jr88fan]

I am getting ready to start working on my boat to repair a leak in the drive bellows. I had the boat at a marina last year and he told me probably about $2000 for him to do all the work. I have been reading the posts on this forum and I have received some great advice. I am posting the serial numbers below so that maybe someone can tell me what parts I need to buy to start the project?

I have seen some "kits" on e-bay that have all the parts and a few of the tools required for about $350 and I was wondering if that is a good deal or should I buy these pieces separate?

Engine - B558251
Drive Unit - OH463807
Transom Assembly - OB573949

I have watched some of the videos by Frisco Boater and I think as long as I follow his instructions and lay all the parts out neatly while taking it apart I should be good to go.

Thanks for the great advice!

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: 1987 Chaparral 198 XL, MerCruiser Gimble and U-Joint Replacement

Mercruiser Sterndrive Drive Parts a transom seal kit, get manual 6 here http://www.boatfix.com/merc/Servmanl/6/6covr3.pdf (may not work with Chrome, use IE)

 

[Bondo]

Re: 1987 Chaparral 198 XL, MerCruiser Gimble and U-Joint Replacement

maybe someone can tell me what parts I need to buy to start the project?

Ayuh,..... I'd do the lower shift cable, while ya got it apart, unless ya know it's less than 5 years old,...

 

[jr88fan]

Re: 1987 Chaparral 198 XL, MerCruiser Gimble and U-Joint Replacement

So I have everything apart and I went to my buddies shop to press out the u-joints and install the new ones. The old ones took a little work to get out but finally cam out. Starting to press the new ones in and they seemed to be a little wider than the original ones. I thought maybe one of the needle bearings fell down do I tool it all apart and that was not the case. I pressed the old ones back in just to see if maybe the yolk was bent and they fit perfectly. We used a micrometer to check the span of the yokes and they were all the same.

The span on the u-joints was definitely different. I emailed the guy I bought the entire kit from and he says he has shipped thousands of these with no problems. The number on the old u-joint is L15M and the number on the new one is F315L. There is definitely a difference in the two u-joints.

Does anyone have any advice? I did look at the u-joint cross reference in the Sticky and I am not sure about that because the u-joints I have are a different brand.

Thanks!

 

[dubs283]

Re: 1987 Chaparral 198 XL, MerCruiser Gimble and U-Joint Replacement

sounds like you got the wrong u-joints, obviously if they are different they are different

ive never had an issue using merc OEM u-joints, and ive never had to press them out/in - screwdriver and a hammer is all i use