Alpha 1st Gen Not Coming Off...

San_Diego_SeaRay

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Nov 9, 2014
Messages
337
Well my fellow boaters I've just joined your ranks. Bought a 1982 SeaRay Sundancer 270 for cheap....well, I should say the entry fee was cheap. It's a project boat and will need some serious engine work (twin Mercruiser 5.7s) and two new (but used) sterndrives. Hull and interior are in great shape.

So I went out onto Craiglist and purchased a Gen One. Problem is, I've removed the trim rams and the six nuts that hold it on. I tried to pry it apart from the rest of the gimbal assembly but it doesn't want to come off. I know you're supposed to make sure that it is in "forward" gear, but I guess this is where my questions start. You see, the person who removed this sterndrive from the previous boat was, apparently, in a hurry. Instead of unbolting it, they just cut out the section of the transom that held it in place. So now I have a sterndrive complete w. the entire transom assembly (Picture 1). How can I put it in forward gear when it's not hooked up to the remote control?

I've taken a picture of the shift lever in Picture 2. Keep in mind that the sterndrive is upside down in this picture. Is this not forward gear? If not, how do I put it in forward gear w. my current setup? (You can also see that I've removed the lower unit).


Alpha_One_Wide_Shot.jpg
Alpha_One_Shift_Lever.jpg
 

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kmarine

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Nov 5, 2010
Messages
581
You do not need to be in forward gear to remove the drive, Only when installing it back on the boat. You can adjust the shift fork after removing the housing from the drive. spin by hand to put in forward before installation. I recommend servicing universal joints and gimbal bearing at this time. good luck.
 

Bt Doctur

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Aug 29, 2004
Messages
19,093
kmarine has that all wrong, the Alpha drive must be in fwd to install or remove without damaging it.
use photobuckret for the pics, says locked out .there should still be a shift cable if it wasnt cut. if it was cut,m just move the shoe with a screwdriver to point it in a straight line AND STOP PRYING IT
 
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thumpar

Admiral
Joined
Jun 21, 2007
Messages
6,138
You do not need to be in forward gear to remove the drive, Only when installing it back on the boat. You can adjust the shift fork after removing the housing from the drive. spin by hand to put in forward before installation. I recommend servicing universal joints and gimbal bearing at this time. good luck.
You might get away with it but I would not recommend it. To tell if you are in forward at the drive look in from the front side of the drive up close to where the upper and lower come together. You can see the "foot" and "saddle" where they come together. They need to be at 12 o'clock.
 

San_Diego_SeaRay

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Nov 9, 2014
Messages
337
OK pictures added. Thanks for the responses. You can see that the shift lever shoe was cocked to one side. I just went outside and pried it so that it is now at 12 O'clock; perfectly dead center. Then I gave it a few raps on the back of the anti-cavitation plate to try to move it forward. There's still only about a 1/8th of an inch gap between the sterndrive and the rest of the housing; basically the same progress as when the shift lever was cocked. I couldn't hit it as hard as I wanted to because I share my patio area w. neighbors and don't want to disturb them. I'll have to wait until tomorrow afternoon to really start rapping it. Now that I know it's in forward gear I feel more confident putting some muscle into it. (Note: shift cable was not cut and still extends from the transom plate).
 

Bt Doctur

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Aug 29, 2004
Messages
19,093
now that it is in fwd you might have to hammer on the inputshaft using a block of hardwood , the gimbal bearing might be rusted to the shaft and will come out with the drive.
 

ktbarrentine

Lieutenant
Joined
Dec 12, 2011
Messages
1,296
Another viewpoint: With the lower half removed, if you turn the assembly "right-side-up", the shift shoe will fall out of the upper shift shaft coupler (the lower half is not there to hold the shift shaft up). People that cant move their shifter to FWD for drive removal (for whatever reason) can and have removed the lower half first, then the upper half without having to shift into fwd.

Different story putting it back together... Need to have a good reference point. If the drive is fully assembled, need to be in fwd to align the shift shoe/shafts to twelve oclock position. If just putting the lower back onto the upper (upper not removed from boat), just need to make sure the lower shift shaft shoe is pointing the same way as the upper shift shaft slot (coupler). That is just reference for guys that only pull their lower half to replace their impeller without pulling the upper half off of the bell housing (doesn't apply here).

I would also recommend a good shot of PB blaster on the input shaft at the gimbal bearing to loosen things up. The use a rubber mallet or block of wood to help move it out of the gimbal bearing. You have an advantage here that most others dont get, being able to work at it from the input shaft front end.

I hope you got the right gear ratio of your replacement drive. Sometimes (mosttimes) a gamble on used drives.

Good luck!
 
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San_Diego_SeaRay

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Nov 9, 2014
Messages
337
Well thanks all for the replies. I did get a chance yesterday to put a rubber-coated 3lb hammer on the u joint shaft. Took about 150 raps but it finally came out. Gimbal bearing was rusted as badly as you can imagine. The whole inside of the gimbal housing had massive signs of corrosion, and the u joint shaft itself might end up needing replacement. The interior of the sterndrive looks in much better shape. Lots of smooth, shiny gears and bearings so far :).

Thanks again for the help. I'm sure I'm gonna need a lot more!
 

Fun Times

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
May 16, 2009
Messages
8,776
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philbullet

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Aug 14, 2014
Messages
241
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