Motor Alignment Alpha 1 Gen 2 - Please help

[theblockhead]

I have a 2001 Chaparral Bowrunner with a V8 Gen+ and Alpha 1 Gen 2 drive. I bought the boat at the end of the season and knew it had some mechanical issues but cosmetically and structurally it was totally sound and it was the right price. The bellows was leaking (not cut but installed wrong) so the gimbal bearing and yoke were rusted and worn and the u-joints were stuck. I replaced them and wanted to check the alignment. However, it is off to the point that I can't get the alignment tool to go in! I have the old yoke that I cleaned up and think I am close because it kind of goes in. It is as if the engine is off to the right a bit. Nowhere is there any mention of an adjustment to the side, only up and down. As I stated previously I have no confidence in the previous mechanic so I don't trust the initial setting. Here are some facts...
- the fiberglass under the front mounts is absolutely perfectly solid with not even a crack in the gelcoat around the bolts. Looks like it came out of the showroom yesterday.
- I can see the fiber washers under the rear mounts and they look good, no rust on the mounts or the bolts
- I can't see the rear mount rubber because it is under the washer but it feels like there is an equal amount on both sides of the spacer
- I took a photo of the coupler splines and they are completely whole and unworn.
- I rotated the engine 180 deg have exactly the same result (still off to the same side a bit).
- The end of the tool (while not oem) measures precisely 1.0095 with a micrometer which is perfect.
- Gimbal bearing is definitely seated all of the way.

I am at a loss. If I was a lot stronger and the boat was a lot lighter I may have thrown it down my driveway. I have adjusted and adjusted and still no go.

Please tell me what stupid thing I have overlooked, I am not proud.

 

[Dave-R]

I don't think you did anything stupid. I have had a few just like you described. I even tried one idea suggesting to insert a 1" pvc pipe into the coupler to give you a clue as to where you need to go. There are those who when they install a new engine, leave the front mounts loose with the hoist still hooked up, and raise and lower the front till the alignment bar slips in. I like that idea. Have you first bumped the gimbal bearing all directions like the manual recommends? Then I paint the nuts on the front mount, so I know how far to adjust them. Then I raise each 1 turn up and check the bar for fit . Continue until it fits , or go back down the same way.
I had one coupler that must have had a little angle. Once I rotated 90 deg, it finally went in okay. Who knows it might have been out of alignment, and under a lot of stress where it was. Might be a good thing you are going to take care of it. With the pvc pipe in and cranking the engine, you might see a lot of movement. Dave-R

 

[theblockhead]

Thanks Dave, would using the hoist center it right to left? I'm wondering if I'm tilted with more pressure on one side than the other? I have no idea how out of whack the previous (less than stellar) mechanic had it. How does one tell if the rear mounts are okay? If I take out the rear mounting bolts can I look down and see anything or are the chances of that being the problem slim?

 

[alldodge]

I have a 2001 Chaparral Bowrunner with a V8 Gen+ and Alpha 1 Gen 2 drive. I bought the boat at the end of the season and knew it had some mechanical issues but cosmetically and structurally it was totally sound and it was the right price. The bellows was leaking (not cut but installed wrong) so the gimbal bearing and yoke were rusted and worn and the u-joints were stuck. I replaced them and wanted to check the alignment. However, it is off to the point that I can't get the alignment tool to go in! I have the old yoke that I cleaned up and think I am close because it kind of goes in. It is as if the engine is off to the right a bit. Nowhere is there any mention of an adjustment to the side, only up and down. As I stated previously I have no confidence in the previous mechanic so I don't trust the initial setting. Here are some facts...
- the fiberglass under the front mounts is absolutely perfectly solid with not even a crack in the gelcoat around the bolts. Looks like it came out of the showroom yesterday.
- I can see the fiber washers under the rear mounts and they look good, no rust on the mounts or the bolts
- I can't see the rear mount rubber because it is under the washer but it feels like there is an equal amount on both sides of the spacer
- I took a photo of the coupler splines and they are completely whole and unworn.
- I rotated the engine 180 deg have exactly the same result (still off to the same side a bit).
- The end of the tool (while not oem) measures precisely 1.0095 with a micrometer which is perfect.
- Gimbal bearing is definitely seated all of the way.

I am at a loss. If I was a lot stronger and the boat was a lot lighter I may have thrown it down my driveway. I have adjusted and adjusted and still no go.

Please tell me what stupid thing I have overlooked, I am not proud.

The Merc method to adjust the level of a V8 is to first, have the drive removed, and the rear mounts torqued to spec and assembled (spring washers between upper and lower transom mounts). Pick engine up enough from thermostat housing to remove weight off motor mounts. Turn mount bolts on the bottom of mounts to just touch evenly against bottom of mounts.

Insert alignment bar, adjust evenly in number of turns on both port and starboard nuts. Do this evenly until the alignment bar is adjusted correctly

 

[bspeth]

I think your bearing needs to be aligned first..Stick the end of your bar in there and tweak the bearing the way it seems like it needs to go, it moves like an eyeball.

 

[theblockhead]

Thanks, I tried to align the gimbal bearing by placing the bar in and tapping the end with a plastic mallet. That allows me to "point" then end toward the coupler but then it still won't slip in. I think I'm going to have use the hoist from the thermostat housing to try and level it out. Then as Alldodge said I can have a starting point to evenly turn the nuts. For all I know, one side nut may be multiple turns off of the other one at this point.

 

[bspeth]

Lifting the engine is the only way to do an alignment IMO.I screwed two 2x4s together and put them across then used a scissor jack on top, once you get it right just run the bottom nuts up to the mounts,that way they are even.Recheck it once you get everything the way you want it.It is essential that the inner bearing is square to the coupler however.With mine I needed to put a good grunt on it to align it with the coupler.Did the drive come off really hard or easy?One more tip-get some knee pads.

 

[achris]

You need to check which rear mount you have in, because one of them (the earlier version) also required a 'double wound' washer between the bottom of the mount and the inner transom plate 'arm'... If you have a later mount and the washer in in place the coupler will be too high. If you have the earlier mount and no washer the coupler will be too low...

If you post your engine serial number I can check and see which mount was originally supplied.

Chris.........

 

[theblockhead]

Much Progress!... First, thank you everyone for the helpful advice, you are lifesavers. I can now get the alignment bar to slide in and out although not like the videos where you just use two fingers and it practically falls out. Here were the remedies... First, I used a 2x8 between a ladder and the stone wall next to the boat along with a scissors jack and a piece of chain and the engine immediately tilted itself level. (The nuts are great if the engine used to be perfectly aligned and you are just equally moving it up and down a bit but if you are totally askew it seems the only way is with the lifting eye). Second, the new gimbal was definitely not set. I had no idea you had to hit it that hard to move the swivel. Maybe mine is just tight or maybe I just don't know what I'm doing but I gave the bar a significant whack with alignment tool partially inserted and voila it moved so that the holes were in line. Third, A machinist friend made me an alignment bar at lunch today that is just like the real thing except that last diameter is 1.25 instead of 1.375. This easily allowed me to get into the ball park with the jack.

Now the problem, the bar slides in pretty easily and I believe I see witness marks equally on all sides but it doesn't come out too easily (I have to give it a tug). In addition, it seems like the hardened bearing surface is scratching or galling the alignment bar a bit, I even had to file off a bur that was created on the tool. I felt the inside of the bearing and the edges are perfectly shined smooth and I have enough Merc gimbal grease and spline grease on it to lube an ocean liner so I'm not sure what is going on. The actual bearing in the bearing carrier is stamped made in the USA so I'm pretty confident of the quality. Any ideas on the final bit of tuning to really dial it in?

 

[bspeth]

you should be able to pull the bar out with your thumb and two fingers on the bar only.if the bearing is smooth in the bore then maybe the coupler splines created the bur so you should check that out to make sure the splines are not damaged or you may have trouble getting the driveshaft in there.if the bar slides in and out easily the witness marks don't mean so much.IMO you should have a spec alignment bar also.once the bar will go in and out easily rotate the engine in 90 deg increments and adjust so at least three quadrants are almost like butter,maybe you can get all four .Put a piece of tape on the main pulley for reference.sounds like you have some work to do but Im glad you are seeing progress.

 

[alldodge]

Much Progress!... First, thank you everyone for the helpful advice, you are lifesavers. I can now get the alignment bar to slide in and out although not like the videos where you just use two fingers and it practically falls out. Here were the remedies... First, I used a 2x8 between a ladder and the stone wall next to the boat along with a scissors jack and a piece of chain and the engine immediately tilted itself level. (The nuts are great if the engine used to be perfectly aligned and you are just equally moving it up and down a bit but if you are totally askew it seems the only way is with the lifting eye). Second, the new gimbal was definitely not set. I had no idea you had to hit it that hard to move the swivel. Maybe mine is just tight or maybe I just don't know what I'm doing but I gave the bar a significant whack with alignment tool partially inserted and voila it moved so that the holes were in line. Third, A machinist friend made me an alignment bar at lunch today that is just like the real thing except that last diameter is 1.25 instead of 1.375. This easily allowed me to get into the ball park with the jack.

Now the problem, the bar slides in pretty easily and I believe I see witness marks equally on all sides but it doesn't come out too easily (I have to give it a tug). In addition, it seems like the hardened bearing surface is scratching or galling the alignment bar a bit, I even had to file off a bur that was created on the tool. I felt the inside of the bearing and the edges are perfectly shined smooth and I have enough Merc gimbal grease and spline grease on it to lube an ocean liner so I'm not sure what is going on. The actual bearing in the bearing carrier is stamped made in the USA so I'm pretty confident of the quality. Any ideas on the final bit of tuning to really dial it in?

With the gimbal bearing area made smaller then 1.375, this should allow the bar to come out even easier. If the 1.150 front dimension is made to spec and has the forward chamfer, then I would start looking at the engine coupler. If the engine was out of alignment and sat for some time the coupler could have been deformed.

 

[theblockhead]

Alldodge, I think I wasn't clear. I am now using the real bar again. I just used the turned down version to get the rough alignment. It was really easy to move the jack up and down until I could see an equal 1/16" space around the 1-1/4" and then I was able to slip in the real bar once I set the gimbal. So now it's close just not easy enough to pull out with two fingers. I have to grab the knurling and give it a tug.

 

[alldodge]

OK , my bad.
You stated you have witness marks evenly all around, that being the case you should have it real close. Just puzzling why its hard to pull out with it being even. If it was different on one side there could be a clue to the issue, alignment issue or engine coupler, but even doesn't give a hint.

If that's the best you can get, then the only thing left is the coupler splines. It could be close enough to run without damage, but this would be your call

 

[dwolfenbarger]

I think your bearing needs to be aligned first..Stick the end of your bar in there and tweak the bearing the way it seems like it needs to go, it moves like an eyeball.

I kept trying to figure out why the alignment tool was about an inch too high on my restoration project and thought I didn't get something installed right, found this post and after adjusting the bearing I am back on track. Thanks for the post even though it was about 6 years ago!