mercruiser 1976 165 noise issue

[John G.]

I'm new to the site. I aquired a 1976 mercruiser 165. Thanks to you guy's on this site, I was able to get the boat running. I put in a new water pump, impeller, fluid, ect. With the muffs it appears to run fine. I took it to the lake to try it out. Left the dock, past the 5 mile buoys, gave it the gas, no problems. Went about 300 yards and heard like a rumbling noise. Shut her down, put in neutrall. Still had the noise. It appeared it was coming from the outdrive, but could not pinpoint. Went back to the dock and took her home. Put the muffs on, and there's no noise. What do I do next? Any help would be appriciated. Thanks, John

[IVAZ]

Was the noise more noticeable when you turned?
I think you need to inspect the gimbal bearing and U joints.

[John G.]

I didn't notice. Went straight out , turned, and came straight back idleing. Thanks for the info. John

[John G.]

I bought a new gimble bearing ,u-joints, bellows ect. I pulled the old bearing, and looks like the seal behind it is damaged. I can't seem to find a post about this, or anything specific in the manual. Do I remove it with a slide hammer? How do I put the new one in? Thanks, John

[marc c]

Hi there. Check this out http://www.mercstuff.com/gimbalbearing.htm

[John G.]

Helpfull but need help on seal behind the bearing. Is this an oil seal? Excuse my ignorance. John