1991 Mercruiser Alpha One Gimball Bearings and Service Schedule

[bigbrowndog]

My Fish-Rite Cuddy has a 4.3LX Mercruiser/Alpha One sterndrive with over 300 hours on it. To date, normal maintenance has consisted of changing the sterndrive lubricant to synthetic, frequent oil changes, and new spark plugs. The engine does not miss, and all appears to be working pretty well. My question is the gimball bearings and how to get to them. I am noticing some vibration with the sterndrive tilted up and someone told me it could be the gimball bearings. Do these need routine lubrication and if so, is there an easy way to lube these or does everything have to come apart to get to them? Also, what else should a person do to the motor/sterndrive with this many hours on it? Given the above, should I take the boat into one of the local boat shops or is this something that a fairly mechanical person can do on their own.Thanks in advance for the advice...

[Trent]

They do need lubrication regularly. Look at the transom (outside the boat) the grease fitting for the gimble is located at the five-o-clock position on the transom plate.If you trim up pretty high you will get a vibration. Also when is the last time you pulled the drive to check the u-joints and check engine alignment?

[bigbrowndog]

Hi Trent-Thanks for the info on the gimball bearings. As far as the drive, it has never been pulled to check either. I have been hesitant to pull this apart (have never done this before). Would you recommend doing so (I am an average mechanic) or would you recommend having it done by a local shop?ThanksTy