Re: alpha one gen one upper gears broke
wow I am amazed on how no one can have faith in someone, everyone is so negative on here. tools are not the issue bewteen my and my two neighbors we have just about every immaginable tool you could need. Instead of trying to knock someone down perhaps if it such a specialty job give pointers instead of shooting someone down, money is not the issue tools are not the issue was just asking for some pointers on what to look out for. whatever tool we dont have that is needed I can borrow from a buddy who works at a mercruiser shop, so in my case this will be cheaper then your sei drive. boy it sounds like some of the moderators are trying to push sei drives as if they work for them haha. one other thing my neighbors choice as its his drive. for 450 we can drop off the upper and they will rebuild it with a warrenty as well (same place I'm looking at buying the gears) sei is a decent price but there are less inexpensive routes to go
Negative? No Faith? If that is how we all are then I am pretty cofident that you would have not got any replies to begin with.
Pushing SEI drives? You would have got nothing but "go buy a new SEI drive" for responses.
Personally, I never have purchased an SEI drive and have never owned a boat or anything on my boats that had a warranty. I started out just like you are on my first boat repair. Due to my experience I will answer your concern like this. ABSOLUTELY, yes you CAN rebuild the upper and even the lower yourself (with the correct manual and tools). You didnt mention you had access to mercruiser tools before. As far as specialty tools for mercruiser as well as other makes of sterndrive and even outboards I have acquired a good deal of the expensive tools and have also succesfully made others. For example, there is a mercruiser bearing carrier puller that runs $400. I made this exact tool in my shop for about $12.
Now, if you are goin to rebuild the upper or the upper and lower yourself then simply pay close attention to the manual. DO NOT skip any steps. Yes as others have said look out for the water pocket cover which is on the under side of the upper unit. In fact, many will say to avoid this cover unless absolutely required. The bolts will almost always break off in the upper which will cost you a new casing unless you are lucky and have a really good machine shop who can fix it for you. I have heard this has not been succesfully done though. There is always a first, after all that is where we all find out new places to use when we need something. Anyway, I would recomend not messing with the water pocket cover unless it is confirmed something is wrong with it, in your case I would say its probably fine. If you reuse any bearing be sure to check the condition of the bearing and races, any rust or scratches will lead to another rebuild or replacement unit in very short time.
Follow the manual, take your time, be sure rolling torques are correct, and be absolutely sure all metal shavings and dust are out of the cases before putting things back together and I am sure you can do it succesfully.
FWIW, sorry if I sounded like I had no faith or sounded a little negative before.
