Omc cobra u joint replacement

First time poster. Sorry if this is too long, but I have sat as a silent guest for the past few weeks reading almost all this site has on my 88' omc cobra.
I bought one that would stall out the second she was shifted to reverse: Watching the linkage I noted a lot of slop in the transom shift cable, it was also stiff in the control. Holding it tight and even by the engine side trunion, not allowing the cable to move side to side. Put her just into reverse and the motor stumbled she went straight in to reverse. Perfect I'll just change the cable:

Outdrive came off easy... BUT U joint bellow is full of water. U joint is rusty and not accepting grease. Gimble bearing looks rusty, but is still holding and taking grease. Grabbing the bearing with my finger I felt no slop in any direction, but when spinning the bearing I could feel some rough resistance. So I'm buying the bellow kit with a Gimble Bearing. I also found a used (Supposed 250 hour U Joint) With reportedly no slop and that still accepts grease.

Ok so I'm 100% studied up on all shift cable adjustments and techniques. I've bought the alignment tool and the bell crank alignment tool, and the cable jig. The bell crank has a good size flat spot, I'm going to call that the under lying cause for the cable bind. So I bought a new bell crank, and bell crank bushing.

I will remove the pivot house for better access to bellows, and shift cable, and gimbal bearing.

I'm hoping the water is coming in from the bellow, or gasket, or water inlet, or grease tube??

Any other concerns knowing that water has been causing rust in this area? My splines are all good. I have not checked lower unit oil yet, but that is a separate system?

Does anyone have any pointers for U joint removal? I can't find anything about dismantling. What parts/gaskets have I not considered for u joint installation?

Only a couple of weeks left for Cleveland boaters, I'm hoping Saturday goes smoothly.

Re: Omc cobra u joint replacement

I also found a used (Supposed 250 hour U Joint) With reportedly no slop and that still accepts grease.

Click to expand...

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,.... Used u-joints,..??

That's right up the with Used brake shoes on a car....

U-joints are throw away items,... 'n they're pretty Cheap....

Buy New...

Re: Omc cobra u joint replacement

Thanks Bondo. Maybe next spring. For this shaft and yoke assembly I have only found them for $500 or more. I keep seeing people posting the "new style" I've never had my hands on them, so I don't understand them. For now, at least these will accept grease, and are not rusty. "A little grease is better than no grease."

How about some pointers on the dis and re assembly?

Re: Omc cobra u joint replacement

$500? Are you sure we are talking about the same part?

http://www.iboats.com/OMC-Sterndriv...1993220--session_id.085234163--view_id.269323

Re: Omc cobra u joint replacement

wcasey5 said:

$500? Are you sure we are talking about the same part?

http://www.iboats.com/OMC-Sterndriv...1993220--session_id.085234163--view_id.269323

Click to expand...

The entire assembly, shaft knuckle and yoke...halfway down the page.

Re: Omc cobra u joint replacement

Since you had water in the u-joint bellows, did you check the oil in the O/D? With all the rust and what-not you discovered, it appears that the bellows were leaking for a while - I would definitely check for milky oil in the O/D. I don't know how common it is to have water bypass the bearing seal and infiltrate the O/D, but it seems possible to me.

You said:

I'm hoping the water is coming in from the bellow, or gasket, or water inlet, or grease tube??

Click to expand...

I would personally suss out where the leak is before proceeding. You don't want to just start replacing parts while crossing your fingers that the leak has been taken care of, or you'll be buying the same parts twice. You likely are dealing with a failed u-joint bellows, but you should check over everything.

Good luck.

Re: Omc cobra u joint replacement

I dont have the time to get into it until Saturday, and will keep you posted. I did go drain the od oil this afternoon... only about a quart came out... It was green, lil milky on the top. Small shavings on the plug, but no shimmer in the oil... The used u-joint assembly came today with a whooped gear on the end of it. The U joint bearings and housing are also still on it also. IF someone could give me some details or point me in the right direction to the proper removal and re installation of u joint assemblies? I may just use the rusty one to learn, and the good one to rebuild with a new joint? How difficult is it to remove the entire assembly from my outdrive?