Gimbal housing compatibility??

[viper122]

I pulled the mercruiser 120 outdrive off my project boat and I have a feeling it will need to be replaced; water sitting in u joint bellow for 5+ years, rusty u joint. I still need to break it down and inspect gears, etc but is there anything specifically I should be checking for and replacing?

Second question is if I just want to get a used outdrive, what gen outdrives are compatible with my gimbal housing if any?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Gimbal housing compatibility??

Second question is if I just want to get a used outdrive, what gen outdrives are compatible with my gimbal housing if any?

Ayuh,... You haven't said, but I'll guess ya got a MC-1 drive,..??

If so, the drives up to, 'n including the Alpha 1 will bolt on, 'n run just fine...
The Gen.II drives will NOT though...

You may, or may not need the shorter input shaft... donno what vintage ya got...

 

[viper122]

Re: Gimbal housing compatibility??

What factors would make this drive I have not be usable? Im gonna break it down and see what the inside is looking like and go from there; the yoke has just minor surface rust, most of which I was able to just wipe off. The splines look good on the shaft going into the motor. The U-joints and Gimbal bearing, I will be for sure replacing. I want to access the gear box and inspect, what should I be making sure to look at while I'm in there? What would be considered normal wear on the gears, and what indications are there that it should be replaced, if need be?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Gimbal housing compatibility??

What factors would make this drive I have not be usable? Im gonna break it down and see what the inside is looking like and go from there; the yoke has just minor surface rust, most of which I was able to just wipe off. The splines look good on the shaft going into the motor. The U-joints and Gimbal bearing, I will be for sure replacing. I want to access the gear box and inspect, what should I be making sure to look at while I'm in there? What would be considered normal wear on the gears, and what indications are there that it should be replaced, if need be?

Ayuh,... Donno,... Ya gotta tell Us, Exactly what you've got...

 

[viper122]

Re: Gimbal housing compatibility??

The serial on the transom mount is 6184104, I could not locate a serial on the outdrive itself, maybe someoe can point me in the right direction? I attached pics of it and some closeups of the u joint, I hope this helps any!

 

[viper122]

Re: Gimbal housing compatibility??

The pics are cut off and distorted, I apologize and will post better ones soon

 

[dubs283]

Re: Gimbal housing compatibility??

i see pics just fine

looks like ya got the MC-1 drive there, nice drive, mercs been using the same basic design/concept from the 60's right to today

as far as inspecting, it would be in your best interest to locate an OEM (mercruiser) manual for that drive, it has pretty good info on tear down, inspection, and re-assembly

the older manuals, #1, #2, etc... can be a little confusing, i only refer to them for very specific specs, but some here would say that you should use the manual for your drive...okay nothing wrong with that, definitely get the correct manual for your engne/drive

what i will say is if you also get manual #6, it is MUCH easier to read and follow instructions and the same basic concept is used for the drive you have there - that being said i'm sure some will disagree

look for rust (obvoiusly), gear chipping, bearing pitting/scoring, metal chunks in the lube, etc... (you get the idea)

definitly re-seal the drive and replace any parts that are suspect

i really enjoy working on mercruiser drives so in the process of teardown, inspection, reassembly if you have any questions feel free to ask (the pictures help immensely)

 

[viper122]

Re: Gimbal housing compatibility??

Thanks for all of the great advice! I'll post more when I tear down the drive in the near future.