Volvo 270 gimbal bearing replacement

[ollykat]

Gimbal bearing has shattered, causing many questions for this newby i/o owner. I have ordered and received what I hope to be the correct parts and have also purchased the manual which (of course) has not come yet, and I am not feeling overly patient. Any help would be greatly appreciated, but if you tell me to suck it up and wait for the manual, I will certainly understand.1. Must the bell housing be changed? The flange at the end has been beat up, but it appears there is enough to secure the bellows.2. Having a difficult time getting the new bearing in, is there a "trick" or a special tool for this?3. In my husband's zeal to learn about the engine and drive, we now need the torque values for the torque ring as that was removed. Is there anything else that needs to be realigned or resealed?Any other help or answers to questions I'm not smart enough to ask is greatly appreciated!!!!!!Amy

[Dunaruna]

Hi Amy, welcome to iboats!!!It's not a gimbal, it's an intermediate bearing. Yes, wait for the manual.The bellhousing will need to be removed but not changed - unless there is damage to the area where the bearing sits.You got the 'C' clips out? Sometimes they weld themselves in - corrosion, rust, etcetc..... refer to "remove bellhousing" comment. They are much easier to work on once they are sitting on a bench.All torque specs should be in the manual. Check and/or replace uni joints & upper housing seals.Aldo

[ollykat]

Thanks for the response. Thought it was the gimbal since I had heard that it causes quite the growl and rattle over the entire boat when put in gear, not just when turning like I understand with the u-joints. I ordered PN 11013 with locking and retaining rings, the seal ring, and bellows kit. Did I get the wrong items? I will ask my hubby to "cool his jets" then until the manual comes.

[ahein]

Hi Amy,Yes, you have the correct parts. Bearing #11013, inner Seal Ring # 946242, outer Seal Ring #958860, Snap Ring #914533, and Lock Ring #914462. If the bearings are bad in the intermediate housing, you'll probably hear a growl or rumble coming from the rear of the engine even in neutral. If the sound intensifies while making sharp turns with your boat, it could be a problem with the u-joints. Or both.I changed the intermediate housing bearings in my AQ275 outdrive last year. I not sure about the AQ270 that you have, but I had to pull the engine and remove the bellhousing to get the bearing assembly out. Pretty sure you'll have to do the same. Once I had the bellhousing out though, it was easy. Just removed snap rings and pressed shaft/bearings out one side at a time. Here's a link to an assembly diagram for the AQ270 http://www.dougrussell.com/partscatalog/volvo_omc/index.cfm?fuseaction=comp&group=1841&GroupList=185 2,1824,1893,1892,1891,1890,1840,1841,1842,1888,188 9,1821,1820,1822,1823,1853,185 1,1834,1835,1894,1837,1838,1836,1854,1839,1833,184 4,1847,1849,1845,1850,1825,1856,1857,1828,1830,183 1,1832,1829,1826,1827,1855,1843,1846,1848 .Good luck, and keep posting to let us know how you make out.

[ollykat]

Thanks so much. Been to doug russell site... that place rocks! No growling while turning, so I think the u-joints are OK, just a darn wicked shimmy while in gear. Think hubby got all the old parts out, but having a ****ens of a time getting the new bearing in. Think he is going to get some kind of brass drift punch and a sledge hammer. See any potential issues with this. I am not a big fan of forcing things, so of course I am a tad skeptical. He has also heard that heating the housing a bit, will make things smoother.Thank you again for all your help!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ahein]

Be very careful using a brass punch and hammer. DO NOT USE HEAT. He could warp the bearing seat in the housing, causing untold problems in the future.He should use some sort of tool that would equally press both the innner and outer races of the bearing at the same time. Fabricate a tool that has an O.D. just slightly smaller than the inside of the housing and an I.D. just slightly larger than the shaft. Sometimes a lip of old grease will build up and harden around the edge of the bearing seat. Use very fine grit emory paper to LIGHTLY sand the bearing seat to remove any crud or corrosion, clean the area thoroughly with a solvent (acetone, brake cleaner, etc), then apply a light coating of marine bearing grease to the sufaces. Then tap the bearing squarely into place. Shouldn't need a lot of force if everything is clean and round. Repeat, do not use heat to expand the housing.

[ollykat]

Thanks, I was somewhat worried about doing that that too. He got that info off of a different forum regarding a different sterndrive. I'll keep you posted (eek -- pardon the pun).

[ollykat]

Just an update.....everything installed and appears to work well. He did fabricate a tool that worked well, and did not use heat. However, speaking of heat, I do have an issue of overheating. Took out the thermostat and have changed the fluid in the heat exchanger, improved some, but still appears too hot. Impeller is fine and water return hose is attached and clear (not sure if that is the correct term. Hubby plans on changing ratio of coolant in the heat exchanger and testing the sensor.... any other ideas? Will also do a search on the forum, but thought I would let you know the progress......Thanks!!!!!!!

[ahein]

Two things we need to know before proceeding... 1) What year. make , and model engine do you have in your boat? 2) What temperature does it actually read? Temperature sending units don't "go bad" very often where they would give a false reading. If they do fail, it's usually no reading at all or pegged at the highest temperature. When you are warming the engine up, do you actually see the needle on the gauge move? If the needle doesn't move, check the connections on the sending unit as well as the connections on the back of the gauge.Assuming you have a closed cooling system since you mention a heat exchanger, do you ever boat in salt water? If so, have you taken the heat exchanger apart to check for scale on the inside? The cooling tubes can build up scale over a period of time even in freshwater. This is a very common problem that can lead to decreased cooling effiency. Also, how old are your exhaust manifolds and risers? If they are getting clogged (again, very common), they may not let enough raw water flow through the heat exchanger, decreasing cooling effectiveness.You can do a search on "closed cooling", "heat exchanger", and "engine temperature" in this forum to get lots of information and things to check. Also, if you start a new thread regarding your cooling issue, you will probably get a lot of feedback as this is a pretty popular topic.Good luck, and keep posting.

[ivoabr]

I just have a question.
I have 1989 imperial 23' Volvo Penta 5.0l sp-a 1.61 gears. There are two bearings in the bell housing and they both have passed to the next life.
So the question is will the bell housing have to come out? I think I know the answer and I don’t like it.
Well thanks….

[Don S]

Welcome to iboats ivoabr.
When you have a question, start a new thread, don't just tack onto the end of some 4 year old post. Your question will be missed by most as people start answering the original question AGAIN.