MerCruiser gimbal bearing and u joints

nola mike

Vice Admiral
Joined
Apr 22, 2009
Messages
5,023
Thought about something
Why are you asking for the work to be done?
You hearing or seeing something?

If the gimbal bearing feels smooth when rotating by hand then it doesn't need replacing.

Lets find out what caused the estimate before deciding what needs to be done

Yeah, that's what I was getting at. Seems like a lot of unrelated stuff, it's not normal maintenance if there's not a specific issue.
 

1toboat

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Joined
Aug 1, 2020
Messages
11
Well, I bought it brand new because I didn’t know enough about boats to comfortably purchase a used one. I sold it to an acquaintance when building a house and told him I wanted first dibs if he ever decided to sell. He had it 10ish years and I bought it back 3ish years ago for nearly nothing. I saw the rusty u joints which were certainly structurally compromised, and the gallons of water that poured out when they pulled the lower unit (there should’ve been a couple fish flipping around on the floor). It seems the back end of the boat probably was submerged a bit for a while as a waterline was visible on the u joint. The guys at the shop were absolutely amazing and nice (yes I’m a female lol). So although the boat isn’t “really” special, it’s very special to me. I just sank $$ in to some upholstery work because I want the boat lookin’ good. At the shop we were talking 2k ish so I was quite surprised to see 2.8k and was looking for a sanity check. I don’t want to buy a new boat, and looking at rental costs for a day in the lake, figure it’s worth fixing. I just don’t want to pay or something I don’t need or want get. And now you know why I don’t have the tools or assistance to repair it myself. Wah. Hahah
 

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1toboat

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Joined
Aug 1, 2020
Messages
11
I had the boat back a few years and have taken it out during the summer season (trailer to local lakes). I made up my mind to get it in good condition or get rid of it. My kids are old enough to really enjoy the boat so I opted to get it in good shape. Got a tune up etc. since the ol’ girl didn’t run quite like it used to. A bit of hesitation out of the hole and so on. I had a local shop do the tune up however they did t have the tools to lube etc. the lower unit. I took it out and ran it to see how well it performed. I realized the rattle hadn’t gone away and played with it a bit to see what made the sound and vibration better or worse. Alas at idle, and when turning the steering wheel, it was worse (scary music here please). Call the nice mechanic who did the tune up and he provided his suspicions. He recommended the local authorized mercury folks who wouldn’t touch it because it was so old they might break something else trying to fix it. The rusty pic tells all. You can see significant rust damage. And now I know why he sold it back so cheap and bought new tires for the trailer lol. Looking at the NADA value it’s probably worth fixing. I don’t want to get robbed though. You’ve all been so helpful! Thank you.
 

Rick Stephens

Admiral
Joined
Aug 13, 2013
Messages
6,118
So, go rent a ball joint press and change the u-joints. Or go buy one, they are much cheaper than bringing a mechanic home.
 

alldodge

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Mar 8, 2009
Messages
40,581
Yes will need u-joints, gimbal bearing, bellows and shift cable. If your up to it we can get you thru, if not call around for a dealer quote.

You can buy a brand new SEI drive with warranty $1600.00 just for perspective

If your near St Louis I would call No Coast Customs, Bruce is a great guy and will fix you up for much less. I'll PM you his Cell
 

1toboat

Cadet
Joined
Aug 1, 2020
Messages
11
Thank you! I googled no coast customs in StL and didn’t find them. Armed with the information, you guys provided I’ll chat with these folks or find a different shop.
 
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