gimbal bearing install

MEATBALL0309

Cadet
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Messages
29
hi i have a 1992 rinker with a 3.0 mercruiser and a alpha one gen 2 drive. i am doing a bellows replacement and got the transom seal kit that came with a gimbal bearing. i do not have the special tool to install this bearing i was wondering if anyone has installed one of these bearing without the special tool and if so how did you do it. thanks for any and all advise
 

UNSUREBOATGUY

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Sep 14, 2009
Messages
117
Re: gimbal bearing install

The main issue is contacting only the outer housing of the bearing with the driver so you don't damage the bearing itself. I made a tool out of hardwood plywood and a big piece of oak to hit with a big hammer. I'm a furniture maker, so I just had them laying around. Others have made tools out of heavy PVC pipe in the right diameters. One thing that is supposed to help a lot is to put the bearing in the freezer overnight prior to installation. It shrinks a bit and is a lot easier to get in the housing. I wish I had heard this before I tried it :) Be sure to line up the grease slot in the bearing (if so equipped) with the hole in the housing. You can't turn it once it's in there :)
 

liquidlew

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Feb 14, 2008
Messages
304
Re: gimbal bearing install

Yeah, I used a 1 and 1/2 foot piece of 3" Schedule 40 PVC, made sure the cut end was perfectly flat and square, and held a piece of 2x6 flush against it and tapped it in with a 5 lb. sledge. You will know when it is all the way in, your hits will feel different. Stop and check every few taps to make sure it is going in straight, so take your time, don't be in a hurry, especially if this is the first time doing it. I also put mine if the freezer for about a week, but I'm not sure it made any difference, it didn't just pop in like some have said. If you recently got your bearing, it is probably the new Permaseal bearing Merc is putting out. I did mine a year ago and that's what came in my kit. If so, then you don't have to worry about the grease hole lining up. Good luck!
 

MEATBALL0309

Cadet
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Messages
29
Re: gimbal bearing install

thanks for the awesome info i will try the pvc pipe tool. i was hoping that one of the bearing installers we have at work(i work at a toyota dealership as a parts advisor) was going to work but everything set against the inner race and i assumed that hitting that part of the bearing would cause some damage. thanks again for the reply.
 

Bt Doctur

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Aug 29, 2004
Messages
19,092
Re: gimbal bearing install

outer race ONLY, hit the shield or the inner and it`s now junk.
 

MEATBALL0309

Cadet
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Messages
29
Re: gimbal bearing install

so i tried to free the gimbal bearing from the transom housing last night went to autozone and rented a bearing puller. i must have whacked that thing for 45 minutes and it doesnt seem to be moving does anytone have any suggestions. i have a small propane torch and if i were to use heat what should i heat up the old gimbal bearing or the housing, or should i not use heat.
 

jasonachord

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 27, 2009
Messages
37
Re: gimbal bearing install

Here?s the bearing install tool I used to hammer my gimbal bearing back in. I believe my dad picked it up from Harbor Freight for about $6.00 or so. I used a 5lb slide hammer to remove mine. The first night I had the slide hammer I tried to pull the bearing and beat on it until my arms were soar, It wasn?t budging. I sprayed some penetrating oil (liquid wrench) around it and let it sit over night. The next day I tried again and thought it was still not going to budge, then after about 25 blows or so it moved. From there it took about 10 more blows and it was out.

Good luck!

bearinginstalltool.jpg
 

dingdongs

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
May 29, 2009
Messages
649
Re: gimbal bearing install

i had to use heat on my 1974 bayliner mutiny boat to get it out and just heated the ally housing up with a small blow torch for 2 to 3 minutes whilst puller was still attached.it did work and got it half out in seconds reheated and finally got it all out.i believe if you type in ;defeated !!!!! with the exclamation marks in the search up top theres some good ideas in there.i was using the puller and took a big chunk of skin off palm of hand then the blow torch came out.was still looking at hand 6 weeks later with a reminder if it dont come out again the blow torch will be out once again.would reccommend adequate ventilation and a friend will make light work of removing stubborn bearings.here ya go;http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=364003&highlight=defeated!!!!!
 

90stingray

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Oct 26, 2010
Messages
1,162
Re: gimbal bearing install

Ditch the slide hammer and the heat... use the above link and you will be able to pull any bearing out :) You are going to need the alignment bar... might as well go ahead and get the bearing driver too. They are super-cheap off ebay. Search "mercruiser alignment tool" or "mercruiser bearing tool" That way you will have the right tools for the job... and it will be a breeze next time.
 

MEATBALL0309

Cadet
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Messages
29
Re: gimbal bearing install

Thanks all for the wonderful info has helped alot.:)
well update i must have had some intesne beer gogles on because went out the nest day after work and had the bearing out in ten whackes. so good news. i ended up making my own bearing installer and man was that tedious work one hit at a time and check bearing to make sure it was going in straight. took about 30 minutes but everything went smoothly with that. got all the bellows hooked up glued and clamped but now i tried to but outdrive back on and got it to the point there was only a inch or two before it was all together and it would not budge any further tried to rotate shaft to align splines but still nothing. after about a hour of just me pushing and shoving and what not dicided to take drive all the way off to start again and rip. i ripped the body gasket between bell housing and stern drive. had to oder new one but in the mean time does anyone have any tips to get that thing back on.:confused:
 

jasonachord

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 27, 2009
Messages
37
Re: gimbal bearing install

Glad to hear you got your bearing out. You?re moving a lot faster than I am. I was able to get the bellows on last night, inserting the shift cable through that little hole on the shift boot was crazy. :D

How did you install the u-joint bellow sleeve in the bell housing end? That?s all I have left to do on the bellows before moving on the alignment and re-installing the outdrive. I saw your post on the alignment tool, I?m with you on that one. You wouldn?t think there would be any alignment needed but all the advise I?ve received here says it?s an important step you don?t want to skip. I ordered a alignment tool from eBay for around $40 with shipping. Another unexpected cost I didn?t need but seemed necessary. Hopefully you?ll get some quick feedback on installing the drive cause I have a feeling I?ll be needing it as well.
 

MEATBALL0309

Cadet
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Messages
29
Re: gimbal bearing install

well you have to pull the bellow into the bell housing if you look in thereyou will see a groove in the bell housing and a lip that is on the bellow you have to pull that bellow into the bell housing and get that lip to set into that groove. with a little fanagling i was able to get it in there pretty easily. then you take that metal ring and press it onto the inside of the bellow in the bell housing. now my question is there is a big black oring that i can't remember taking out but when i looked into my old parts bag i saw it there. from all the pictures i have seen online that seems to go into the bell housing up against that metal ring. can anyone confirm that.

2? i have a 3.0l is there any adjustment on there if the alignment is out side to side or is that impossible because of the way the motor mounts to the tansom and to the big u shaped motor mount in front?
3? didn't catch the part in the manual where it says to cut hose to 13 inches but have checked hose in a couple different positions and havn't found anywhere where it was kinking can anyone tell me if the bell housing needs to come off and this fixed or is the 3/4 inch going to make that much of a difference.
 

jasonachord

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 27, 2009
Messages
37
Re: gimbal bearing install

Did you have much trouble pushing the retainer sleeve in? That?s where I was having a problem. The large O-ring I believe you?re referring to does go into the bell housing, Most post I?ve read recommend you glue it into place with bellows adhesive so it will stay put while you install the drive. Check this tread out it may help, start from Fishermark?s comments down:

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=468246&highlight=drive+shaft+seal
 

MEATBALL0309

Cadet
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Messages
29
Re: gimbal bearing install

i actually pushed that retainer ringin with my hands i pushed really hard and it seems seated i will doulbe check myself that or the fact i didnt glue that ring in place might be the reason i couldnt get the drive all the way on. going to busted out the serlock holmes hat tonight and let you know what i find. by the way jason thanks for postiong the thread it is reasuring that my research was correct going to recheck that ring and seal. i think we may be on to something here:D
 

MEATBALL0309

Cadet
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Messages
29
Re: gimbal bearing install

well update tonight double check that the retainer ring is install all the way so not a problem there still wondering if that big oring might have been the cause of the drive not going all the way on. it looks like you can put this oring on drive. would it be better if i glued into bell housing or install drive with it on drive into bell housing?
 

jasonachord

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Aug 27, 2009
Messages
37
Re: gimbal bearing install

Any luck getting the drive back on yet? I thought I would be ready to install my drive today but found one of my u-joints is frozen while I was cleaning it up. The wife and kids had plans to go to the lake tomorrow too :mad:

I went ahead and glued the large black o-ring we were debating about into the bellhousing in front of the bellow retainer sleeve. Hopefully that was correct. Let me know how your's turned out.
 

MEATBALL0309

Cadet
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Messages
29
Re: gimbal bearing install

well haven't had any luck with the outdrive yet third day cussing at it found my motor was out of alignment now i am having trouble getting the jam nut to come lose it just wants to move the nut it is jammed to amd the thru bolt. any one have any suggestions on this. i think i have the motor aligned now the alignment tool goes in really easily but when you pull it out that first little bit is stuck i have adjusted it up and down to see if i could get it anybetter but when i do i just getts a little harder to push in without getting any better pulling out and actually gets tougher to pull out. going to try to install drive tonight with the new alignment so hoping for the best.
 

liquidlew

Petty Officer 1st Class
Joined
Feb 14, 2008
Messages
304
Re: gimbal bearing install

I have a Gen 1, but sounds like you have the same problem I encountered getting the drive all the way in on my first attempt also. To get the drive to go in easily, you have to "set" the bearing. Slide the alignment tool in thru the bearing and into the coupler, and then frimly hit (I used a rubber mallet) the top, bottom, and both sides of the alignment bar. I guess this aligns the bearing to the coupler. After I did this, my drive pretty much slid right in. Before I did this, I really had to force it in, then when I realized I forgot to set the bearing, I almost couldn't get the drive off. It's a very simple procedure. Good luck!
 

90stingray

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Oct 26, 2010
Messages
1,162
Re: gimbal bearing install

I thought I would be ready to install my drive today but found one of my u-joints is frozen while I was cleaning it up. The wife and kids had plans to go to the lake tomorrow too

Change the u joints and go boating! Most u joints are available at your local auto parts house. I would not want u joints to hold up a holiday weekend. Should be a hour or so since the drive is already off.
 

MEATBALL0309

Cadet
Joined
Apr 19, 2011
Messages
29
Re: gimbal bearing install

UPDATE!!! finally after a lot of confusion with the alignment tool figured out that i was using it wrong and that the motor was really far out of alignment. so after a lot of cussing and a torch got the jam nuts to move so i could align the motor and get everything squared away. went to put the outdrive back on and it went on wothout much effort. we got to drive the baot this memorial day weekend and ran a whole tank of gas thru it. i must say it was a great feeling to get that fixed and save myself a ton of money and get a ton of information and know how out of it. i wanted to extend a very big thank you to all how have given tips and pointed me in the right direction.
 
Top