Gimbal bearing replacement. Found water in bellows!

[jumpjets]

I cracked open my outdrive to replace my gimbal bearing, and I found rusty U-joints and standing water in my bellows.



The drive looked fine on the outside, and it runs great. THe only problem I've found is a roaring gimbal bearing during low speed turns. The U-joints were rusty, but it's just surface rust. THe joints spin freely and quietly.



The gasket surface didn't have any obvious leaks that I could see either.



Here is the standing water in the bellows. The gimbal bearing actually looks great, and didn't have any rust on it. It spun freely as well. I don't know why it's roaring.

 

[Don S]

Re: Gimbal bearing replacement. Found water in bellows!

New bellows, gimbal bearing, ujoints, and front seal in the drive and check the yoke at minimum.

 

[jumpjets]

Re: Gimbal bearing replacement. Found water in bellows!

Don S, thanks for the reply. I'm working on all that now. I have another couple questions though if anyone will entertain them.





It looks to me like water is somehow leaking into my shift cable compartment. The shift cable end is crusty and corroded, like it has seen plenty of salt water. Is this supposed to happen? I have been watching repair videos on youtube, and they don't have crusty shift cables, they are all dry and well lubricated.



I think that the water is seeping into my U-joint bellow through this crack here. That giant Castle shaped ring on my upper drive is missing a tooth, and it has salty crusty corrosion on it, which makes me think that is where the water is getting in. What do you think?



And....My final question: Is there a correct way to orient this gimbal bearing for installation? It has grooves on either side, which I recall need to be facing inboard. Does that Yellow dot mean anything? It suposed to be at 12 oclock like a timing gear on an engine? The new bearing is a sealed, "no grease required" bearing, so I don't have to match the grease hole to the zerk fitting. Is there a specific way to orient it for installation?

 

[cr2k]

Re: Gimbal bearing replacement. Found water in bellows!

It looks, to me, from those pictures, you water in both the shift and drive could very well be from your shaft seal. Looks like you are overdue for the upgrade kit to your shift shaft, easy DIY project comes with instructions.

I have seen some of those nuts broken like that most likely from someone not that familiar with the special spanner used on it.
On your gimbal bearing no specific orientation needed.