1976 Mercruiser 888 gimbal plugs?

J

jhay77

Cadet
Joined
Aug 10, 2006
Messages
26
My 76' formula thunderbird is just about ready to hit the water! The only pieces I am now lacking are what appear to be (2) 1" male pipe thread plugs that are missing from the gimbal housing. The boat came with them missing and I can't seem to find them in a parts manual. There is one on each side of the gimbal plate (the piece that actually mounts to the transom). Is there a special plug needed for this or could I just use whatever keeps the water out. If anyone knew of a part number it would help me out quite a bit.
Thanks in advance for the help!
 
J

JasonB

Lieutenant
Joined
Feb 10, 2003
Messages
1,449
Re: 1976 Mercruiser 888 gimbal plugs?

Someone replaced the ring with a merc kit which requires either drilling those two holes, or pulling the engine. I did mine a couple years ago. Those holes should have had 1" NPT t(national pipe thread) hreaded plugs. My guess is your local NAPA store can get them. Might even find them at Lowes or Home depot. There's nothing special about them except the ones in the kit have a recessed allen head socket, I guess to keep them less obtrusive. I think an external square head plug would work just as well.

Whike it is open, I would check to be sure it was done right and that the nut on the pivot shaft is tight. The job of replacing the gimble ring that was is a miserable one. You use a punch and hammer to remove/replace the nut through those holes. Takes forever ant 3 days.

check this link: http://www.mercstuff.com/gimbalringinst.htm

I did run across a company that makes a wrench for the job, but I think it is $70. After doing this job the hard way, I would buy the wrench if I ever do it again.

http://www.ghrkits.com/GHR_Wrench/ghr_wrench.html
 
C

crawdadric

Petty Officer 3rd Class
Joined
Nov 29, 2005
Messages
88
Re: 1976 Mercruiser 888 gimbal plugs?

JasonB,
You are my hero. I just checked out the site you listed and found the gimbal repair kit. This past weekend one of my u-joints lost a cap and it took out a piece of the casting which the bellows attaches to. I was looking at pulling the engine and replacing the gimbal housing.
Thank you,
Crawdadric
 
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