Align motor

[agallant80]

So I will be ready to pull the drive in about 10 more hours for the 20 hour pull (required on new boats) to check everything out. I am gong to order an alignment tool, which I assume should slip in and out without much force but if it requires some force to get it in and out how exactly do I align the motor?

 

[Don S]

Re: Align motor

engine alignment how to's

 

[agallant80]

Re: Align motor

So If I am reading this right you align the gimble to the motor not the motor to the gimble?

 

[QC]

Re: Align motor

You're reading it wrong. As my favorite technical resource, Willy Wonka, says, "strike that, reverse it."

Edit: What you are reading wrong is about seating a new gimbal bearing before aligning . . . You won't be using a hammer as you check your alignment, as you are not replacing a gimbal bearing.

 

[Don S]

Re: Align motor

So If I am reading this right you align the gimble to the motor not the motor to the gimble?

You raise the engine up and down to get it aligned.

 

[Don S]

Re: Align motor

Scroll to the top of that link I posted above and start at the beginning, not sure how I started you off in the middle.

That link should have been this. http://forums.iboats.com/mercruiser...utdrives/engine-alignment-how-tos-443992.html

 

[agallant80]

Re: Align motor

Ok so the hammer method is only used after installing a new gimble correct?

How do you align it right to left if its off?

 

[Don S]

Re: Align motor

You don't align left or right. That is set by the boat manufacturer when they install the engine. Then they drill and lag the mounts to the stringers.

 

[MarkSee]

Re: Align motor

for the 20 hour pull (required on new boats) to check everything out....

Not that you shouldn't know how to do this, but shouldn't you be taking it to a Merc. certified service shop to have this service done and signed off so you don't risk having a warranty issue voided because you did not get it done by them?

How is whomever you might take it to for a warranty item really know you had the service done if you did it yourself?

Mark

 

[Don S]

Re: Align motor

Merc gave up that 20 hour service long ago, now all they require is an oil change, and that doesn't have to be done by a dealer.

I think it's a good idea for anyone with a new boat to pull the drive and check alignment at 15 or 20 hours. That way if the installer left an engine mount loose and something changed, or it was never adjusted correctly from the factory, it could be found BEFORE the coupler fails and you have to pull the engine to replace it. It also gives the DIYer a baseline on how things are.