Hi all, first time I've attempted to change an impeller in an Alpha one Gen 1 outdrive. The outdrive ran fine last year, I only took it apart because I didn't know the last time it was changed (we bought the boat last spring). I do have the Merc manual #6, and got as far as removing all the components down to and including the water pump base.
My question concerns the drive shaft; I noticed that it has what I thought was a lot of play. It seems to be able to rotate freely, but relative to the lower drive housing I can move it in space by ~ 3/64". The propeller shaft, by comparison, will not move at all and feels nice and tight. I've attempted to attach a picture showing the space between the shaft and mating blue part (is this a bearing?).
My first thought was that something must be wrong with either the shaft or its bearing, but then I was thinking about how it goes back together and wondering if it floated by design so as not to overconstrain the assembly. I did notice that with the water pump base and housing back on, I can no longer move it in space a measureble amount. Installation of the impeller probably makes it even tighter.
What do you think; is this an issue? I didn't want to ignore a problem if that's what the parts were telling me. I appreciate your help, thanks very much.
My question concerns the drive shaft; I noticed that it has what I thought was a lot of play. It seems to be able to rotate freely, but relative to the lower drive housing I can move it in space by ~ 3/64". The propeller shaft, by comparison, will not move at all and feels nice and tight. I've attempted to attach a picture showing the space between the shaft and mating blue part (is this a bearing?).
My first thought was that something must be wrong with either the shaft or its bearing, but then I was thinking about how it goes back together and wondering if it floated by design so as not to overconstrain the assembly. I did notice that with the water pump base and housing back on, I can no longer move it in space a measureble amount. Installation of the impeller probably makes it even tighter.
What do you think; is this an issue? I didn't want to ignore a problem if that's what the parts were telling me. I appreciate your help, thanks very much.
