Alpha one gen two outdrive will not slide back on

[84EdH]

Re: Alpha one gen two outdrive will not slide back on

Of course it slides easy before the splines it always does. Its aiming that bearing in line with the splines that counts. You may not need to adjust mounts but you cant tell until gimbal bearing set

 

[Badtbone]

Re: Alpha one gen two outdrive will not slide back on

Any trick to set the bearing? I hit it up down right left a few times....no luck
I feel like I'm missing something obvious
If the tool is aligned trough the gimbal bearing and the coupler?... How can it now move to slide into the splines? Sorry fr the ignorance...I am usually quicker.
Thanks
T

 

[84EdH]

Re: Alpha one gen two outdrive will not slide back on

your fine. here is a trick. get a good led flashlight, a little one, get down on the level of the gimbal bearing and look through the gimbal bearing, you'll see the splines of the coupler making a circle, try to eye up the circle of the coupler and try to figure which way the gimbal needs to move to make the line up better. that seemed to help me. also, I found I was being too nice to the alignment bar after a while.

your question about the alignment through gimbal and coupler......it is not. the tool goes through the gimbal bearing, and in your case it sounds, is NOT entering the coupler, but rather just right at the lip of the coupler. thumping the bar around is kind of a random chance...try to put the bar in after each thump. also, you can hit the end of the alignment bar with your hand to try to get it to start to enter the coupler splines. if it goes in a little, its easier to thump the tool to get a better alignment with the bearing. hopefully, by eyeing it up first you can see how far your off and in what direction.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: Alpha one gen two outdrive will not slide back on

Lets back up a little bit, can you explain how you installed the bearing? Improper installation can damage the bearing.
You said the drive came off easily so alignment was good , with the new bearing installed you need to align it to the coupler.The bar is partially inserted into the bearing and you thump the end with your palm . Per 84 a flashlight may get you thumping in the right direction. a second way is to get an input shaft and drive it into the bearing untill seated. If alignment is still correct it will remove with 2 fingers and
you can double check alignment with the bar.

 

[ktbarrentine]

Re: Alpha one gen two outdrive will not slide back on

How about some close up photo shots looking into / at the gimbal bearing and into the coupler splines. Just a thought.

 

[Badtbone]

Re: Alpha one gen two outdrive will not slide back on

Could the gimbal bearing be in backwards?
I got the tool to go into the spline about an 1/8 of an inch I had to tap it a bit to get it in jus over a half inch and it got stuck just like the drive but I could easily rotate the tool
It feels like the gimbal bearing isn't allowing it to go in any further. It's very difficult to remove. I put the bearing in with the slots facing the engine. I was told by a vendor online that it should go in facing out or the drive won't go on
Please help I need to return the tool ASAP
Thanks
T

 

[84EdH]

Re: Alpha one gen two outdrive will not slide back on

It wont matter. Try to adjust bearing angle now as I suggested. Did u look in to eye it up?

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: Alpha one gen two outdrive will not slide back on

I have replaced several gimbal bearings in Mercs and nothing swivels 360 degrees. ?
I would pull the bearing again (with a threaded puller, not slide hammer) or try aligning the engine.

There's an ebay seller that is trying to convince everyone the manual is wrong and he recommends installing the bearings backwards.

I'm going to research that a little more - it seems all the Merc manuals show the same bearing direction. However, 1998 and newer use a different bearing (heavier duty?) but again, I see nothing saying to flip it other than mike's alphas on ebay with his huge write-ups. I don't know where his info is coming from, but I don't see any reference to his idea in the factory manuals.

 

[Badtbone]

Re: Alpha one gen two outdrive will not slide back on

Yes that's where I read it as well.
Update.
I get the idiot award of the forum. Turns out the gimbal bearing was not seated all the way in. I used a proper tool gave it some whacks and the alignment tool slid right in! Drive went on with no effort at all...
I want t o thank everyone for all the great advice and putting up with my ignorance. this is a great resource. If I ever see you guys in person I will buy you a beer.
Take care
T