Bravo 3 seacore - U joint replacement?

[jase34242]

Mechanic last sping installed the main bellow incorrectly, long story short, water made it in and ruined the gimbal bearing and put the ujoint got rusty. Had to hire a new mechanic to pull the drive off, replace the gimbal bearing and bellow correctly and put it back on. He cleaned up the ujoints as best he could, but we both knew that it'd be time to replace them sooner or later. Later is now. I will be shopping around to see if I can get someone to replace them for me. Original mechanic is on the do not call list, when his install started leaking/making noise, his answer was "I will see when I can get you on the list to take a look" (at that point he was dead to me). 2nd mechanic is busy as can be.. and hasn't called me back.

I got the drive off today, the gimbal is good, the bellow looks fine, zero water anywhere to be seen but I did experience some vibration.

Here is what the oil looked like when it was draining. (Very little water in it at all, I have it settling right now in the garage).



Here's what the gimbal bearing/bellow looks like now. It was dry as a bone, smooth as can be and no play forward to rear, this is after being in the water 100% for 13 months straight.



The stuff on the bottom to left was me getting grease n it from my hand..

So here's where it gets not so great. Here are pictures of the ujoints as they sit right now:





The question is, is this something a regular joe can replace? I've already looked at a bunch of videos on youtube and read through some threads. The issue is none of those u joints look like these.. I've seen some people reference the "new version" but couldn't find anything about how complicated they are to replace...

Any thoughts are appreciated!

 

[Kola16]

Yes a regular Joe can do it. They can be frustrating your first time though. There are many good, "How to replace a ujoint" videos on YouTube like you said. Even ones specifically done on Mercruiser outdrives. Probably more videos on Alphas than Bravos, but it is the same process.

I advise not using a hammer for installing them as a first timer. Removing them fine. You can use a larger C-clamp to install them or rent a tool from O'Reilly for free (refundable deposit) like a ball joint press. To make installing the rear U-joint easier, you can grind a small "V" out of the castle nut on two sides so you do not have to take the entire u-joint assembly out of the upper drive housing. Saves you from not having to buy a special spanner wrench. I'll see if I can get a picture of the "V" notch tomorrow.

 

[tpenfield]

You'll need a large 'C' clamp to press the bearings out (after you remove the retaining clips). . . . (there is a tool to that too!)

I got my outdrives off right now for some repair & maintenance.
.

.
Here is my thread about fixing a previous set of Bravo 3's . . . Page 3 has a little bit on replacing the U-Joints. Assuming that you won't be pulling the drive shaft out, you'll just be using a 'C' clamp to remove the bearing caps, where as I used a press.

Link >>> https://forums.iboats.com/threads/some-milky-oil-from-the-outdrive.610871/page-3

You will also want to change the gear oil, as your oil looks pretty dark - Quicksilver High Performance gear lube works the best.

 

[nola mike]

Those look terrible. Why wouldn't your mechanic change them originally? There's a list of compatible auto u-joints floating around somewhere, I imagine the B3 has an equivalent as well (@tpenfield ?). $20 or so each instead of the $150 or whatever that merc charges. In theory you can remove them without removing the castle nut (I have about a 50/50 record of not breaking an ear off when I do it). I also find a hammer to be WAAY easier than a c-clamp/press (you don't hammer the bearing directly), but I know that isn't the recommended method.

 

[tpenfield]

IIRC - there are standard u-joints and heavy duty versions. The difference being the bearing spindle. If you get the Mercury branded ones, it will be top-dollar. If you can find the correct aftermarket type, it will be about half the $$.

All the new bearings are non-grease-able type . . . you may find some aftermarket bearings that have the grease fittings.

 

[jase34242]

Thank you. I was thinking of doing it myself because it seemed like it would be hard to find anyone here willing to do the job. Well, a very respected guy around these parts surprised me and took on the job, he works on big diesel boats, but also does jobs on stern drives.. phew. Dropped it off today.

 

[Kola16]

Good to hear! I kept forgetting to take a picture of the "V" notch I was talking about. It is not a hard job for anyone who has done it so you should be in good hands. It can be hard your first time if you don't know where or how to start. Car mechanics will replace them for you too for future reference.