Bravo lIII Leaking a bit..

[rickasbury]

I have a 05 boat with about 200 hours on it and noticed I was dropping some gear oil...pulled the props and the seal at the carrier bearing is leaking slightly and there is a little axial play in the shaft, not a lot but a little to the point when you move it, it leaks a little. With the hours on it, I was just going to replace the seal but seeing that little bit of wobble in the shaft really makes me worry...I am working on a manual so I don't know how everything assembles in that foot but I would not think that carrier bearing would fail so soon, any suggestions as to what likely is the issue?

 

[tpenfield]

You will need the bearing carrier tool. The carrier may be loose, so you could try that (it is a REVERSE thread) so counter clock-wise tightens it, clockwise to loosen. I think the spec play (in/out) is 0.050", but it should not have any noticeable play side to side.

The bearing carrier itself is $385 +/- and that may be your best route (plus buying the tool) as it comes with the bearings and the seal already installed.

Here is my recent thread on fixing one of my Bravo 3's . . . http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engi...ines-outdrives/9419932-bravo-iii-aahhh-phooey

 

[rickasbury]

Nice post, thx- where did you purchase? Couple of places I looked was 500 bucks...any other thrust washers etc that should go with it?

 

[rickasbury]

And iassume I don't have to pull the drive to swap it out?

 

[tpenfield]

I did not find the bearing carriers here on iBoats, it seems they only have the carriers for the Alpha drive. So, I got then from perfprotech . com (PPT) at $385 plus shipping.

 

[tpenfield]

Best if the outdrive is off the boat as you will be putting a fair amount of torque to loosen and re-install, you will need to drain the gear oil and re-fill (3 quarts of high performance gear lube $45 ish)

 

[alldodge]

With a bit of play it might be that your still ok, might just need new seals. The carrier preloads the bearings and may need to just re-shim. You could check for run out (bent prop shaft) by placing the prop shaft in the downward position and check (no more then .010). End play should be between .001 and .050, back lash .012 to .016.

The seals are difficult to remove without the special tool. I managed to get them out without but plan to buy the tool when need next time. Make sure to use the new single double type seals and not the 2 old style seals.

1 each Small inner seal 26-8M0033407 (replaces 2 each lip seals)
1 each Large outer seal 26-861694 (replaces 2 each lip seals)
Dimensions 3 - 3/8 OD, 2 - 1/2 ID, 13/16 wide

 

[rickasbury]

Thanks All Dodge....what a great forum and thanks to all for the responses.....I think while I have it down I will go ahead and replace the bearing assembly-I plan on having this boat for a very long time....I can't afford 4 grand because I cut a corner and I'm not experienced enough to know if what I have is acceptable. I don't have any run out gauges any way to determine how much slop I have but I don't like slop! I tried to find the carrier on the PPT web site, they may not handle those anymore or I just can't find it......will keep moving forward!

 

[alldodge]

The issue is if you have slop (side to side) you need to check your bearings. Shims are used on the back side of the race where preload is limited. It does take some special tools. Now if the slop is not much it could just be the seals are worn out. The carrier applies torque and preloads the race on the outer most bearing. You may just need new seals if your carrier is not corroded to a point it needs replacing.

Got pics?

 

[rickasbury]

I did not take any pictures, but there is no corrosion on the shaft or bearing assembly as it is not kept in the water- it looks for all purpose "new" condition. I'm going to try the seal first and keep an eye on it. If I start or continue to leak fluid I will do the carrier assembly. If I do that, when I replace it is it as simple as pull the old and install the new? Or, is there some procedure as you mention above to load the bearings as you describe? I need to look at a manual...

 

[alldodge]

To remove the seal your going to need to remove the carrier, otherwise IMO your asking for trouble. The carrier uses a special tool to loosen it as tpenfield posted. Yes you need to get manual 28

 

[rickasbury]

10-4, doing the seal this weekend. Will try and grab some pics for the next guy!

 

[alldodge]

Here is my link where I rebuilt my B3, might help
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engi...s-like-i-m-getting-into-bravo-outdrive-repair