Gimbal & U Joint Bearing

[PT]

I have a 1987 capri Bayliner 3.0 GM 4 cylinder OMC cobra drive.Their is a fitting on the left side I belive this is for lubricating the Gimbal bearing\U Joint bearing or both.If this is correct, when i tried to put grease in it it would not take any so i removed the fitting to find it stopped up, also the grease in it was not hard but appreared to be semi hard , so i removed all i could by pushing a rod about same size causing it to ooze out past rod.I put grease fitting bac in & applied grease but it seemed it only took what i squeezed out.I applied pressure to grease gun but didnt feel like it was accepting any. How can i know for sure it is greased properly with out taking the drive off.I have never done this before & really dont want too..

 

[sea wolf]

Re: Gimbal & U Joint Bearing

that fitting will grease the gimbal bearing only, not the u-joints. for that u have to pull the lower unit. u should grease the u-joints once a season. it's not that difficult, but you'll need a new housing gasket. if u need advice on how to do it post back. i just pulled mine not an hour ago. i have the same setup as yours.

 

[PT]

Re: Gimbal & U Joint Bearing

Thxs SeaWolf for your reply..I have had this boat for 3 years,When i 1st brought the boat i had a mechanic replace all the seals in lower unit, I assume he made sure everything was ok but what got me concerned was i read where these need to be greased every year.I do Mechanical & Electrical work but never done much work on a boat.That Gimbal grease fitting it should take grease & eny excess i apply to it shold run out of the bearing right, now can i see where the grease would over run if i put too much in, just so i know its getting grease, Maybe talk to ya later about removing out drive if needed , lord i hope not ..

 

[PT@work]

Re: Gimbal & U Joint Bearing

Also you said you pulled yours off a hour ago, about how long does it take to pull it off & back on. just a rough estimate

 

[6MISFITZ]

Re: Gimbal & U Joint Bearing

Approx the same time or less to put the drive back on. Once you have done it, it will be routine maintenance for the end of the season.<br /> <br />I would buy a manual on this motor/outdrive combo. Available from amazon.com, Iboats.com, Walmart and some marinas.<br />A manual is a great thing to have as a reference because filling my OMC 3.0L outdrive in my Bliner has to be done from the bottom (DUH I know) to eliminate an air bubble that will cause the lube dipstick at the top of the drive to give a false reading until it goes bang! <br />Mike.

 

[sea wolf]

Re: Gimbal & U Joint Bearing

getting it off is a snap. however, putting it back can be tricky. the drive shaft has to line up almost perfectly with the splines on the coupler for it too go back in. like mike says get yourself a manuel, their invaluable. it took me about 45 min. to get mine off, but i had a couple beer breaks. heh, heh, heh.