Mercruiser 165's First Engine Align, Having Trouble

[ttownthomas]

ok, about what I thought the hatch would be open, and also way a cherry picker could not be used. Could use wood across the gunnels to hoist also

Will Do. Thank you!

 

[kenny nunez]

A small bottle jack might work with some wood bridged across under the engines. I have worked on several 25s and I know they are a PITA to work on.

 

[ttownthomas]

I have the rigging all set up to lift the front of the motors. I think Im going to wait until I have a second set of hands because moving the winch one click and climbing back out of the boat is getting old

 

[kenny nunez]

A 3/8” turn buckle may make it easier in place of the come along.

 

[tank1949]

Oh...My mis read. Sorry. I replaced the bushings in the inner transom plates with new ones and re-used the double washers and collars. Everything was cleaned, sanded and repainted before install.

Was the rebuild 100% parallel? Correct thickness? I assume you didn't replace outer skin but rebuilt from inside????

 

[tank1949]

I have the rigging all set up to lift the front of the motors. I think Im going to wait until I have a second set of hands because moving the winch one click and climbing back out of the boat is getting old

May be additional rot. Been there!

 

[ttownthomas]

Was the rebuild 100% parallel? Correct thickness? I assume you didn't replace outer skin but rebuilt from inside????

You nailed it. I had this same thought this week and disconnected and removed the mount to go lower today. The engine beds were very rotten and I rebuilt them completely, from the bottom up, and I built them too thick. My lowest engine bracket setting is about 3/4 inch high on the stbd side and about 5/8 inch too high on the port side. Anyone know how much shorter the alternate mount is? Or perhaps I need to find an aluminum fabricator to cut these mounts lower by about 1.5"

 

[kenny nunez]

I had the mounts cut and re welded depending on how much “drop” I needed. Most times 1.5” worked out. Mercruiser did make a short mount but you will have to do some searching.
I even kept a shortened one in stock.

 

[ttownthomas]

Chopped and welded. Too bad they are not steel. Then I could have done it myself.

 

[ttownthomas]

Ok, I had the mounts cut 1.5 inches shorter and the port engine aligned perfectly. The starboard engine gets really close but feels like it may be off a smidge… it just doesn’t slide in as well as the port side…. Perhaps it’s just that I inserted the alignment tool so many times on the port side that I took away some of the initial tightness. If I want to re-set the aft end and make sure the bolts and shims are in right do I need to lift the whole engine or can I just lift the aft end?

 

[kenny nunez]

I think you have the rear mounts installed correctly. At this point I would go ahead and mount the drives. If any of the rear mounting hardware was not in place or wrongly installed you would be able to tell by comparing from port to starboard.

 

[ttownthomas]

I think you have the rear mounts installed correctly. At this point I would go ahead and mount the drives. If any of the rear mounting hardware was not in place or wrongly installed you would be able to tell by comparing from port to starboard.

Do you mean to say that I’m overthinking it or that there’s something else I should be looking for when I mount the drives?

 

[alldodge]

Ok, I had the mounts cut 1.5 inches shorter and the port engine aligned perfectly. The starboard engine gets really close but feels like it may be off a smidge… it just doesn’t slide in as well as the port side…. Perhaps it’s just that I inserted the alignment tool so many times on the port side that I took away some of the initial tightness. If I want to re-set the aft end and make sure the bolts and shims are in right do I need to lift the whole engine or can I just lift the aft end?

If it does go fully in just not as good as port
It might be the gimbal is tight and that is giving the slight interference

Could also be the engine coupler has a slight offset from a previous misalignment

 

[ttownthomas]

If it does go fully in just not as good as port
It might be the gimbal is tight and that is giving the slight interference

Could also be the engine coupler has a slight offset from a previous misalignment

But if it mounts and removes without any real trouble I should roll with it?

 

[alldodge]

But if it mounts and removes without any real trouble I should roll with it?

Yes, it will be fine

 

[ttownthomas]

Yes, it will be fine

I test mounted the drives tonight. All good. Thank you

 

[tank1949]

You nailed it. I had this same thought this week and disconnected and removed the mount to go lower today. The engine beds were very rotten and I rebuilt them completely, from the bottom up, and I built them too thick. My lowest engine bracket setting is about 3/4 inch high on the stbd side and about 5/8 inch too high on the port side. Anyone know how much shorter the alternate mount is? Or perhaps I need to find an aluminum fabricator to cut these mounts lower by about 1.5"

Go to information forum for technical information of transom rebuild. I can't remember what it is called, but that is where I got my information. Good luck.