Mercruiser 3.0 - Front Mount Adjustment

[BadNewsBrewery]

First, let me say thank you to all the awesome mariners on this board for your help in the past months. I have lurked and learned, and there's a lot of information here that I am a better man for having read. Now, onto my issue:

I just replaced the gimbal bearing in my Alpha One, Gen 2 outdrive. It's mated to a Mercruiser 3.0L, with a 2006 manufacture date. As part of the pre-repair purchasing, I got an alignment tool and after the bearing was installed, went to check. I can barely get the tool to engage the coupling more than about an inch, with definable grease marks on the top, and nothing on the bottom. Visual inspection of the coupling shows the same issue - the front mount needs to come down.

Here's my issue - I can't figure out for the life of me how to adjust the front mount. I monkeyed with the bolt on the top of the motor mount and tightened that as much as it would go, but I know that's not the answer. The adjustment nut is difficult to get to, but I can slip a wrench on it. When turning, it just turns the entire shaft and the two jamb-nuts below the mount. The engine is shoehorned into the boat, so there's not much working room to get to the bottom nuts (by not much, I mean hardly any).

Is a crows-foot wrench the only real answer here? If so, what size are those nuts? (I've read 1 5/16, 1 1/4, etc). With as much information as there is on how to tell if your engine is aligned, there is almost no information on how to ACTUALLY align it.

Thank you all for the help, and I hope to become a contributing member to the forum.

V/R,
-Kevin D.

 

[Don S]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0 - Front Mount Adjustment

I think a picture is probably worth a thousand words.
Loosen D & E and adjust the engine up or down with C.
You need to go down with no marks on the bottom of the bar.

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0 - Front Mount Adjustment

Don S,
I gathered that was the way forward. Any tips on getting to those nuts? A picture of my own may help demonstrate the issue I'm having with accessability.



As you can see in the picture, the mount is almost impossible to get to. I'm guessing a crowsfoot wrench is in order, but I don't have anything close to that size so I'll need to buy one. All the Mercruiser parts lists I've found show the shaft diameter, but don't show the OD of the nut, and I've gotten mixed messages of 1 5/16 and 1 1/4 - I suppose I could just buy both and cover my bases...

Or is there some other magical technique that my frustrated brain is not working out right now?

For what it's worth, this is in a 2006 Maxum 1800 MX. Having just completely stripped and redone the boat, I'm not surprised the engine was so out of wack. For some of the seats they must have used the guess-and-check method to drill the mounts - there are at least 2-3 holes for each mount, many just reamed out with a drill for that "wiggle" factor. Very disappointing.

V/R,
-Kevin

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0 - Front Mount Adjustment

For anyone finding themselves in this situation and happening upon my post - the nut needs a 1 5/16 crows foot wrench with an extension, and a LOT of break-free penetrant soaked in. The rest is pretty easy. Getting the sterndrive back on - that's no type of easy...

 

[dfgtye]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0 - Front Mount Adjustment

Hello. Just had almost the same issue ya couple days ago. Sprayed anti seize on the two bottom nuts night before. Once the lower nut was loosened the other nuts moved free. Top was used for up down movement. used a cresent wrench on the very bottom of the stud to hold in place. HOWEVER THE HEIGHT WAS NOT THE ISSUE. The new gimbal was out of line. Once i lined that up everything was good. My outdrive did the same thing in about an inch and no further. I couldnt even get the alignment tool in. Boat is a 2006 Bayliner 195 with 3.0 merc. and Alpha gen 2. Check the link below on how to line up the gimbal. worked great and everything went together smooth.

http://forums.iboats.com/mercruiser...utdrives/3-0-merc-alignment-issue-609523.html

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0 - Front Mount Adjustment

I thought I had the gimbal pretty well centered - put the tool in, gave the tool a few good whacks up / down / left / right with my fist. After some adjustment it went in better, but still never bottomed out and got full-length grease marks like some of the videos. Not sure if my tool just wasn't the right length, or if the problem was more to do with the operator. Then getting the drive back on I had a problem getting the shift linkage to line up - thought I had it, bolted it all back together, and realized the linkage wasn't seated - it was nearly impossible to get the drive back off after that, but she seems to be back together now, and I'm taking the maiden test voyage tomorrow!

 

[Don S]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0 - Front Mount Adjustment

Between the alignment bar not going all the way in, and your having trouble getting the drive back on, I would say you still need to do some alignment. You're way off if the bar doesn't go in all the way.

Did you read this thread? http://forums.iboats.com/mercruiser...utdrives/engine-alignment-how-tos-443992.html

Not just watch the video's read the text as well.

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0 - Front Mount Adjustment

Don S,
I read that link numerous times, which is why I think I have a poorly-made alignment tool, or something's just not happening on my end. The post specifically says the first segment should engage the coupler 1/2" before the largest portion of the shaft engages the gimbal bearing. I can EASILY slide the alignment tool in about 3", maybe more, once the largest diameter of the tool has engaged the gimbal bearing. If everything is set up the way the post would have me believe, then that would mean that the alignment tool has engaged the coupler by at least 3.5" or more. Yet when I pull the alignment tool out, there are no markings on the grease.

This means one of a few things. 1 - My coupler is SO worn out that it's not making contact with the alignment tool. 2 - my alignment tool isn't built to the exact specifications of the one in the subject post. 3 - my gimbal bearing was seated 3+" too shallow in the gimbal housing.

If I push harder on the alignment tool, with some deal of force, and then fight to get it back out, I observe about an inch of spline marks on the tool. They are even around the circumference, if not along the full length of the tool.

As for my issues with installing the out-drive, I believe that had more to do with the shift lever not being properly aligned on the back of the drive and not engaging the shift 'ear' properly. Once I got everything lined up it seemed to go together MUCH easier.

Still doesn't solve why my alignment process is going the way it is, but I did specifically read that post multiple times and follow it word for word in my process and just did not produce the same results.

-Kevin

 

[Don S]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0 - Front Mount Adjustment

This means one of a few things. 1 - My coupler is SO worn out that it's not making contact with the alignment tool. 2 - my alignment tool isn't built to the exact specifications of the one in the subject post. 3 - my gimbal bearing was seated 3+" too shallow in the gimbal housing.

No, there is one other thing it means. You are only in the grease tube part of the coupler, not the splines.
If you look inside the boat at the coupler, you will see a tube sticking out of the coupler with the grease zirk in it. That part is not splined.
Only the part inside the rubber has splines.

If I push harder on the alignment tool, with some deal of force, and then fight to get it back out, I observe about an inch of spline marks on the tool. They are even around the circumference, if not along the full length of the tool.

That is the section where you need to start getting the alignment checked.

 

[BadNewsBrewery]

Re: Mercruiser 3.0 - Front Mount Adjustment

No, there is one other thing it means. You are only in the grease tube part of the coupler, not the splines.
If you look inside the boat at the coupler, you will see a tube sticking out of the coupler with the grease zirk in it. That part is not splined.
Only the part inside the rubber has splines.

View attachment 198642




That is the section where you need to start getting the alignment checked.

I stand woefully corrected. Thank you! I will get on fixing it before I take the boat out again.

 

[Fireman115]

Ok so I'm having the same issue except the engine well is huge. So I loosened all the nuts and have gone as far down as I can and it still needs to go down what do I do? Attaching a picture to see if someone can figure it out. Thanks.

 

[Fishermark]

Fireman, you need to start a new post so you can get some help.