Mercruiser Alpha 1 Gen 1 Project

[achris]

You don't need to worry about that. Personally I wouldn't mess with it until I needed to. Might replace it at that time. It isn't affecting anything.

Correct.

 

[Scott06]

Given the corrosion in there did u check the gimbal bearing

 

[turand]

From what I could tell, it looked OK. I reached inside and felt, and the circumference felt smooth. The bellows all feel soft, no cracks that I could see. Here is a picture, although I am not sure how much that means, its got a ton of grease in there. Should I be cleaning out all the grease to make sure there is no corrosion and pump with new grease after install?

 

[nola mike]

That's water in there mixed with the grease...

 

[turand]

If its water mixed in with grease, so that sounds like gimbal bearing and bellows. Pressure test to check seals?

 

[nola mike]

If its water mixed in with grease, so that sounds like gimbal bearing and bellows. Pressure test to check seals?

Gimbal bearing is affected by water in there, but not the cause. If that's gear lube mixed with the water then it's an input shaft seal in the drive. If it's actually grease, then the drive is ok. Either way you have water in your bellows, which can be a breach in the bellows, water in the boat going backwards (needs to be a lot of water), water getting in through the fat seal between the drive and bellhousing... Probably other ways that I'm not thinking of.

 

[turand]

Gotchya, so definitely replace the gimbal bearing. I took another look at the exhaust bellows and I do see some small cracking, I can't quite get a good look at the u-joint bellow since the housing is still attached, but I would assume it has to be in a similar condition as the exhaust bellows. The grease is certainly quite thick, so if it's gear lube my guess its minimal if any.

 

[Rick Stephens]

Take a swipe of that slurry in the bellows with a finger and smell it. Grease will be almost no smell at all, while gear lube stinks bigly.

 

[turand]

Take a swipe of that slurry in the bellows with a finger and smell it. Grease will be almost no smell at all, while gear lube stinks bigly.

No smell! I'll take that as a good sign, and just focus on a gimbal bearing and bellows job.

 

[Scott06]

No smell! I'll take that as a good sign, and just focus on a gimbal bearing and bellows job.

Definitely replace the gimbal given the rust and moisture in the grease. One other way to get water in the bellows is through the shift shaft theres seals where it pivots through the exhaust passage the top one can let water into the bellows if the big square gasket leaks .

 

[turand]

Definitely replace the gimbal given the rust and moisture in the grease. One other way to get water in the bellows is through the shift shaft theres seals where it pivots through the exhaust passage the top one can let water into the bellows if the big square gasket leaks .

Thanks, this is different than the shift bellows the shift assembly runs through, the seal depicted as part #4, correct?

 

[nola mike]

Definitely replace the gimbal given the rust and moisture in the grease. One other way to get water in the bellows is through the shift shaft theres seals where it pivots through the exhaust passage the top one can let water into the bellows if the big square gasket leaks .

Thanks, this is different than the shift bellows the shift assembly runs through, the seal depicted as part #4, correct?
View attachment 337423

Yes, if that's leaking though your shift shaft cavity will be a mess. #9 and 4 are sold together now, you need to press it in. Exhaust bellows leak wouldn't cause an issue.

 

[turand]

Understood on the exhaust bellows, thanks!

 

[turand]

So, looking up parts for this gimbal/bellows repair. Both Mercury (803097T1) and Sierra (18-8213) have these kits. Looking at a couple sites and the QuickSilver is ~$250, the Sierra can be had for about $150, but I am seeing clones on E-Bay and Amazon for as low at $60. I know you get what you pay for, but curious if anybody have used these knock offs and had problems? I would imagine the bellows and clamps are probably fine, but more concerned the included gimbal bearings may be substandard.

 

[achris]

I've used the knock-offs. Don't!

 

[zellerj]

Most people on this forum agree that for rubber parts, use Mercruiser. They are much easier to install and last way longer.

 

[turand]

Is the Sierra kit of similar poor quality too?

 

[achris]

Is the Sierra kit of similar poor quality too?

Yes.

 

[nola mike]

Is the Sierra kit of similar poor quality too?

I'm on season 3 of a sierra kit without problems

 

[Rick Stephens]

If it has rubber parts, I buy OEM. E v e r y t i m e.