New engine coupler weekend is here

[rad1026]

Re: New engine coupler weekend is here

Thanks guys! I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[SuperNova]

Re: New engine coupler weekend is here

No, removing the starter is not mandatory, just easier. My thinking, it's what, 20 years old? With the engine up and out of the boat its the perfect time to inspect/rebuild it. Maybe I am spoiled because my local starter / alternator shop will rebuild a starter for around $50 (with a full warranty) and have it back to me in two days. It depends on the boat but I've seen some that its almost impossible to get at the starter with the engine in the boat. $50 (at least to me) seems like pretty cheap preventive maintenance when done once every 20 years.

With thinking that way....I agree 100%....

 

[rad1026]

Re: New engine coupler weekend is here

The engine was a piece of cake. Had it out, changed the coupler and back down in a couple hours. I had the bellows done by a local shop and had a new gimbal bearing installed last month. Before I started the whole job of pulling the engine, I got my alignment tool out just to see how far off the alignment was. No way could I get the tool in. No wonder my coupler was worn. I have had this boat four years now and it has probably never been in a good alignment. You would think that when I had a new upper outdrive unit installed the shop would have done an alignment, but I know they didn't. So after getting the engine back down we moved on to the alignment process. Nothing we did would get the tool easily in the coupler and we could not get the tool to even go in the splines. Motor mounts all the way down and all the way up and everywhere in between the tool was hitting too high on the coupler. I decided to place two thin washers under the stern mounts. After that the tool went in all the way to the bottom but was producing grooves on the top of the tool, but not on the bottom. We played with it for another two hours and got to where the tool would go in with a slight bit of pressure but was much harder to get out. Meaning it took a good pull to get it out and seeing fairly even grooves all the way around. I went ahead and put the outdrive on and everything went in easy.

After watching the videos from another thread and seeing how easily he got the tool in and out it seems like I need to go back and tweek things a little more. Did I blow it by putting the washers in to raise the back of the engine some? It didn't seem like there was much choice. I had the front adjustments down as far as they would go and was not getting any grooves to show on the bottom of the tool. The stringers and mounts are solid as a rock. What do you think?

One last question. If I take the outdrive back off and work on the adjustment some more do I need a new gasket set? Do you replace the gasket everytime you take the outdrive off? thanks guys.

 

[Bondo]

Re: New engine coupler weekend is here

Do you replace the gasket everytime you take the outdrive off?

Ayuh,... for a mere 6 Bucks,... yer darn Right I use new, Every time...

Did you center the actual Bearing, before starting the motor mount changing,..??
Sounds like ya missed Step #1....
The bearing oscillates within it's mounting ring... hence the name Gimbeled bearing...
Also,...
If you need extra washers,... It's Not right...
Could be the rear mounts themselves have slipped...

 

[rad1026]

Re: New engine coupler weekend is here

I guess I missed step one. Center the bearing? I do not know what that means. Please educate me. I don't understand how the rear mounts could slip. Maybe if I go back and center the bearing then I can remove those washers and start the alignment process over again.

 

[Bondo]

Re: New engine coupler weekend is here

Ayuh,... The bearing is mounted like your Eyeball,... It's Gimbeled...

The rear mounts are rubber,+ steel bushings, pressed into the cover...
Sometimes they Fail,+ Slip...

 

[rad1026]

Re: New engine coupler weekend is here

Ok, so I read a little more. I did not set the gimbal bearing to begin with and I'm sure all my work from there was wasted. I think I need to go back and remove the washers that I put under the rear mounts, slip in the alignment tool and give it a few smacks to align the bearing. Then start the alignment over again until I get it smooth. How hard do you smack the alignment tool to set it? Rubber mallet, big hammer? I certainly don't want to do damage to the gimbal bearing.

I still can't picture what you are saying Bondo about the rear engine mounts. I don't remember any rubber back there. Just the bolt, washer, spacer, then the engine then the spring lock and fiber washer under the engine sitting on top of the transom plate.

 

[Bondo]

Re: New engine coupler weekend is here

Ayuh,... Look at the mounts in the flywheel cover,+ you'll See what I mean...

 

[Don S]

Re: New engine coupler weekend is here

Just give it a few thumps, you could use your hands, but it might hurt.
You aren't trying to bend the bar, just jarring the bearing so it stays in place.

 

[rad1026]

Re: New engine coupler weekend is here

I want to thank you all for your advice and help in getting this project completed. I pulled the outdrive on saturday, rigged up a hoist and put my rear engine mount washers back where they are supposed to be. I then took my alignment tool and set the gimbal bearing. It took a few wacks just using the palm of my hand, but once I found the sweet spot the tool went in nice and easy. I had more grooves showing on the top of the tool so the next step was to lower the front of the engine to get consistent grooves around the tool. I was very happy with the outcome. The only problem I had was I could not get both front mounts to lower any further. I was trying to keep both front mount heights the same as I lowered the engine, but I got to a point where the port side would not move down with the lowering of the starboard side. I had the engine mount on the starboard side at 1-3/16" high and the port side was at 1-3/8" and would not go down any lower. I evened the measurements up to 1-3/8" on both sides, tightened up the nuts and slid the alignment tool in again. Looked perfect. Rotated the engine 90, 180, 270 and all looked good. I called it good, got my outdrive back on and started her up and drank a cold one. Now I need to get my shift cable adjusted. Thanks again, I think it went really well. Now I can try to explain it to someone else.

 

[Don S]

Re: New engine coupler weekend is here

You need to have equal weight on the mounts, don't even worry about trying to measure the height and keeping them equal. I doubt the height of the stringers are that exact. Also, after adjusting everthing tighten all the motor mounts completely, then do the final test of alignment.

 

[rad1026]

Re: New engine coupler weekend is here

yep, that's what I figured Don, that the stringers were probably not that precise, so I made sure there was weight on each mount and tightened everything down then did final alignment. It looked really good. Can't wait to go to the lake.

One question on shift cable adjustment. I followed the procedure in my merc manual. The last time I did this my local mechanic told me once I get the adjustment procedure done per the manual to put the boat in forward gear then manually move the prop clockwise by hand and feel the resistance, then do the same with the reverse gear and move the prop counte-clockwise. He said I should feel slightly more resistance in forward then reverse and to adjust the shift cable accordingly to get that proper resistance. I know the last time I did, it worked perfectly. Have you ever heard of that?

 

[rad1026]

Re: New engine coupler weekend is here

A follow up. This past weekend was our first trip to the lake. Boat ran great! Smooth shifting with the new cable, no water in the bilge at the end of the day. I was very happy over all. I did think though, that the engine feel would have been much smoother. I mean, new coupler, gimbal bearing and alignment, I just thought it would feel like butter. With the engine trim all the way down I could feel very slight vibrations. It seemed if I trimmed up just slightly it smoothed out, but when towing the wakeboarders I am usually trimmed all the way down and running as slow as I can keep the boat on plane. Probably in a hard turn to retrieve the boarder with the engine trimmed down all the way is when I noticed it most. I'm not talking any kind of big vibration or weird sounds, just not as smooth as I kind of thought it would be after doing all that. I guess its kind of hard to compare how a 1989 21' boat should feel. I know when I drive my friends 2003 18' with a VP outdrive his boat vibrates significantly on turns and he has his boat serviced by the pro's every year. So maybe its nothing to worry about, I'm probably overly critical and just nervous about making sure the boat is dependable. Any thoughts? How smooth is your boat?

 

[Grant Brown]

Re: New engine coupler weekend is here

Great thread. I bought an ebay alignment tool and now I'm just trying to gather the courage to give it a shot myself.
I will be bookmarking this...
Glad it worked out.
Oh yeah all the inboard boats I've ever had had different vibrations at different speeds/turns etc. Seems like the nature of the beast.

 

[Bondo]

Re: New engine coupler weekend is here

Any thoughts? How smooth is your boat?

Ayuh,... What kinda shape is the Prop in,..??

 

[SuperNova]

Re: New engine coupler weekend is here

I think every boat with an I/O I've ever been in has a vibration to some extent at some point. The smoothest seems to be when the input shaft of the outdrive is perfectly straight. U-joints are not capable of transmitting force perfectly when compensating for an angle...so when you are trimmed all the way down, you are creating a bit of an angle downwards, as you trim up a bit the driveshaft straightens out and the vibration is diminished. Same thing on turns... Since the outside is bolted directly to the hull..it sets up a resonance thru the hull...

And,of course, as Bond-o suggested, condition of the prop can play a huge role in vibrations.....

 

[rad1026]

Re: New engine coupler weekend is here

Prop is in good shape. You know, its an aluminum prop and its about 3 years old, and it does have some paint coming off in spots, but no nicks. But yes I hear you guys, I know I did a good job, so I'm going to run it and have fun and not be so critical of every little thing. Geeze think of how I would be if someone else did the work. I wouldn't sleep at night wondering if they did things right. I had 10 people on the boat, one dog a new wakeboard tower and the cooler. It gets up on plane, stays there at less then 20 MPH, top speed at our 3500 ft altitude is about 40 MPH with a 18 pitch 4 blade prop, pulls a wakeboarder, skiers, tubes and has cruised over 150 miles in a day several times at Lake Powell and never let me down. I think I'll keep her. Thanks again for all the help. And the good thing is, now I can pass that experience on to the next guy.