Pulling engine, replacing rear seal, front cover, and oil pan gasket

[GIJeff]

Hello all! I have an oil leak that I tried troubleshooting on here last year but wasn't successful - I have a 2006 Tahoe Q4 Sport w/ a [FONT=&quot]2006 Mercruiser 4.3L I/O 0W638466[/FONT]. I had a leak that at first I thought was my front seal - replaced that. Wasn't the issue, then it appeared to actually be coming out of the CPS opening - wasn't that. We now believe the leak is actually the front cover leaking. I can visibly see the leak, it is just difficult to tell its origin. I'm a novice that relies on Googling, forums and YouTube videos to do some work, but I have a friend who is a very experienced auto mechanic and he's willing to help me pull the engine, replace the front cover, and while we are at it, will replace the rear seal since it likely needs it, and will also replace the oil pan gasket at the same time. Are there any good threads anyone could point me to to help w/ this endeavor? I've already looked at the engine alignment thread that is stickied, but any other advice would be great. Are there any other gaskets I need to go ahead and purchase that I will need to replace as part of all of this, or any other considerations? Do I have to completely remove my prop to do this? If so, I assume there are some gaskets and some other things I should go ahead and take care of at that time, too, right?

This looks to be about a $400+ repair.. any other options to troubleshooting this oil leak rather than having to replace the front cover? The service manual says once it is removed it must be replaced. I have Service Manual 32 that is meant for 0M322781 and up - is that the most accurate for my engine? I have been purchasing parts from mercruiserparts.com - is there any other site that is also a good, less expensive source for parts? The timing cover assembly on this site says it is no longer available and has been superseded, but does not direct me to the new part.

Thanks all for the help,

Jeff

 

[bruceb58]

PM me if you would like the name of the company where I buy my Mercury outboard parts. They carry Mercruiser as well.

I don't think you have the proper manual for your engine. I think yours should be a newer one. Probably should not matter at all for what you are doing though with this repair.

 

[Scott Danforth]

you may have the dreaded plastic timing chain cover. if so, there are aftermarket cast aluminum ones like this one

On of our moderators ( achris ) went thru this

here is a similar threads:
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engi...4177-mercruiser-4-3-oil-leak-front-crank-seal
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engi...359-merc-mpi-v6-cracking-timing-covers-update
http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engi...es-outdrives/561580-an-oil-free-bilge-finally

disconnect batteries - 15 minutes
remove drive - 1 hour
disconnect throttle, exhaust hoses, fuel hose, and water hose, and unplug motor - 40 mintues
unbolt motor mounts - 20 minutes
pull motor out of boat - 15 mintues
clean oily mess from bilge - 2 hours
put motor on engine stand - 15 minutes
pull all front accessories and water pump, labeling everything so you know where it goes - 1 hour
drain oil - 15 minutes
rotate motor over and pull pan - 15 minutes
pull front damper (with damper puller) - 15 mintes
rotate motor back up, remove timing cover and set asside
install new timing cover - 15 minutes
turn over motor install oil pan - 15 minutes
install damper - 15 minutes
turn motor back over and install water pump with new gaskets - 15 minutes
clean all accessories and re-install on front of motor - 2 hours
fill motor with oil and add new filter - 15 minutes
unbolt from engine stand and suspend from hoist - 15 minutes
place motor in boat - 15 mintues
align motor (with alignment bar) - 30 mintues
tighten motor in place and recheck alignment - 15 mintues
reconnect motor - 30 minutes
install drive - 45 mintues

go boating.

 

[bruceb58]

Scott....That was great!

I added up your time on there...was a little more than 12 hours.

 

[Scott Danforth]

could be much less, however need time to drink a beer or two in the middle there.

 

[GIJeff]

Great post, Scott! Thank you! So I need to pull the outdrive, any recommendation on a good detailed post for that? I also need to purchase all of the gaskets - what gaskets can I expect to replace when pulling the outdrive? Any other routine maintenance w/ the outdrive I should do while it is pulled?

I have a good parts list for my engine, but does anyone have a recommendation on a good place to see a parts diagram and pick out items for my outdrive? Alpha One Gen 2 if I'm not mistaken.

When you say "pull front damper" does that mean the harmonic balancer?

When referring to the water pump, mercruiserparts.com looks like it refers to the "sea water pump assembly, alpha/bravo closed cooling" - just making sure I'm looking at the right thing. Other than the water pump oil seal and lip seal, are there any other gaskets I need to be prepared to replace in the front of the engine? Already replaced the front seal - do I need to do this again, or can I use my current seal again?

Thanks guys - sorry for the basic questions!

 

[boatman37]

yes. harmonic balancer. use the proper puller and installer. no hammers allowed here

 

[bruceb58]

could be much less, however need time to drink a beer or two in the middle there.

I have found each beer adds an hour to fix things caused by drinking the beer.

 

[Scott Danforth]

Lol. I may own that tee shirt as well

 

[fishrdan]

When was the last time the bellows were changed and outdrive serviced?

On that seal you just replaced, I wouldn't re-use it...

 

[achris]

Great post, Scott! Thank you! So I need to pull the outdrive, any recommendation on a good detailed post for that? I also need to purchase all of the gaskets - what gaskets can I expect to replace when pulling the outdrive? Any other routine maintenance w/ the outdrive I should do while it is pulled?

I have a good parts list for my engine, but does anyone have a recommendation on a good place to see a parts diagram and pick out items for my outdrive? Alpha One Gen 2 if I'm not mistaken.

When you say "pull front damper" does that mean the harmonic balancer?

When referring to the water pump, mercruiserparts.com looks like it refers to the "sea water pump assembly, alpha/bravo closed cooling" - just making sure I'm looking at the right thing. Other than the water pump oil seal and lip seal, are there any other gaskets I need to be prepared to replace in the front of the engine? Already replaced the front seal - do I need to do this again, or can I use my current seal again?

Thanks guys - sorry for the basic questions!

Pulling outdrive - 3 minutes. Watch this video -> Removing Alpha drive (yes, that's me)

'Water pump' is the engine circulating pump, not the raw water pump.
Front damper is harmonic balance
Front cover seal comes with the front cover (already installed)
You will also need the 2 small water pump gaskets. (same water pump as a Small Block V8)
Parts diagram is best at Mercruiserparts dot com
The manual you have (#32) is the right one.
For the drive, just get a 'leg gasket kit'
If the drive seawater pump hasn't been checked recently, do that. Get a 'drive water pump kit'.

The last time I did the job the timings ran a bit like this.
Remove engine (including pulling drive) - 2.5 hours
Strip front of engine - 1.5 hours.
Flip engine over, R&R oil pan - 0.5 hours.
Flip engine back and replace all the front - 1.5 hours
Refit engine to boat (including drive) - 2.5 hours.

Chris........

 

[Scott Danforth]

Chris, you forgot the beer.... and the alignment. Also, the only reason you can pull the drive in 3 minutes is practice

GIJeff, yes, drive has to come off to get motor out.

 

[achris]

Chris, you forgot the beer.... and the alignment. Also, the only reason you can pull the drive in 3 minutes is practice

GIJeff, yes, drive has to come off to get motor out.

Hey Scott,

a) Don't drink, b) Alignment takes under a minute to check, about 10 to adjust, c) Lots of it!

Chris..

 

[GIJeff]

Thank you all for the help, and especially for breaking it down so simply for me! I've purchased the 2 gaskets for the water pump, an oil pan, an oil pan gasket, a new front case, a new rear seal, and an engine alignment tool. I couldn't find exactly which tool to use in my manual, but I believe this is the correct one - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E3V8P72?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00

It says - Related Part Numbers: 91-57797A3, 91-805475A1, 3851083, 18-4442

The only thing I haven't gotten is the leg gasket kit for my outdrive. Is this the right kit? http://www.amazon.com/Mounting-Gasket-Mercruiser-replaces-27-94996Q2/dp/B006JBOE56

It says it replaces 27-94996Q2

Thanks!

 

[Rick Stephens]

Can't say enough good things about FelPro Marine gaskets for your engine. They don't cost any different than other name brands, and I was impressed with quality and fit on my 'new'. 4.3L.

Rick

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,.... The alignment bars are all the same, for any I/O that has a gimbal bearin',....

'n, Ya, that's the gasket set for the drive,....

 

[GIJeff]

When was the last time the bellows were changed and outdrive serviced?

On that seal you just replaced, I wouldn't re-use it...

I haven't changed the bellows or done anything to the outdrive other than change the gear lube every year. I'd love to - now is probably the time! Is there a good post anyone recommends with step-by-step instructions on how to do that?

 

[Scott Danforth]

There are YouTube vids on changing bellows

 

[GIJeff]

Got it, will do some Googling and YouTubing! Thanks,

Jeff

 

[GIJeff]

No Title

Hi all,

​Started working on pulling the engine today and we are having a little more trouble than expected. We have a couple of issues -

We are having trouble determining how exactly the engine is mounted to the boat. We removed the front motor mounts, but it is difficult to tell exactly where to disconnect in the rear. In the image below, we initially thought we should separate the engine from the boat in the red circled area, but thought we were creating too much work for ourselves. It's hard to see, but is the bolt I have the black circle around the actual rear motor mount and where we should undo it?