1966 1BEZ Upper

I am in the middle of a full r

I am in the middle of a full rebuild/restoration. The Stern drive /Upper end is on the work bench and about 98% disassebled.
When removing the drive shaft carrier bearings there were shims against the housing. There are also shims under the cap bearing race.
Thoughts and opinions: The shims are all in really good shape for sitting 16 years. Should I go ahead and replace these items at this time? Was wondering what kind of loads the stern drives produce.

You would check all clearances

You would check all clearances only if replacing the gears or the bearings.

"That is sound advice. I had

"That is sound advice. I had the gears checked and the shop says I have plenty of hours left on them. They recommended the bearings be changed out because they set so long and I have it all apart anyway.
I have experience cutting shims but must admit it is not my favorite task. Do you happen to know if Mercury or after market sells a shim kit? The clearances in these areas are tight.
On the drive shaft coming in from the motor is clean and fairly straight forward. I imagine this adjustment would be performed secondly. On the diven shaft top end, well, I dont look forward to pulling the cap race out multiple times to get required clearances. Any tips on this task would be great. I also enjoy no bull $#!+ sea stories.
One other thing. An old fart at the shop pulled me aside and just said, "Work from the prop up to the motor." From the smell, five o'clock had come a little early for this gent. Was this the ramblings of a happy sailor or was there some actual information being passed on here?"

"I saw a show about fitting be

"I saw a show about fitting bearings w/shims. They had two sets of bearings. One bearing and race for final installation and the other bearing and race for fitting. The removed a few thousandths of an inch from the inside of the bearing so it would slide on/off quickly and the race had a few thousandths taken off the outside to slide it in/out easily. After the number of shims were determined, they installed the untouched bearing and race w/the shims. You could use the old bearing and race and cut them to shim the new bearing if they are the same size."

"I believe that the old bearin

"I believe that the old bearings and the new will have a diffenence due to wear. If I shim that diffenece with a different or marked shim, I should be able to make the fit, remove the diff shim, install the untouched bearing and have the correct fit.
Easy as a drive on trailer.
I know a guy with a metal lathe. After I get the new bearings I'll cut the old ones. I'll get back with you on how this worked out. Maybe post some pics on photo bucket. Thank you for the idea."