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Engine mount alignment

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lear0

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"somethings going on and i&#39

"somethings going on and i'm not smart enough to see it.

96 merc 4.3. i replace the bad motor with another 4.3 and get ready to align the motor and it's off,way off. ok i can see where it might be off a couple turns. but i end up running the nuts all the way down [approx. 1.25"] and i'm still not quite there. the shaft is going in about 3/4 of the way and it seems the motor needs lowered some more. the only way i see it is if i start trimming the stringer down.
this just doesn't seem right to need to adjust the motor this much being as it's the same motor. i did look at the old block and compare mounting holes,seem the same. new motor is a 99 4.3
any ideas what i'm doing wrong or is this common to have to adjust 2" with the same style motor? thanks."
 
"i kept looking at the rear mo

"i kept looking at the rear mounts,they looked okay. i was thinking if the rear mounts were that low,wouldn't it be impossible to get the shaft inserted?

so if they are collasped ,how do i tell? do you know where there is a illustration of how they should look? thanks."
 
"could just grab the bellhousi

"could just grab the bellhousing off the 96 engine.

Maybe the bellhousing on the 99 got bashed in shipping or in the removal from it's hull.

My trick for getting close, is I have a steel yardstick that fits snug into the splines of the coupler. Because it is only as wide as the splines, there's about a 1/2" between it and the gimbal bearing race.

I roughly align the engine with that steel yardstick first- eyeballing the clearance to the bearing to get it sort of 1/2" evenly all around by eye. Then I switch to the alignment bar.

I find the alignment bar is confusing when it enters the initial taper into the coupler you're not sure what is needed.....especially if it's a new coupler and some of the aftermarket ones barely let the bar in even when they are bang on... the alignment bar is more of a go/no-go gauge I find on those couplers."
 
"Find a used drive shaft splin

"Find a used drive shaft spline to use as an alignment tool if the tool you're using has a low clearance tolorence on the spline.Turn it right to left to get it to go all the way into the eng coupling(thru gimble bearing also). This should work most of the time. Dont bang it in with a hammer or it "WILL" get stuck. use a Rubber Mallet and grease the Heck out of the spline so it slides in easy(like KY Jelly). Have a buddy or two to help because you cant be in 3 places at once.1)eng compartment,2)Outdrive and 3)a free set of hands to help where needed."
 
"where can i find a good view

"where can i find a good view of the rear mount bolts and the order they assemble. i wonder if i don't have something wrong there.

the main question is where the lock washer that looks like a spring goes? i found one description talking like it went on the bottom just before the nut. my nut stays in the bracket,so no way can it go there. "
 
"got it fixed,just a stupid me

"got it fixed,just a stupid mechanic screw up. i had the lock washers on the top,not between the mounting points. so unhooked it ,put them where they belong and lined the thing up. i love tearing something apart and not getting back to it for 6 months."
 
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