Pulling sterndrive for the first time

"I was wondering what tools on

"I was wondering what tools one must have on-hand for the pulling of the stern drive, aside from the normal ratchet/sockets and wrenches. I plan to attach a pulley to the joists in my garage to use as a hoist.

[And I'm a new boater, but pretty handy. I've never pulled off a stern drive, so I'm a little tentative]

Is it crucial to have the engine alignment tool, and/or the hinge pin tool?

Any suggestions on this greatly appreciated!"

"Ayuh,.......

Assuming you

"Ayuh,.......

Assuming you have an Alpha drive,......

Just put the Shifter in Forward,.....
Disconnect the outboard end of the Trim Rams,.....
Then remove the 6 nuts holding the Drive.....
Give it a Good Yank,+ She's Your's.......

Btw,......
The Complete Outdrive only weighs 80lbs.....
No real need for a Crane.............."

"Beg, borrow or steal an align

"Beg, borrow or steal an alignment tool. Clean the splines on the engine coupler and examine them for rounded spline edges. It can be due to a lack of lubrication or poor alignment. If they are rounded, consider replacing it now since it is going to fail at the most unwelcome time; engine must be pulled forward if there is room or removed to replace it. Check the engine mount bases for rot espec. if their tops are not flat and the mount is diggin into it.

Examine the bellows and water inlet hose; replace as needed if there is dry rot, cracks in the bellows, etc. Check the gimbal bearing for rough spots by rolling it manually. It should feel very smooth when rolled. Unsure? Replace it and be sure to align the bearing lube hole with the zerk fitting.

Look at the impeller while the OD is off, replace if it has set in one direction. If there are pieces missing, find them in the cooling system by back flushing. The entire impeller kit is cheap insurance and include the upper and lower housings with the impeller.

Sound the transom (thump it) to check for rot below the gimbal and wherever any holes were drilled into it. A soft rotted spot can be repaired by injecting CPES, Clear Penetraing Epoxy from inside the hull. If you find any, contact me and I'll tell you how to fix it using epoxy w/o replacing the entire transom."

"So the alignment tool is crit

"So the alignment tool is critical, as in one should never pull the outdrive without one?

Further background: I bought this boat at the end of this season, and the previous owner says that the outdrive has not been pulled since the winter of 2004, when the following was done:
1) replaced all bellows/hoses, gimbal bearing, sending units, lower shift cable, etc.
2) replace yoke seal, water pump kit
3) install anode kit
4) paint gearcase

Right now, the trim sending unit is bad; as far as I can tell, the trim limit switch is still working fine.

And yes, the drive is a 1996 Alpha One. And I have a Clymer manual to work from.

Another wondering...I just drained the gear lube and replaced it...will I have to re-drain it before I pull the drive?"

"Cleaning Trim Limit Switch &a

"Cleaning Trim Limit Switch & Trim Position Sender

For the trim/tilt problem you are experiencing, if the wires from the limit switch (port side) and trim position sender (starboard side) are in good condition, they (Switch or sender) can be disassembled to clean out the old hardened grease. SCRIBE the sides of each one and the OD for a reference mark before removal. Clean out the old grease and pump fresh Mercruiser 2-4-C grease thru the zerk fittings before reinstallation. Clean the small brass contact points with solvent and a pencil eraser until shiny; repack w/ 2-4-C grease and reinstall by aligning reference marks."

Alignment tools can be found o

Alignment tools can be found on Ebay for about 10.00. Usually the shipping is more due to their weight.

Thanks Guy for the sender tips

Thanks Guy for the sender tips...

And wow Ej on the alignment tool; the one that I had found online was over $100.

"On the trim/tilt sender...I m

"On the trim/tilt sender...I messed with this for a while today and ran out of time. I disassembled the sender, and found out that it *did* work if I held the white circular rotating part tight while rotating it. However, after reattaching the housing for the sender, it went back to its nonworking ways. I did fool around with changing the "bend" of the little brushes that contact the white circular part, but that didn't seem to help either. Was thinking about rigging it by packing a cotton ball in there or something.

And Guy, do you actually pack the inside of the sender with grease?

[Edit: and rereading your post Guy, I forgot about using solvent to clean the contacts...I just used an eraser directly. Maybe another visit is in order]."

"Daniel:

The following may

"Daniel:

The following may help you. The trim sender on the starboard side just tells you what position the OD is at. The trim limit switch on the port side only controls the outward travel of the OD.

I coat the inside of the switch with 2-4-C gease and clean out the cavity the switch sits in; it's important to pump fresh grease thru the zerk fitting to get out all of the old grease then reassembe your switch. I then pump a few times on the grease gun to put in more 2-4-C lube.

The contact plate needs to be shiney and the contactor must be CLEAN of any hardened grease. I have bent the tangs on the contactor a little to improve electric continuity which is what I think you need to do that based on your comments. Any bends should be done from the contacts toward the center. I hold the contact center w/a NN pliers and us another NN pliers to grab the end contact area then pull downward gently in a circular arc to try to put the bow or arc back into the contactor. That gives it the spring load necessary to make contact.

What year is your boat? I don't remember if it is spring loaded or not. Check the solder joint on the contact plate. Try polishing the plate w/some 1200 grit sand paper or an old fashioned INK eraser to put a very light coarse finish on it. I have also used a gritty cleanser like AJAX or COMET mixed with a dab of grease as a polish for the plate. Just remove all of the residue when done.


How the trim/tilt works

Before you tear anything apart or replace wiring and switches, test it out; first by visual inspection by pulling back and forth on the wires while operating the switches and then test with a meter. At the commander switches, the red wire will always have 12 volts. The green wire gets 12 volts when the trim toggle is held down. The blue wire gets 12 volts only when the toggle is held up or the trailer switch is pushed in. The purple wire is part of the limit switch circuit.

If the switch voltages are as they are supposed to be then go to the trim/tilt pump assy. and make sure the purple wire connector (single wire) and the blue wire connector with two blue wires on one side of the connection are not corroded or loose. These are the trim position and limit switch wires. Pull them apart and inspect; they should be clean and tight; reconnect them.

Next check the three wire connector (RED, BLUE & GREEN) at the pump assy. This plug can vibrate loose and cause your problem. Pull it off and see if the pins are clean and not corroded; reconnect it.

The RED wire in the plug sends 12 volts from the pump assy. to the toggle up/down and trailer up switches. The BLUE & GREEN wires bring 12 volts from the toggle trim/tilt and trailer switches to the two solenoids on the pump assy.

The GREEN wire goes to the DOWN solenoid while the BLUE wire goes to the UP solenoid.

Did you check the switches with an ohmmeter? The trim/tilt switch is a 2-way switch and will show continuity only when it is toggled in each direction between two of the wires.

Up toggle connects the RED wire to the BLUE wire. Down toggle connects the RED wire to the GREEN wire. The TRAILER UP switch also connects the RED wire to the BLUE wire.

The OD trim limit switch will only send voltage to the trim/tilt switch in the upward toggle position if the OD limit switch is below the adjusted trim limit that keeps the OD being out of the water.

To test the limit switch circuit, lower the OD to the down position and slowly raise it with the trim toggle up until it stops. Then measure the distance between the trim cylinder attaching bolts. If the distance is approx. 22 +/- 1/4 inches, then the trim limit switch is adjusted properly and the commander trim toggle switch is working in the up/down mode.

Go to the trim/tilt pump assy. and make sure the purple wire connector (single wire) and the blue wire connector two blue wires on one side of the connection are not corroded or loose. Pull them apart; they should be clean and tight; reconnect them.

Next check the three (RED, BLUE & GREEN) wire connector at the pump assy. The RED wire in the plug sends 12 volts from the pump assy. to the toggle up/down and trailer up switches. This plug can vibrate loose and cause your problem. Pull it off and see if the pins are clean and not corroded; reconnect it.

The BLUE & GREEN wires bring 12 volts from the switches to the two solenoids on the pump assy. The GREEN wire goes to the DOWN solenoid while the BLUE wire goes to the UP solenoid.

Disconnect the trim/tilt assy. wires from the battery and then check each of the nuts and studs on the solenoids for clean and tight fittings. Each solenoid has three wires and the buss bar connected to it. The bases of them have a black ground wire and a small blue wire to one and a small green wire to the other.

On top of each solenoid, the large BLUE wire from the pump motor attaches to a large copper stud with the solenoid that has the small blue wire at the base while the large GREEN wire from the pump motor attaches to a large copper stud with the solenoid that has the small green wire at the base.

The other copper solenoid studs are connected together with a copper buss bar. One of the two studs will also have a funny looking 110 amp fuse attached to the bar. The large RED wire from the battery connects to the 110 amp fuse. This large red wire is the power for this buss bar. A small RED wire attached to the bar stud sends 12 volts to the switches which in turn sends the 12 volts to the solenoids which turns on the pump motor.

Important: if the studs on the either solenoid are dark and not like a clean penny, especially the BLUE wired solenoid, this solenoid is failing due to age and/or a loose bottom copper stud nut. The dark color comes from heat generated inside of the solenoid by the contactor because it is arcing like welding similar to points wearing out. Change the solenoid.

Cleaning Trim Limit Switch & Trim Position Sender

For the trim/tilt problem you are experiencing, if the wires from the limit switch (port side) and trim position sender (starboard side) are in good condition, they (Switch or sender) can be disassembled to clean out the old hardened grease. SCRIBE the sides of each one and the OD for a reference mark before removal. Clean out the old grease and pump fresh Mercruiser 2-4-C grease thru the zerk fittings before reinstallation. Clean the small brass contact points with solvent and a pencil eraser until shiny; repack w/ 2-4-C grease and reinstall by aligning reference marks."

"WOW, Guy, you are an encyclop

"WOW, Guy, you are an encyclopedia here. I'll make sure to go through all of the suggestions above and get that trim sender back working again. It was a little maddening today, because I could make it work by a judicious squeeze, but not mounted properly like it should be. I am hoping that just a cleaning of the contacts with solvent, and then re-bending the brushes might work.

The engine and outdrive is a 1996 Alpha One (4.3L V6)."

"And now for a quick pic. Whe

"And now for a quick pic. When I pulled the drive, a little oil came dribbling out, which made me a little nervous. There was a small pool of oil as shown in the picture below.

Is this normal, or should I be worried?

[I wish the picture were better!]

Oil in sterndrive"">
"

I am not sure about the oil; i

I am not sure about the oil; it may have pooled there upon OD removal. When you put the switch back the screws will squeeze the halves together for contact.

"Daniel;
There should not be

"Daniel;
There should not be oil pooling in the bellows like that, or that lower compartment. You may have an input shaft seal weeping, where the drive shaft enters the upper gear housing. Take a look at your U joint yokes for evidence of oil weeping and slinging.

Replacing the upper seal requires removal of the upper gear carrier and disassembly of the gear pack to access the shaft seals. You will need a special wrench for the multi-lug carrier backing nut.
It might just be the carrier-to-housing O ring leaking behind the nut, but it's likely the shaft oil seal.

On reassembly you must properly preload the bearing pack. No need to reshim the gears as long as you don't have to change the bearings or gears.

Rod"

"Rod;

Thanks for the input

"Rod;

Thanks for the input there; that sounds like it is beyond my ability, so I'll take it in to a mechanic to see how light my wallet is about to get

It's hard to see in the picture, but there is a little black "button" between the rightmost studs. I presume that this is the connection back to the gear lube reservoir in the engine compartment, because when I push on it, lube oil comes dribbling out. I am *hoping* that, in the process of removing the drive (I had to wiggle the outdrive a pretty good bit to get it out), that the button just got mashed repeatedly, causing that oil pool.

However, that's just wishful thinking on my part. I didn't think to check the reservoir to see if it was suddenly lower than it had been, so I'll check that tonight."

"That button is the "anti-

"That button is the "anti-dribble valve", that connects the lube oil monitor to the drive leg, as you suspected.

If the pool of oil that you found is clear and green/blue, then it might have dripped as you suggest, but not likely if the drive was still aligned on the studs as you wiggled it. If its cloudy and dark coloured, it is likely leaking from the drive.

The seal change should only be about a 2 hour job; it's not complex with the right tools; especially since you already have the drive out.

Rod"