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DYI transom R&R Bravo 1

It'll be ok until it breaks. Yippee. got all parts cost $340 w/tools and spent most of saturday under a shade tree and went at it. My 93 Formula with a 95 EFI crossram and bravo 1. Bellows, shift boot, water hose, and connectivity kit. The most difficult task was installing the transom side water hose insert with the insert tool. There isn't enough room to apply forward pressure. I left myself about 3/16 inch of hose, and a drop of soap, and the threads took, and wala, it was in tight. I bought a bellows insert tool, didn't need it. I also bought the sleeve insert tool, which was a big help, and a hinge pin tool, which broke immediately. wound up using 1/2 hex. Having a nice 1/4 inch socket set with universals was the ticket to most of the wrenching. Went with 80 lbs of torque on my hinge pins, since I drilled them out and helicoiled. The bonus to me was new trim senders, whereas my trim guage now works and it's adjusted. time to hit the water and hopefully no leaks.
 
It'll be ok until it breaks

That pretty much seems to be the ticket to boating doesn't it :)

Since I have to change out that same hose I was thinking about the trim sender units as well, but the gauge has not worked for so long that trimming by feel has become second nature and will most likely just toss the extra $100 into the fuel tank.

Was there any problem with the hose, or did you just change it since you were already into it etc?

Where did you get the hinge pin tool? That shouldn't have broke so easy.

And ditto to "hopefully no leaks" that is always a plus!
 
my water hose had some dry rot cracks on it, so I gutted it with a filet knife. The senders work well. I have a leak but the marina guy says to replace the gimbal anode. water coming in from where the 2 hydraulic hoses make entry to transom.
 
HAHA! I have my own answer to the condition of my Bravo 1 Gimbal ring. With the sawsall damage near the hinge pin, it's not typically rebuildable because most machine shops have problems centering their jigs. Run it till it breaks, which won't be long because I have the dreaded steering swivel play. Anyone got a good core I can send to JRMarine? They won't take mine.
 
ok. I am definitly showing my naivete on this board. My gimbal nuts were less then 10 Ft lbs torque. I stepped them up to 45 fts, and wala, I'm down to about an inch of play either way. I'm wondering if I should to for the gusto and get them to 50 ft lbs, or is the clamp, or something else going break?
 
get a manual and read what the tourque spec is.........

I believe it is closer to 90 ft lbs..........
 
Kghost, My manual 11 section 4B 1 says 50 lbs. JRMarine has an ubolt upgrade that can take 55lbs. Some say going to 53lbs ft torque is best. I really don't want to break what I have, which appears to be a stock standard bravo 1 gimbal serial number starting with 0F0, with the stainless ubolt, with 9/16 nuts. My question is how much of a factor is age and stretching on the stainless ubolt, and if it doesn't matter, I should tighten up to 50. Until now, I have been ignorant about maintaining the Gimbal Bolts. Some on the board say no play, others say 1/2 inch is acceptable. How much play is acceptable? I talking left to right..
 
I was speaking to the hinge bolts NOT the stainless steel ubolt.

The stainless U bolt is a "shoulder" style, only so many threads.....then that is all she wrote.

The issues is not how tight but how much you compress the gimbal rings slots when over tighenting.

We used to tighten until it could not be tightened anymore as there were no more threads.......Of course the real issue here is the Gring was loose for a long time and never checked.......... the Gring should be replaced with a NEW steering pin installed and it will have ZERO slop!
 
Kghost, you're saying the housing is more likely to give then the ubolt, and the ubolt will run out of threads before it snaps. I thank you very much for your expert advise.
 
The Internet is amazing, unfortunately for my no. 11 manual, the dog got it and chewed the corners. Having it on disc is better because you can print and take it to the shop, garage, marina.. I have the answer to the question about the strength of the UBOLT on the Steering Swivel Pin on the Bravo 1 Gimbal; Ron from JRMarine in one of his posts says the factory stainless 316 will fail after 53lbs of torque. He went as far as sending a factory ubolt to a lab and discovered the factory torque has the ubolt maxed out from the beginning. According to his post, he has a ubolt that will handle additional torque, but will strip out the nuts. here is a link: http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/...st-reports-oem-bravo-u-bolts-gimbal-ring.html
 
Again,

the tightening of the ubolt only covers up other issues. if the steering pin to gimbal ring is sloppy then both need replacement to properly correct the issue.

Will over tightening the ubolt (which ever one is used) correct the problem? Yes.

Choice is yours......
 
Thanks. I tightened it to 55 ft lbs, and still have a little play. I'm in the market for a gimbal ring, and a shop to do the R&R, since I don't have the facilities to pull the motor, nor do I want to cut into the transom plate. I'm near Newtown, PA and can get the boat almost anywhere in Phila-NJ area. Any suggestions?
 
I still have a leak at the bottom of the transom. Looks like it's coming in from the mercathode electrode wire passage. ON the INSIDE of the boat, the water is coming in from the lower passage shared by the hydraulic lines and wires for the electrode. OK easy enough, just pull the two electrode bolts, provide some slack to the wires (orange and brown), and it will drop down, and I can inspect the situation. NOPE. I can pull the 2 screws BUT plastic housing for the electrode loosens, will not drop and is steadfast. Used a little force, but afraid to break something. There was a mercruiser service bulletin out (88-6) http://www.boatfix.com/merc/bullet/88/88_06.PDF this says to fill the voided space with an approved sealant. Is it possible that the previous owner had serviced this and now the sealant is ROCK HARD, therefore giving no play in the wires so I can take a look without demolishing and buying new parts? How would the experts approach this?
 
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