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Is my coupler bent?

M

Mike Enright

New member
I replaced my 5.7 Mercruiser recently and I'm having trouble aligning it. I inserted the alignment rod and got it close but never perfect. The alignment was close and I gave the motor about a 1/3 turn. I couldn't even get the alignment tool in after the motor was turned. Only two parts I can thing that would be off are the fly wheel or the engine coupler. Any suggestions?
 
How did you assemble the rear motor mounts??

What year is the boat, motor....etc..... serial number.

Reason for question is if you assembled the rear motor mount incorrectly the motor will sit to high or to low and it will not align.

There is a specific order in which the rear motor mount parts need to be assembled before tightening it. This sets the rear height. Then the two side adjustments raise and lower the front of the motor to align angularly.
 
Mike Enright said:
I inserted the alignment rod and got it close but never perfect. The alignment was close and I gave the motor about a 1/3 turn.
I couldn't even get the alignment tool in after the motor was turned.
Click to expand...


Just as a machinist would chuck up a part in his lathe and rotate it to check for straightness, you did similar.

IOW, if by turning the engine 1/3 rotation caused additional issues with the alignment tool, I'd say that the coupler may not be installed correctly, or a long shot..... is bent!

However, I must say that bending a coupler would be rather rare!

.
 
The boat is a 1989 GW Invader with a 5.7 Mercruiser. I installed the spring washers and rubber washers on the rear motor mounts the exact same way they came off. I then torqued the rear bolts down at 40 ft pounds.
 
How do you know they were correct to begin with

had you ever checked your alignment before?

The best way to align from scratch is to first get a manual that shows these things such as correct component assembly order.
second is to attach rear mounts but still have motor hanging on a chain and align as good as possible then adjust front motor mounts (nuts) as close as possible and release chain.
then adjust for best alignment with nuts and alignment tool.
 
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