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2003 350 5.7L MAG MPI with Bravo 3 - Drive play

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abl1111

Regular Contributor
Normal or something I should look into ? 750 hours on engine and drive

With my hand, I can move my drive left to right 3-5" without the steering wheel moving. It seems like whatever the drive swivels on to make turns is either worn or needs adjustment.

Is this normal ? What part is wearing and what type of job is it to remedy ?
 
Thx for the reply. I look a ta schematic of this area - is it possible that it's the swivel shaft or steering lever ? How can I confirm which part is shot ? How does the gimbal ring get wallowed out ( is it a known weak spot ? )

After the drive is off - is it a b*tchy job ?
 
At the top of the Gimbal ring there are two slots, one on each side. The top of the ring is compressed by way of two nuts on a u bolt to the square steering swivel shaft.

99% of the time if those pinch screws are not tightened when serviced (and they only tighten so much) and then the aluminum square hole will wear out and the gimbal ring will need to be replaced.

there are two methods to do this, one the motor comes out to get to the steering shaft/lever nut
or a kit is available that requires drilling large holes thru the top of the transom assembly (on back of boat on the outside) to reach the nut and use a tool to tap it off and then tap the large holes with a NPT tap and install the large NPT plastic plugs into the holes.

either way the gimbal ring will need replacement.

see here for picture of parts and the slots and it is a U bolt that compresses the slots to the pin

http://www.marineengine.com/parts/m...-thru-0m100000/gimbal-ring-and-steering-lever
 
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YUCK ! Outside of the drilling concept, The engine would have to come out to remedy this ? That all sounds expensive and like a PITA ! Not shooting the messenger of course. This has progressively gotten worse over the past few years and when my mechanic, who is a mercruiser certified shop, saw this wiggle 5- 6 years ago, he and his top mechanic just mumbled. ' typical mercruiser bravo drive condition ', so I figured it was 'par for the course'.

The pros and cons of an i/o vs an o/b consistently stack up against the i/o. This engine drive has been meticulously maintained, yet the preventive maintenance, repairs and or short-lifespan on various components is astounding.
 
I would not say all was meticulously maintained...........If they found this years back they could have tightened the u bolt and possibly stopped it from getting worse.

On the alpha's they have two shoulder bolts........if I notice a bit loose at the steering/gimbal ring I tighten them to avoid just this issue "down the road"
 
You're right. Thanks. I'll deal with it for the season and think it over the winter. I usually do all my own stuff - but removing the engine and this type of thing is beyond my 'tool set' and although probably not beyond my skill set - I just donut have the time ( or desire !). I looked at the Mercruiser, Bravo shop manual for maintenance scheduling - I didn't see this there… Live and learn.

I 'think' this might be why when I idle down a canal, the boat is constantly going off course. The deep V'd boat I have did this anyway, but it has gotten much worse.

How much is labor would a qualified mechanic get for this ? And, if I pulled the engine, what else should be changed while I'm there ?
 
I would say this is about and 8 hr job.
Motor out...2 hrs
Remove steering components from inside boat/transom...1-2 hrs
Remove outdrive and gimbal ring...1 hr
Install new ring and outdrive...1 hr
Reinstall motor...2 hrs

Gimbal ring, steering pin, nut and misc stuff....$1500 +/-
8 hrs labor....x $80-100 per hr.......$700 -$800 labor

Just my guess.....at least it is what i would charge...

Labor time may vary based on boat configuration...

Identifying what else you may need is impossible from my keyboard...
If fresh water only boat maybe no additional parts...salt water boat could need a many things.
 
I'm glad I'm behind a key board right now - so you can't see a grown man cry ! F*** CK ! ( I'm a NY'er I can't help it ).

That's alotta coin !

Thanks for your insight. Going to go vomit right now.
 
Tightened those (2) nuts that squeeze the SS shaft in place - the total wiggle or slop is about a total of 3" - is this acceptable ?

Without seeing the wiggle, my Mercruiser mechanic says if I do this project that I should replace the entire thing; transom plate, gimbal, bell housing etc. Is this sage advice ?
 
abl1111 said:
Tightened those (2) nuts that squeeze the SS shaft in place - the total wiggle or slop is about a total of 3" - is this acceptable ?

Without seeing the wiggle, my Mercruiser mechanic says if I do this project that I should replace the entire thing; transom plate, gimbal, bell housing etc. Is this sage advice ?
Click to expand...

The answers are


NO and NO
 
You only need the gimbal ring and possibly the steering shaft and nut and it is steel not stainless steel.

If he recommends replacing all of that then might as well repower..........haha


Of course if all the parts are junk due to extreme salt water exposure then of course he is correct.

If not see first sentence..........

He is taking the easy way out.........in my opinion

if he removes the motor and the outdrive then all he needs to do is remove the transom assembly and swap out the outside (back of transom) assembly and simply bolt it back in place.

Verses pulling the motor and removing the steering arm, steering shaft nut, outdrive, hinge pins and lower swivel pin of the gimbal ring and swapping that out the gimbal ring and reassembly of all......

In my opinion not much difference in labor or effort........
 
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