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Engine to stern drive alignment

JH65

New member
I have a 1989 Four Winns with a 2.3L ford and an OMC stern drive. I had to replace gimble bearing and bellows. Checked alignment, looks pretty good up and down but is out of line from side to side. I am not sure how to get it in line. I loosened the motor mounts thinking there may be enough slack there to allow me to get in lined up, but no success. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Jeff
 
I also have an Four Winns 5.7 engine with a OMC Cobra and can not get the engine aligned. I removed the gimbal bearing and seal and still can not get the alignment tool to insert at all into the spines. The spines are clean and without the gimbal bearing and seal in there should be more angle to play with to insert the alignment tool. I have inserted a smaller pipe into the splines and can see the engine is too high and a little to the left horizontal. My concern is the alignment tool won,t insert even with the extra play.
Before you ask why the engine is off horizontaly, I just bought it as a project. The outdrive was on when I took it off but came out very hard and only went in to the start of the splines.
 
Before you make the assumption that the engine is either out-of-center to Port or Stbd, once again perform an alignment test.
Immediately after doing this, turn the crankshaft over 180 degrees.
Now check the alignment once again using the exact same technique.

You will be checking to see if the drive coupler itself is OK or NOT OK!
Did the reading show up just like it was before?

In other words, a twisted or out-of-whack drive coupler could be giving you a false sense of Port/Stbd mis-alignment.


If the reading remains the same...... then you do indeed have an issue.



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Check your engine mount stringers, is the fiberglass cracked where the front engine mounts rest. You could have wood rot in them allowing the engine to shift.
 
Check your engine mount stringers, is the fiberglass cracked where the front engine mounts rest. You could have wood rot in them allowing the engine to shift.
That would be a signal to you that the boat is dead. The stringers should neither rot nor should the wood inside them be what provides the structural support.
 
The Starboard side stinger was rotted between the 2 screws and 1/2 inch around the screws I cut out the rotted wood and placed bolts upside down with larges washer 1/2 inch apart from the head. I placed resin with fiber glass in the the area and fiber glassed the area with additional area for support. If this wont do even woodwont do. I guess if it is still off horizontally I will make new mount bottoms with slots for adjusting since my bolts are fixed. Any highth difference between right and left side can be compensated with a couple of extra turns on the left side mount. Thank you all for the INFO.

o2batsea and louc [FONT=Arial, Verdana, sans-serif] You had me very worried about the rot and I cut into the stringer immediately.[/FONT]
 
There is good reason for these to be "lag bolts", and not "studs"!

If not too late, I would suggest installing new stringer material and closing it up with matting, roving and resin.



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