Thank you all in advance. We recently received an 86 citation with a 140 merc alpha 1 gen 1. We replaced the bellows, water pump assembly, lower shift cable, gimbal bearing, and throttle controllers. We did not check the engine alignment but the sterndrive went back on, engaged the splines easily. I did have to give a bit of a kick and walk on the last 1/2 inch. I'm thinking that was due to the new o rings on the shaft. Everything ran well after some minor adjustments- shifted well into forward, neutral, reverse etc. We had it in the water for 45 minutes and then upon returning to dock, it would not shift out of forward, it idled slowly even when controller was in neutral. At some point while trying to get it out of forward, we heard some major whining coming from the engine. After pulling the cover we saw the drive shaft was not turning- I'm assuming the coupler is spun.
My questions- I'm going to replace the coupler and have an alignment tool on the way. I know the first thing that comes to mind is the alignment, but I don't understand how simply replacing the gimbal bearing would have an effect on the engine alignment if it was seated correctly. What else may have caused the coupler to go bad and what specifically should I check to be sure I don't trash this coupler as well?
My questions- I'm going to replace the coupler and have an alignment tool on the way. I know the first thing that comes to mind is the alignment, but I don't understand how simply replacing the gimbal bearing would have an effect on the engine alignment if it was seated correctly. What else may have caused the coupler to go bad and what specifically should I check to be sure I don't trash this coupler as well?