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Broken bell housing & gimbal ring, should I buy or run from it?

Dieter said:
I skied behind several 2.5/3.0 powered boats over the years ( and Im 250 lbs)While i agree it is less than ideal from a water sports perspective, it can be mitigated by changing props. I had really good luck with two different pitches of michigan votex 4 blade props. Used a 18” for tubing and general loaded cruising, a 16”for skiing and wakeboarding.

What it was is inexpensive starter boat that got my family on the water and was economical to maintain. Sure i prefer our 21 ft with a 5.0 especially now that the kids are teens and they bring friends, but i miss filling up a 17 gal tank and the easy access of the 3.0 for service and winterization.
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You would love a 5.7 in a 21 ft with a 63 gallon tank.........Not to mention having to work upside down on anything spark plugs and lower........

But when you have several people and a couple "ornaments" in the boat, half tank of gas, tunes cranking and several coolers full of beer...............

None of the above matters
 
OK looked at the pictures again a little more carefully. It appears that the damage is limited to the gimbal ring. The breaks are quite clean. That is, the surrounding metal doesn't appear to have deformed before the break occurred. This can be welded back and it will be almost as good as new. The clean break allows the broken off parts to "lock" back in place as they were before breaking off, like gluing a broken off handle back onto a coffee cup. The person doing the welding will use this trait to be sure the part is held in the correct place. The cracks will have to be wallowed out to make a groove that will be filled back in with new material. This can be TIG welded quite nicely it would appear.
I would try to find a welder who is familiar with welding aluminum with TIG gear. Places like speed shops, motorcycle fabrication shops and the like should be good places to start looking. I imagine this repair will cost a couple hundred. Much cheaper than finding a new gimbal ring.
You still need to take the engine out of the way so you can disassemble the gimbal ring (need to get the steering arm off)
 
timguy said:
It would be helpful to see outdrive. If object was struck while underway, could be engine damage, among other unmentionables. This was a helluva strike..... unless the guy got rear-ended on the road while trailering.
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It wasn't there when I saw the boat the first time. I might go back today and get a closer look. The current owner sent pics before it was removed tho.

 
kghost said:
You would love a 5.7 in a 21 ft with a 63 gallon tank.........Not to mention having to work upside down on anything spark plugs and lower........

But when you have several people and a couple "ornaments" in the boat, half tank of gas, tunes cranking and several coolers full of beer...............

None of the above matters
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Yes I wish I had put a 5.7 in instead of the 5.0 when I repowered... the 5.0 works great pulls me up on wakeboard with 6-7 people in the boat... and Im not skinny...

Comment was based on not wanting to dissuade the OP too much as a 17 ft with 3.0 worked just great for what it was...low buck way to get on the water. I do miss the easy acess to the oil & fuel filters, sparkplugs ...

To the OP that drive is probably useable if the propshaft isnt bent, if you can find a machine shop have them check the runout. Skeg looks twisted to starboard.
 
I though I would chime in one last time.

His damage is to the gimbal ring and bell housing.

Replacing those two components and associated boots, hoses etc. Is not a big job.

BUT the COST of a new gimbal ring and Bell housing and associated parts is more than a complete used outer transom assembly as like the one I posted a link to.


New Mercruiser parts

New Bell housing is $760
Gimbal Ring is almost $800
Misc parts- ~$200 +

so to replace with new parts individually purchased it would run about $1800 +

Complete used transom assembly I linked to $700 + shipping
 
Looked again. Yup the damage is on both gimbal housing and gimbal ring. I would give welding this a shot and see what the result of that is. Still, everything has to come off the transom. Probably no damage to the hull tho
 
bondo said:
I'd expect to find some cracking, or very possibly some rot,....
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I looked at it again yesterday afternoon, with some decent lighting. Outside & inside the transom there's no sign of any cracks at all, except for the small interior section directly below the the transom plate & directly behind the motor which I can't see. Also, the entire transom has no signs of wood at all. Every visible surface is fiberglass. What're the chances this boat has no wood in the hull?
 
lsufan71 said:
Also, the entire transom has no signs of wood at all. Every visible surface is fiberglass. What're the chances this boat has no wood in the hull?
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i think given the year it’s unlikely that there is no transom wood. Typical transom make up is two layers of 3/4” plywood sandwiched between two layers of fiberglass, which is why you don't see it.

i would carefully inspect the cracked areas. Nit that it cant be fixed, just that if the transom is structurally unsound you want to know that. Did the $11k quote mention any transom fiberglass repair?
 
Dieter said:
Did the $11k quote mention any transom fiberglass repair?
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I just took a quick glance at the price, not all the writing. I'll take a pic if I get another chance. The shop owner didn't mention fiberglass repair but he did say he didn't find any cracks. And I looked closely, never found any.
 
I see the oil filter on the MerCruiser 3.0 is mounted horizontally. My daughter's old Honda Civic was similar, and I hated it because oil dripped down the side of the engine everytime I removed an old filter. Is this also a problem with the 3.0L? If so, are there any 90º adapters available for these motors?
 
I had one of those engines years ago. Two solutions.
I have a hand pumped vacuum extractor. Punch a hole in the top side of the oil filter with a large screwdriver, give it a twist, & push it through the paper element.
Insert extractor, push it to the “bottom side” of the filter & suck the oil out.
It’s going to drip a wee bit, so use a doubled plastic grocery bag, fitted under/around the filter. Snug it up tight against the block, especially as you unscrew the last bit.
I place a large rag underneath, just in case you do lose a bit, but so far no problem.
I have also done it twice, without draining the filter, but you have to be more careful. It is VERY helpful to have a helper hold the bag.
that let’s you have both hands to unscrew, & quickly tip the filter up when it comes loose.
There is lots of room for your hands when working on those 4 bangers.
 
Edchris177 said:
I had one of those engines years ago. Two solutions.
I have a hand pumped vacuum extractor.
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Sounds like alot of work. But in any case I suppose punching a hole in the filter will help.


o2batsea said:
There is a remote kit that's NLA (https://www.marineengine.com/parts/...up/remote-oil-filter-accessory-kit-861480a-1/) but you can piece it together. However, that money buys a lot of paper towels.
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Saw that, would like to avoid the extra clutter tho. I figured a 90º adapter would be easy to find.
 
lsufan71 said:
I see the oil filter on the MerCruiser 3.0 is mounted horizontally. My daughter's old Honda Civic was similar, and I hated it because oil dripped down the side of the engine everytime I removed an old filter. Is this also a problem with the 3.0L? If so, are there any 90º adapters available for these motors?
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I never found it to be an issue on my 3.0 one of the easiest engines to work on. I had enough room to get a catch pan under the engine if i removed the fuel tank fill hose.
 
sandkicker said:
re: "PS. That boat with a 4 cylinder is no ski boat. It will struggle to pull anybody up out of the water, if that's what you're hoping to do with it. You need a V8, no question."

My first boat was like this... I used it to fish in the bay... On the few occasions I tried to have someone ski with this rig, It was one at the helm, one lightweight observer and one in the water.... everyone else on land. Even at that it wasn't all that much fun.
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I have a 1998 18' Bayliner
with a 3.0 Mercruiser and it pulls 2 adult skiers out of the water with no problem with 2 people in the boat,
 
kghost said:
Dont know what the kit is that he refers to but I would suggest doing this from an OEM prospective. Not a quick fix/kit.

Once you do so the OEM way, This boat if used normally and in Fresh water will most likely out last your ownership.

It is proper to remove the engine to this job.

The entire Transom assembly has to be disassembled and reassembled.

There is NO reason to have to squirm and contort to do this.

The 2+ hours of engine removal and re-installation will allow a seamless repair.

A professional/certified shop may skip pulling the engine based on experience doing such a job but as a Non pro, JUST DO IT! you wont be sorry you did.

Even today as I don't work in the business any longer and only do repairs for those who seek me out, I would pull the engine to do a complete and thorough job.
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Pulling the engine is a big job if you dont have a engine crane and a bunch of tools . Using the JR Marine kit much easier if you are doing it at home.
 
Getting an engine out, esp a 4 banger, isn't that tough a challenge. In this case, the engine merely needs to be out of the way and not necessarily totally removed. There are plenty of ways to lift the engine and if the boat is on a trailer it makes things even easier. As for needing a crane, well, there's a wide definition of what a crane might be. A tree limb, a couple step ladders with a 4x4 across the top, a beam in a parking garage.
Honestly, the idea of poking a big hole in the drive is, to me, the epitome of stupid. Trusting those 4 little screws with my life is a no go. I hope the OP isn't a lazy SOS and does the job properly.
 
You dont need the inner and is that a Gen 1 or Gen 2 assembly?

Yes the transom assemblies are all the same. Only the motor mounting (gen 1 vs [Gen 2 they revised the design at some point so best to make sure yours looks the same with the fiber washer]...) and exhaust 4, 6, 8 cyl. The pipe that connects is the only difference I believe
 
kghost said:
You dont need the inner and is that a Gen 1 or Gen 2 assembly?

Yes the transom assemblies are all the same. Only the motor mounting (gen 1 vs [Gen 2 they revised the design at some point so best to make sure yours looks the same with the fiber washer]...) and exhaust 4, 6, 8 cyl. The pipe that connects is the only difference I believe
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Its a Gen 2. Located about an hour & a half from the house.
 
lsufan71 said:
Its a Gen 2. Located about an hour & a half from the house.
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I see that has a drive with it (or at least the driveshaft sticking through the gimbal) - just beaware that the drive ratio for a V6 or V8 is different from the 4 cylinder drive ratio if you were planning on using a drive that come with this.
 
Dieter said:
I see that has a drive with it (or at least the driveshaft sticking through the gimbal) - just beaware that the drive ratio for a V6 or V8 is different from the 4 cylinder drive ratio if you were planning on using a drive that come with this.
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I bought the boat and brought it home yesterday. The outdrive doesn't look to be usable but the markings on it for the ratio & SN are faint, looks like "2.00R" and "OL408XX9".
 
o2batsea said:
Getting an engine out, esp a 4 banger, isn't that tough a challenge. In this case, the engine merely needs to be out of the way and not necessarily totally removed. There are plenty of ways to lift the engine and if the boat is on a trailer it makes things even easier. As for needing a crane, well, there's a wide definition of what a crane might be. A tree limb, a couple step ladders with a 4x4 across the top, a beam in a parking garage.
Honestly, the idea of poking a big hole in the drive is, to me, the epitome of stupid. Trusting those 4 little screws with my life is a no go. I hope the OP isn't a lazy SOS and does the job properly.
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Did lots of research before I used the JR plate No issue with mine,just have to take your time and do it right.No reason to say it will fail. I'm a auto Tech 40 years experience and have complete confidence in the plate. Mercuiser makes plug kits for the same purpose now they look like a cob job.
 
888mustang said:
Did lots of research before I used the JR plate No issue with mine,just have to take your time and do it right.No reason to say it will fail. I'm a auto Tech 40 years experience and have complete confidence in the plate. Mercuiser makes plug kits for the same purpose now they look like a cob job.
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You probably never get out of sight of land. Me, if I'm 40 miles out in the Atlantic, I don't want to have anything possibly fall off. Long swim home. YMMV.
 
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