First of all thanks to Riccardo for all the information and time spent giving it.
You are very welcome.
I removed my leg to replace the gimbal bearing and to replace the u-joints. Gimbal bearing was a snap thanks to Riccardo.
Your 290 stern drive is of main suspension fork and pivot tube geometry. There is no gimbal system as with Merc or the later Volvo Penta.
What you replaced would have been the PDS bearings. (primary drive shaft)
Red flywheel cover = double bearing PDS....... 6206 and 6007 bearings and must be pre-filled.
Engine must be removed.
Charcoal gray flywheel cover = single bearing PDS...... 6206-2RS sealed bearing.
No engine removal required.
I removed the four allen head bolts that hold in bearing case and removed the shaft and CV joint no problem.
You possible have a 290A transmission, of which typically allows these four cap screws to be removed without issue.
My question is this: When I rotate the bearings it seems rather rough. I know it is supposed to have some built in resistance but it seems like you can feel each bearing turning.
This would be the two Main Drive Gear bearings..... correct?
If so, they will be a 30207 and 31307 industry standard bearings..... NO Chinese bearings!!!!!
I can't press out the pinion gear so I can't see the bearings. Is this normal?
There is no pinion gear (as in ring & pinion). What you have is a main drive gear and two driven gears.
With the universal drive shaft's male yoke removed from the main drive gear, you will be able to press the gear from the bearing box.
Once removed, you will be able to see all but one inner race (the AFT-most 31307 inner race).
To remove the 31307 inner race, the roller cage must be cut and destroyed.
Once the cage is removed, the race can be pulled from the gear.
NOTE: often the the hydraulic press "fixture" will tend to slip from the race, and may require a weld bead in two locations (180* apart).
Make dang sure that the gear teeth are protected during the welding!
The race must be removed quickly before the cooling shrinks it.
Once you have done this, reassembly is pretty straight forward.
Next..... decide if you have a 290 or 290A transmission. The bearings are the same for either, however, the procedure is different.
See your OEM work shop manual for the bearing rolling torque value and the rolling torque procedure.
No Clymers..... and no Seloc..... OEM only!
These bearings are very precisionally manufactured.
While you will need to adjust the rolling torque value (for the new bearings), you may get lucky and not need to adjust the gear pattern...... but you will certainly want to check it with Prussian Blue gear pattern die.
