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Gimbal Bearing Alignment

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airchairmen

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"I bought a 1984 Formula and f

"I bought a 1984 Formula and first time out it ran good for a couple miles and then just came out of gear(I thought). After getting towed in and removing outdrive,found upper gears to be broke. The gear oil had proper amount and no sign of water. The Trim limit seems to be working. What could have caused these gears to break? I have put a whole new outdrive on and have run it on shore and seems fine but I am worried I am missing somthing. I do not want to get out next spring and under higher speeds have it happen again to my new drive. The gimbal bearing and ring was replaced the preveous year. I checked the bearing it seemed good still but I did not check the alignment. Could this cause the upper gears to fail? If the trim limit switch did allow to high a trim would this cause upper gear failure?
Thanks.
Rick"
 
"Misalignment will cause prema

"Misalignment will cause premature wear of the gimbal bearing, coupler, or sometimes the U joints, but not necessarily the upper gears.
They may have just simply been ready to fail due to a previous prop strike or general wear and tear.
The upper gear mesh is kept true by the input shaft bearing pack and the upper driven gear shaft bearings.
You should have used an alignment tool before installing the new drive, but if it had been too far out of true you would have had quite a hard time installing the drive. If it slipped into the coupler fairly easily without a bunch of grunting and hammering, chances are the alignment is close enough.
Trim angle would not cause gear failure.
Your new drive should be just fine as long as you treat it with a little care and respect.
Rod"
 
"Richard:

You can check the

"Richard:

You can check the drive limit switch for proper adjustment. With the drive fully extended by the up trim switch (not the trailer), measure the distance between the trim cylinder attachment bolts center-to-center. They should be no more than 22.25" +/- 0.25" apart. To change the adjustment, loosen the screws on the switch and slowly turn it in the direction needed."
 
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