I have a 1988 Regal with a Mercruiser 4.3 Alpha One, gen 1 out drive. I am in the process of replaceing the gimble bellows, hose, gimble bearing lower shift cable and the trim switches. I am at the point of reassemby. I have removed the lower unit and the gimble housing. I did not remove the gimble ring. The trim switches that I purchased do not exactly match the old switches. For instance I can not find the bullet connectors on my original wires and assume that I don't have any. The trim wires in the gimble housing appear to be in good shape as well as the condition of the same wires inside the engine compartment.
Here is my issue, as you know, where the wires are routed through the hull, they have plastic knobs that are held in place with a retainer which is held in place with two 1/4" bolts. I have removed the bottom bolt but it appears that the top bolt will only be accessible by removing the gimble ring, (which I would rather not do unless I have to). Do you see a problem with cutting and splicing the wires inside the gimble housing? I would solder the splice, cover the soldered splices with shrink wrap tube and seal them with either liquid rubber or Flex Seal.
Here is my issue, as you know, where the wires are routed through the hull, they have plastic knobs that are held in place with a retainer which is held in place with two 1/4" bolts. I have removed the bottom bolt but it appears that the top bolt will only be accessible by removing the gimble ring, (which I would rather not do unless I have to). Do you see a problem with cutting and splicing the wires inside the gimble housing? I would solder the splice, cover the soldered splices with shrink wrap tube and seal them with either liquid rubber or Flex Seal.