Gimbal ring replacement

[Old Hubbard Rd]

Need help. Just had some work done to my 1988 17' SeaRay w/3 liter Mercruiser I/O. The starter needed replacement. I have owned this boat since brand new. It has about 335 hours on it. I have not had to do any major repairs till this year. $220 oil change etc in July. $60 new battery 2008. $174.00 new prop 2008. $700 for new starter 2008. Just was told the Gimbal ring needs replacement at estimate of $2000. I use this boat only for pulling the kids on a tube or water skiing. That is it. It's too small of a boat to run around the lake on a busy day. What should I do?? Does anyone know someone that would replace the Gimbal ring for less?? This boat is in great shape it's just too small to use for more than tubing etc on this lake.

[Dave R]

There's two nuts on the top of merc dirves that need to be routinely tightened. These make the square hole in the gimbal squeeze the square sides of the swivel shaft. If the nuts are even a little loose, the steel swivel shaft wears the square hole to something other than square and then you get sloppy steering.

The bad news: The only fix is to make the hole square, usually be replacing the gimbal ring. There is a lot of labor involved taking the ring out, because in addition to major disassembly of the stern drive, the engine needs to come out. That said, there is an alternative method that's miserable to do, but feasible if you don't have the means to pull the engine. I have the special tools for this, lemme know if you want to borrow them to try it.

The good news: Unless there's a more than 2" of steering slop, measured at the aft end of the drive, tighten the nuts to 55 ft lbs and keep using the boat this summer, then fix it in the off-season. It won't suddenly go bad and local shops will appreciate the off-season work, if you opt not to do it yourself.

More good news: There are shops the repair gimbal rings for much less money than a new one. New ones ar $800 Try: http://www.jrmarine.com/products/gimbal_repair.htm They specialize in Bravo drives, but can probably fix an Alpha, or at least tell you where to go for the Alpha.

[Old Hubbard Rd]

Dave,
Thanks for the advice. I checked the play and there is about 2 inches of play and maybe a bit more. I spoke to the repair person at the marina and asked if something bad was going to happen if I continued using the boat. He said that the turning/steering would eventually annoy me as the steering becomes more and more difficult. Right now it is non noticeable to me. We only use this boat for tubing etc. I think I'll just let it ride and if the funds $$ are available to repair this winter I'll do it or else I'll try and get another summer and repair it when I can or if I can consider buying a new boat.

[John A. Birdsall]

My dad had a Penyan, and it had a mercruiser 6 cyl. in it. If I recall the gimble ring was decaying in that and needed to be replaced.

This past weekend I took him up to M&M Salvage in Meridth, It might be great place to start. They charge 50% of the cost of new and you can get a good deal. I did earlier this year by getting two motor mounts for my outboard that is a 1979, and the parts stopped being mfg in 1994.