concerned over stains & white powder on gimbal ass
- Thread starter stang32
- Start date
- Joined
- Jan 1, 2000
- RO Number
- 2006
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- 359
You should be VERY Concerned. It looks to me as if the Gimbal assembly seal to the boats transom has failed at the least. It being Black I'm assuming a Mercrusier of some type. Now is the time to have a qualified person inspect the issue and give recommendations. The I/O and power plant are removed making removal and repair of the gimbal assembly possible. Hopefully the transom isn't damaged. Need to have the issue resolved. Too bad the Boat Survey didn't catch this issue!
^^^EVERY WORD^^^ Michael said!!! This just happened to us. 22-year-old Alpha One Gen Two. It's hard to evaluate a Transom (by that I mean that fiberglass/wooden part of the boat) or a Transom Assembly (the black metal MerCruiser I/O part) in most I/O boats with the engine in place. When we pulled the engine, that rust and corrosion were evident, AND the assembly wouldn't steer, with manual effort. It had been steering OK underway with the power assist.
Boat Transom: If the seal has failed, bolts corroded through, wood rot, that MerC assembly has to come out and the transom repaired to whatever extent water has damaged it. It has to hold water back, AND it bears the weight and thrust of the I/O. In our case, the Sea Ray transom was OK. The Merc component was shot.
MerC "Transom:" The Seal fails, the Water gets in, it Corrodes... The corrosion builds up and minimizes the amount of leakage in many cases, but the "Transom" (a lot of mechanics leave off the "Assembly" part of its name) is shot. MerC sells new ones for a little over $Two Boating. A used one could be a good deal if very new or off of a freshwater boat. From MerC, it's a very complete assembly. Trim rams, hoses, a shift cable, power steering hoses, bellows, gimbal bearing and more.
Anything about ...transom... is bad news.
A friend just parted the MerC I/O out of a small boat, not sure what the origin was or if he still has the "Transom." Alpha and Bravo are different.
Boat Transom: If the seal has failed, bolts corroded through, wood rot, that MerC assembly has to come out and the transom repaired to whatever extent water has damaged it. It has to hold water back, AND it bears the weight and thrust of the I/O. In our case, the Sea Ray transom was OK. The Merc component was shot.
MerC "Transom:" The Seal fails, the Water gets in, it Corrodes... The corrosion builds up and minimizes the amount of leakage in many cases, but the "Transom" (a lot of mechanics leave off the "Assembly" part of its name) is shot. MerC sells new ones for a little over $Two Boating. A used one could be a good deal if very new or off of a freshwater boat. From MerC, it's a very complete assembly. Trim rams, hoses, a shift cable, power steering hoses, bellows, gimbal bearing and more.
Anything about ...transom... is bad news.
A friend just parted the MerC I/O out of a small boat, not sure what the origin was or if he still has the "Transom." Alpha and Bravo are different.
The white deposits are salt from a very leaky shaft seal.It should have been apparent from the excess water being pumped out thru the bilge pump. Transom replacement is the way to go here. REmove the 4 bolts for the exaust and examine it thorughly. Wire brush the deposits and dont be afraid if you go thru the tube. Steering arm is definite along with the pin and maybe the yoke .
How to install that missing grease fitting so it dosent happen.
http://www.boatered.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=166546
How to install that missing grease fitting so it dosent happen.
http://www.boatered.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=166546
All that rust on top seems to indicate the leak is at the swivel shaft and water is running down over the rest of the transom assembly and causing rust and corrosion. Now is the time to deal with that issue. Have a qualified tech look at it and get his recommendation. You may only need the swivel shaft replaced or you may need more work. Get professional opinions.
i agree about the swivel shaft seal but the rust scaling off of the steering arm is alarming, if that arm is so rusted up, the water must have been shooting out of that seal to attack it as it did.
the other thing i didnt mention is that this alpha drive has the grease fitting rb2@gr5t the top of the gimbal, outside and no grease fitting rb2@gr5t the point of the swivel
Removing and replacing the upper swivel shaft bearing and seal is a major PITA. Gotta remove the gimbal housing, hinge pins and the upper swivel shaft and steering arm to slide on the bearing and seal. That's what most people ignore it. In later models, they don't have a grease fitting at the top of the outer transom assm. Drill and tap and install a grease fitting and fill the large cavity with grease. Don'r worry about anything rusting away. I can't think of a thing other than maybe a nut/bolt that may rust...like the Y pipe mounting bolts at the bottom of the inner transom.
Sure, if the engine is out, clean everything you can get to. Paint any exposed steel with phosphoric acid. let dry and rinse off and paint. You don't want to grease it...use your own judgement. We just give you suggestions. Nothing is a must do.