Changing alpha one gen 2 lower unit housing

[dlogvine]

My original lower unit for 4.3 v6 came with a chipped edge on the lower unit. Since there were 4 holes I assume that this chipped piece, about 3 inches by 1.5 inch came from installed stabilizer fin. Anyways I purchased a lower unit for alpha one gen 2 and now I'm trying to figure out a couple things. First, is the lower unit universal for all gear ratios, or is it specific to the type of an engine? There is no marking on it, the gear ratio is marked on the upper unit. And the second question, the housing is in perfect condition, but I'm not sure if the gears and the bearings are good. The prop shaft and gear shaft spin noiselessly and easily, and both look straight, at least at the sight, but is there a better test for this? Thank you

 

[achris]

Gen II lower units came with 2 different ratios. 14/28 and 17/28 (later changed to 13/21, something to do with gear noise). The 14/28 was only used with the 24/24 upper, giving an overall ratio of 2:1 or a 20/24 upper to give an overall ratio of 2.4:1, so if the whole drive is not 2:1 or 2.4:1, then it's more likely you have the 14/28 (or 13/21) lower.

Apart from disassembling, there is no way to tell the condition of the internal gears and bearings.

Why didn't you just get a new section welded to repair the old housing?

Chris........

 

[dlogvine]

How could I find which of the gear ratios this unit has?
the reason why I did not want to use original housing and repair it is because it would cost me more to weld than what I got the whole lower unit for, I got it for $100, while the welder I asked, quoted me $150. Probably could have welded it myself with the tight welder, but I did not work a lot with aluminum welding and know that aluminum is pretty tricky to weld. Also the original unit moves with a lot of noise, which I think comes from years of the boat sitting with salt water inside the engine, not flushed.

 

[achris]

Without stripping the unit to find the tooth count, which given you bought it for $100 , I would DEFINITELY be doing, the only way is to turn the drive-shaft and count the number of turns the prop-shaft makes.

Chris....

 

[Bondo]

How could I find which of the gear ratios this unit has?
the reason why I did not want to use original housing and repair it is because it would cost me more to weld than what I got the whole lower unit for, I got it for $100, while the welder I asked, quoted me $150. Probably could have welded it myself with the tight welder, but I did not work a lot with aluminum welding and know that aluminum is pretty tricky to weld. Also the original unit moves with a lot of noise, which I think comes from years of the boat sitting with salt water inside the engine, not flushed.

Ayuh,....... If yer gonna run a lower unit you bought for $100 bucks, it'll need to be torn down, inspected, 'n at least resealed,.......

Even if swappin' the guts outa yer's into this housin' means atleast a seal kit,......

'n All of this work, is well above yer talents,......

No disrespect intended nor implied,.... just my take on yer many posts,....

 

[dlogvine]

Ayuh,....... If yer gonna run a lower unit you bought for $100 bucks, it'll need to be torn down, inspected, 'n at least resealed,.......

Even if swappin' the guts outa yer's into this housin' means atleast a seal kit,......

'n All of this work, is well above yer talents,......

No disrespect intended nor implied,.... just my take on yer many posts,....

Hi Bondo,
No disrespect to you, but your post is not very nice! If you consider that 2 years ago I did not even own a boat and since then I restored 4 boats and rebuild 3 engines and reupholstered 4 boats, learned how to sew and fix engines and other boat parts, maybe it is not my talents that are in question but the lack of knowledge, which im working on. So this comment was not nice to say the least and quite offensive to be honest.
And taking this lower unit of the outdrive apart would be an interesting project EVEN if I wont due to my lack of talent be able to complete it.

 

[Scott06]

I think you missed the point bondo was making. It takes not only some special tools but also training to set up drive internals, intent was not insulting your skills, experince, nor ingenuity. I've worked on boats for over 30 years, rebuilt engines and trannys, restored old cars and worked as a industrial mechanic a good chuck of my career, I'd be paying some one to set up a drive.

Either way unfortunately I think you may end up wishing you had pd the $150 to the welder.

 

[achris]

.... I think you may end up wishing you had paid the $150 to the welder.

This....

Just the tools to set the pinion backlash and height will cost you most than that... You'll also need the tool to remove/replace the carrier retainer, and the puller to get the carrier out, the puller to get forward gear bearing out, and the special tool to remove and replace the pinion nut. And you haven't even bought a seal kit (if that's all it needs) yet...

Chris......

 

[dlogvine]

ok, do you think a mechanic who worked on boats for 30 years could do this? I have a very good private mechanic who worked in boating industry for his whole life and now does work at home. Would it be reasonable to pay him to do the job or it would cost me more than actually getting the whole outdrive unit? And I had no intention on offending Bondo. Just lack of "talents" did not sound right. Skills, tools, experience - I would totally agree on this. That is why im on this forum asking so many questions. And to be honest I don't think there is anything a person cannot learn, given the right amount of desire and a lot of extra money :joyous:

 

[dlogvine]

Also talking about welding the missing piece to the lower unit. It is broken right at the place where the stabilizer fin hole was drilled, so the piece is about 5" by 2.5". On the top it also goes over the trim anode, so there should be a circular indent . Im not this familiar with welding aluminum, did a little bit with TIG welder, but looks to me that I would need a 2 piece slices one of the top of another with the bottom one having a circular cut to accommodate the trim anode. I will download a photo of the outdrive later.
And the other question, the last one I hope, it is just the upper unit that is particular to the engine size, lower units are the same for all alpha one gen II outdrives?
Again, thank you all for help

 

[achris]

ok, do you think a mechanic who worked on boats for 30 years could do this? I have a very good private mechanic who worked in boating industry for his whole life and now does work at home.

If he has the tools, yes.

Also talking about welding the missing piece to the lower unit. It is broken right at the place where the stabilizer fin hole was drilled, so the piece is about 5" by 2.5". On the top it also goes over the trim anode, so there should be a circular indent . Im not this familiar with welding aluminum, did a little bit with TIG welder, but looks to me that I would need a 2 piece slices one of the top of another with the bottom one having a circular cut to accommodate the trim anode. I will download a photo of the outdrive later.

Who said anything about doing it yourself? Get it done professionally. Aluminium is difficult to weld at the best of times.

And the other question, the last one I hope, it is just the upper unit that is particular to the engine size, lower units are the same for all alpha one gen II outdrives?
Again, thank you all for help

Lower units can be 2 different ratios. 1.62 or 2.... I explained that in the post #2 of this thread.....

Chris.....

 

[Bondo]

I think you missed the point bondo was making. It takes not only some special tools but also training to set up drive internals, intent was not insulting your skills, experince, nor ingenuity. I've worked on boats for over 30 years, rebuilt engines and trannys, restored old cars and worked as a industrial mechanic a good chuck of my career, I'd be paying some one to set up a drive.

Either way unfortunately I think you may end up wishing you had pd the $150 to the welder.

Ayuh,....... Exactly,.....

 

[dlogvine]

achris, Thank you buddy, sorry for repeated question. The answer was great, I'll check with my mechanic, maybe he also knows a decent welder or I can ask an instructor in my class to help me with welding, he is a professional. Also I can take the purchased lower unit to my mechanic and ask him to assess the quality of this piece. Again, every advice I'm getting here is highly appreciated. I'm learning all the time.

 

[achris]

.... Also I can take the purchased lower unit to my mechanic and ask him to assess the quality of this piece. ....

Yes you can. But the only way he can do that is to pull it apart... Mechanics don't have x-ray vision....

Chris....

 

[Scott06]

Ayuh,....... Exactly,.....

Most people here are focused on sharing experience and knowledge... usually that knowledge is hard earned.

appreciate this group as it’s helped me
solve some issues easier and get back on the water faster...

 

[dlogvine]

Yes you can. But the only way he can do that is to pull it apart... Mechanics don't have x-ray vision....

Chris....

But if im going to try to repair it anyways, why not let the qualified mechanic do it all? Right?

 

[achris]

But if im going to try to repair it anyways, why not let the qualified mechanic do it all? Right?

I'm picky and not '18% grey' (google it).... My personal experience is that almost anything a 'professional' can do, I can do better. That's not being arrogant. A professional is doing something on someone else's product, or house, etc, where time is money. When I do it myself, I'm doing it for me. I can take the extra time and get things 'spot on', rather than 'within spec'. When the manual calls for the preload to be 6-10in-lb, the professional will stop when he's inside that range. I will stop when I have 8.00in-lb... I may have taken an extra 10 or 45 minutes to get there though, to me it doesn't matter. I recently 'finished' an installation at my mother's house after a professional had been at it. He mounted a garage door remote control switch on a wall with just 1 screw. I fitted the other screw, 'completing' the installation. Did just one screw do the job? Yes, but to me, it wasn't finished....

Whether to do it yourself or let a professional at it is entirely your call. And make that call based on the cost to you to buy the tools, the parts, and your confidence and skills...

That's my take on 'doing it yourself'....

Chris..........

 

[dlogvine]

I'm picky and not '18% grey' (google it).... My personal experience is that almost anything a 'professional' can do, I can do better. That's not being arrogant. A professional is doing something on someone else's product, or house, etc, where time is money. When I do it myself, I'm doing it for me. I can take the extra time and get things 'spot on', rather than 'within spec'. When the manual calls for the preload to be 6-10in-lb, the professional will stop when he's inside that range. I will stop when I have 8.00in-lb... I may have taken an extra 10 or 45 minutes to get there though, to me it doesn't matter. I recently 'finished' an installation at my mother's house after a professional had been at it. He mounted a garage door remote control switch on a wall with just 1 screw. I fitted the other screw, 'completing' the installation. Did just one screw do the job? Yes, but to me, it wasn't finished....

Whether to do it yourself or let a professional at it is entirely your call. And make that call based on the cost to you to buy the tools, the parts, and your confidence and skills...

That's my take on 'doing it yourself'....

Chris..........

I agree with you, if I know how to do something, if I have appropriate tools, I will do it as well as a professional (at the end) and I will learn how to do it better next time. For instance, I learned how to do all the upholstery myself and without bragging can tell you that my work is at least as good as the work of 90% of upholstery shops.
These are the examples of my upholstery work, green white was on 1993 Bayliner, the grey/white seat cushions for my friends 1998 Cobolt

 

[OMAC]

I agree with you, if I know how to do something, if I have appropriate tools, I will do it as well as a professional (at the end) and I will learn how to do it better next time. For instance, I learned how to do all the upholstery myself and without bragging can tell you that my work is at least as good as the work of 90% of upholstery shops.
These are the examples of my upholstery work, green white was on 1993 Bayliner, the grey/white seat cushions for my friends 1998 Cobolt

Amazing work!!

 

[dlogvine]

Ayuh,....... If yer gonna run a lower unit you bought for $100 bucks, it'll need to be torn down, inspected, 'n at least resealed,.......

Even if swappin' the guts outa yer's into this housin' means atleast a seal kit,......

'n All of this work, is well above yer talents,......

No disrespect intended nor implied,.... just my take on yer many posts,....

I took the lower unit that I bought and the original upper unit to my mechanic, he took it apart, resealed the unit, checked everything. It cost me $250 for the whole job+ price of the impeller kit and the gear lube. Mechanic said the unit is in perfect condition, so it was well worth buying.