Bravo 3 Bearing Carrier Removal

[BeeRAD56]

I need to replace a leaking outter shaft seal on my 2004 Bravo 3. I purchased the boat new and it's only been used in fresh water, has low hours and no significant corrosion.

I bought the bearing carrier removal tool and used an 18" breaker bar along with 225 lbs. of personal love and no go! Tomorrow I'll try heating the housing with a very hot hair dryer and I'll get a piece of heavy wall pipe to use as a cheater if needed. Are there any other sage words of advice to break the bearing carrier loose?

Thanks in advance.
Brad

 

[Bt Doctur]

I believe its a left hand thread

 

[BeeRAD56]

I believe its a left hand thread

Yes, that is correct.

 

[tpenfield]

Here is my thread for doing about the same . . . definitely need to heat the edge of the housing around where the bearing carrrier threads are located. If you have the proper Mercuiser tools and a breaker bar, it should come loose with even heat applied.

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/eng...ines-outdrives/9419932-bravo-iii-aahhh-phooey

Reverse thread - so clockwise to loosen :thumb:

 

[BeeRAD56]

Here is my thread for doing about the same . . . definitely need to heat the edge of the housing around where the bearing carrrier threads are located. If you have the proper Mercuiser tools and a breaker bar, it should come loose with even heat applied.

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/eng...ines-outdrives/9419932-bravo-iii-aahhh-phooey

Reverse thread - so clockwise to loosen :thumb:

Thank you.

 

[BeeRAD56]

Thanks tpenfield for the advice of applying even heat. I used two 1000 watt portable construction lights positioned on each side of the gear/shaft housing, let everything heat up for a couple hours and the bearing carrier broke loose with no problem using a 30" breaker bar.

Now I'm trying to get the outter shaft seal out of the bearing carrier without removing the roller bearing. So far I've tried driving it out with a 12" punch and a hammer but can't get enough purchase on the seal housing because of the angle to get it to budge. I suspect the red loctite used in assembly is part of the issue.

Any advice would be much appreciated!

 

[tpenfield]

Once I got the bearing carrier out of the LU, I used a long flat blade screw driver from the backside of the bearing carrier to catch the oil seal and hammer it out. Not much success prying from the top/outside.

IIRC, the new seals are a single unit whereas the old style were 2 separate seals.

 

[Jesse Walter]

I have the same project to do this fall on my 2004 Bravo 3. What special tools and seals do I need? I have some leaking where my propeller meets the house so I'm assuming I need a new seal.

 

[BeeRAD56]

I have the same project to do this fall on my 2004 Bravo 3. What special tools and seals do I need? I have some leaking where my propeller meets the house so I'm assuming I need a new seal.

Jesse; Potentially you need two new seals both inner and outer shaft seals. In my case the outer shaft seal is the leaking seal but after seeing it's condition, I'm going to do the inner seal as well. Depending on your mechanical experience level, you may want to have this done by a pro because it's not an easy fix for a DIY'er for the first time. I'll share what I can as I go through this process myself for the first time. The first step is to get the Sterndrive service manual #28 which outlines the process and all the tools Mercrusier recommends.

 

[Jesse Walter]

Would love to hear your experience when you do it. I have no doubt I can handle the task with the right tools, manual and hearing first hand experience. My only concern is if I have the time or if it ends up costing me almost as much to get what I need to do it myself compared to paying someone to do it...lol

I will say that this Bravo 3 has been 100% trouble free since I bought the boat new in late 2003 until this small leak started this past spring. Like yours, mine doesn't have any corrosion and is pretty clean. I don't think I would own another boat with any other drive.