don s gear change alpha 1

[delsol]

don one more question. i am waiting to talk to supernova. he lives by me . do you think its a bad idea just to change my gears from the 1:84 to the 1.5 on the alpha 1 . is this a hard job and will that mack the job correct. don with shop manuel is it really hard for a novice to do this.??i am hoping to get boat back and take it to supernova to change for me if thats correct...most guys are saying even here to pick up boat . pay by check and stop payment on the 1000.00 balance.. i just cannot do that. he got over 2500. now . but i guess it was a major learning experence at 45 yrs old..
bob/philly

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: don s gear change alpha 1

What kind of boat is it on? If it's a biggun, it should be fine. I don't understand MerCruiser's packaging sometimes. Drives packaged with motors no matter what boat they go in. I mean Really! A 5.7 with a 1.5 is right for speed boats AND houseboats? BULLSCHIDT! Does Chevy use 5.7s with the same rear ends in 1/2 ton pickups and 1 ton pickups? Heck, no! Merc has always put Marketing over Common Sense.

 

[delsol]

Re: don s gear change alpha 1

whats a big gun
its a 19.4 speedboat with a 5.7 merc with 1.84 gears . i was thinking about having the gears swapped to 1.5..supernova has not got back to me he says i could get the gets for $150 and he would do it for free. we live close by 1 hr away plus i would buy him some beer or something for his time..
fact claim boat does 62 mph stock????
help. can a novice do gear swap?????
bob

 

[Don S]

Re: don s gear change alpha 1

Was just looking in the manual, seems the 1.84 was an option.
Re-read your other post and still confused. Was this the original drive off your boat, or one the dealer is trying to sell you as one that will work????

As far as a novice doing the gear change. You need special tools to set gear heights. Without them you have no way of knowing if the gears are meshed properly. Then you have to have the bearing preload right.
IF you have the special tools, and can follow the oem manual, Yea, you could do it.

Here is a link to the section of the manual that deals with the upper gear change. You decide.

http://www.boatfix.com/merc/Servmanl/6/6A3R3.PDF

 

[delsol]

Re: don s gear change alpha 1

don when i got the boat the outdrive was off. the guy said it got it rebuilt . its not the org. one.
the dealer said i could adjust the prop. i donnot believe a word he tell's me as he is just rushing the boat to leave the shop at this point not doing it correct..
supernova has not emailed me . but he says for $150 . he can's do gear's in one hour..he's about 50 or so miles away.
this is my drive that came with the boat but not the org. drive.
don what do you think i should do..
i was thinking get the boat back . put it in the water . make sure all the stuff he done is ok. wiring etc. test drive boat and then plan on a gear swap. is it possible i might be ok...it's been a bad year so far here . first the dealer then the army corp of eng. shut down the marina as they did something wrong with the new ramp and docks.the marina will not be full ramp and dock servive for 3 more weeks as it made the front page in our paper.
any more input would be great don
bob/philly

 

[delsol]

Re: don s gear change alpha 1

oh yes don i will not buy a spark plug from this guy once i get boat back, other dealer is only 25 miles away
bob

 

[Don S]

Re: don s gear change alpha 1

There is the possibility the gears in your drive are 1.5. Have you checked it?
Put the drive in forward,and turn the ujoint shaft clockwise (normal direction of rotation). Once you have the slack out of the gears, count the turns it takes to turn the prop shaft exactly 1 complete revolution. Then you will know what the actual ratio is. If you turn the ujoints 1 and 1/2 turns, then you have a 1.50R.

 

[delsol]

Re: don s gear change alpha 1

don the shop said it was 1.84 stamped on the drive and they said they checked it like you said. i talked to supernova and he told me to pick up a gear set and he would help me . so i will. i will get the boat back i am thinking early next week. i need to really go over it all as 4 guys worked on it. i will water test it real easy and if everything is ok . i will see thing nice guy and let me give me a hand.
thanks for your help don
bob/philly

 

[WillyBWright]

Re: don s gear change alpha 1

A biggun is a big one, like a cabin cruiser or houseboat. Yours isn't.

Another reason for a higher gear ratio would be elevation. Thinner air means less power and the need for a higher gear ratio. Philly doesn't qualify, but Denver would.

 

[tmh]

Re: don s gear change alpha 1

Hey, I'm wondering about my gear ratio also, as my alpha one was rebuilt by a mechanic who has a reputation of kinda "improvising" when putting stuff back together. Where is the shaft i'd turn to test my ratio? Does it turn by hand when in gear? Then I check how far around the prop rotates, correct?

If my outdrive is from 1985 on a V8 200hp mercruiser are there just a few standard ratios that could have been used.

Sorry to "thread jump" but I felt the description of details on how to check this fit here rather than a seperate thread so all could benefit. Thanks.

 

[SuperNova]

Re: don s gear change alpha 1

mark the prop in relation to the housing, put it in forward, then turn the input shaft and count turns to get marks on prop aligned back up. It's either a little less than 1 and ahalf turns (1.3/1) a little more (1.62/1), right at 1.5 (1.5/1) or almost 2 turns would be (1.8/1) Sometimes marking the input shaft to the housing helps you count turns as well.
--
Stan

 

[delsol]

Re: don s gear change alpha 1

another twist to the story the guy is trying to rush me out of the shop. i been their forever. so hes taking short cuts...i told him i wanted new shift cables and bellows he told me they were good, i got thier today and he cannot put drive on because the cable is bad.hes getting one and a shift bellows boot...it just a joke. after i get it sorted i will change the gears. i want to make sure it floats first. supernova said he will help me.
bob/philly