Gimbal bearing replacement while gimbal ring is off

[Michael.bovine]

question for you gurus. i am restoring a 1995 crownline 266br with the 7.4 mercruiser and bravo iii. i have removed the engine to do the gutting of the boat and i plan on replacing the steering pin while i have the gimbal off the boat. my question is can i also replace the gimbal bearing while the gimbal ring is off the boat or do i need to wait until i install the gimbal back on the boat before i attempt to replace the gimbal bearing? feel free to check out my resto page in my signature. thanks in advance for any advice.

 

[Bondo]

my question is can i also replace the gimbal bearing while the gimbal ring is off the boat

Ayuh,.... You sure can, it's independent of the ring, 'n bellhousin',....

 

[achris]

Yes you can replace the bearing with the housing off the transom. Same procedure. When you say you have the gimbal ring off, I assume you mean the whole housing. The only possible problem you could encounter is that the housing is not supported as you try and pull the old bearing and drive the new one in. As the bearing replacement is a10 minute job, my preference would be to leave it until the housing is back on the transom to do it.

Chris. .....

 

[Michael.bovine]

Thanks guys. I was thinking the same thing Chris about it being more difficult when it wasn't attached do to the pulling and pressing. Think I'll probably wait till it is back on the boat.