L8-Again
Seaman
- Joined
- May 8, 2010
- Messages
- 55
I took the plunge this weekend and I am going to replace my gimbal ring. I have a 1979 Fiber-Cell Cordoba with a Mercruiser 350 Chev. The label on the engine and old out drive say "Mercuriser 260." Two years ago I replaced the sterndrive with a complete SEI 106 unit. Up until a week ago I thought I had an Alpha I Gen I, but now I know I have an MC-I or pre-Alpha. The serial number on my gimbal is 77124 S.
I noticed that I had a lot of steering play and found the the gimbal ring had 'wollered' out. A previous owner had drilled and tapped a type of lock bolt into the gimbal to hold the swivel shaft tight. My gimbal is the spline/spline style and since the part that passes into the gimbal is split by design, they had the stop bolt positioned to put pressure in the split. I thought it was normal, this being my first boat and all, but was frustrated that every time I took the boat out, the bolt would loosen and the outdrive would get all floppy again. I used red lock tight several times with no success.
So, with many hours invested into reading on this site I have determined that there are some issues with the spline/spline design and that it would be in my best interest (health and safety!) to replace it with an updated square/spline gimbal before anything catastrophic occurs.
I can buy a new gimbal for $600.00 or buy used for $200.00. I know you never know what you are going to get when you buy used. My wife has budgeted $1500.00 for repairs. The exhaust manifolds look like they are 30 years old, too, so I want to replace them and upgrade to the center discharge as well.
I have dreamed of ripping out the interior and doing a complete restore, many threads on this site have inspired me to do so, but the interior is fine, the boat is very solid (and heavy) and I should get the mechanical things done first.
The exhaust is showing signs of age and I seriously worry that it will fail, on the water of course, and I will end up with swimming pistons. I did find an exhaust kit for from Moore Performance for $625 with free shipping and almost bought it right then. But as I looked at Seinna kits, and others, I found that they cost more because you get more: like hoses and brackets and thermostat housings etc.
This is a 30 year old boat and I was extremely surprised at the condition of the transom and bell housing. I suspect that these parts may have been replaced at some time during it's life because there is virtually no corrosion on them. The paint is still shiny in many places.
The engine is strong, starts right up when hot or cold and does not burn oil.
Here is my list of things to do:
spark plugs, wires, rotor, cap, points
gimbal ring
lower shift cable
repair my leaking trim reverse lock valve (hopefully)
exhaust manifolds/risers
install continuity kit on outdrive
gimbal bearing (there was some water in the bellow when I removed the drive)
So does $1500.00 sound about right? Oh, and I will be doing my own work.
Sound impossible/improbable??
I am considering the Merc kit for the gimbal 88302A-1. I was thinking that the Alpha I Gen I gimbal, 94993A-7, is the same gimbal in the upgrade kit I may get, but I have no way of knowing if this is true. If they are the same part, then I can get a used 94993A-7 as long as is comes with a square/spline swivel or pick one up somewhere. The frustrating part is that both of those part numbers sell for about the same price, yet you get several more parts with the upgrade kit. It is truly a better deal to get the upgrade kit in my situation if I went new. But I want a new exhaust too! And I don't think I can cut enough corners to make this work going new all around.
I have also read that the bell housing may have to be trimmed when changing the gimbal, but I can't remember where I saw that. They even had a plastic guide to get the angle correct when grinding material away. Anyone hear of this?
Any sources, help, teasing, suggestions are welcome!
Oh there is the possibility that I can send my old gimbal to a machinist and have him do some magic on it. But I have been frightened by information that I read about the spline/spline being junk and dangerous. Any thoughts on this? Is the spline/spline really bad? Hey, just had another thougt! I wonder if a machinist could take my spline spline and make it a square/spline and I would only have to get the swivel shaft!
Anyone have any guidance for me?
Rich
I noticed that I had a lot of steering play and found the the gimbal ring had 'wollered' out. A previous owner had drilled and tapped a type of lock bolt into the gimbal to hold the swivel shaft tight. My gimbal is the spline/spline style and since the part that passes into the gimbal is split by design, they had the stop bolt positioned to put pressure in the split. I thought it was normal, this being my first boat and all, but was frustrated that every time I took the boat out, the bolt would loosen and the outdrive would get all floppy again. I used red lock tight several times with no success.
So, with many hours invested into reading on this site I have determined that there are some issues with the spline/spline design and that it would be in my best interest (health and safety!) to replace it with an updated square/spline gimbal before anything catastrophic occurs.
I can buy a new gimbal for $600.00 or buy used for $200.00. I know you never know what you are going to get when you buy used. My wife has budgeted $1500.00 for repairs. The exhaust manifolds look like they are 30 years old, too, so I want to replace them and upgrade to the center discharge as well.
I have dreamed of ripping out the interior and doing a complete restore, many threads on this site have inspired me to do so, but the interior is fine, the boat is very solid (and heavy) and I should get the mechanical things done first.
The exhaust is showing signs of age and I seriously worry that it will fail, on the water of course, and I will end up with swimming pistons. I did find an exhaust kit for from Moore Performance for $625 with free shipping and almost bought it right then. But as I looked at Seinna kits, and others, I found that they cost more because you get more: like hoses and brackets and thermostat housings etc.
This is a 30 year old boat and I was extremely surprised at the condition of the transom and bell housing. I suspect that these parts may have been replaced at some time during it's life because there is virtually no corrosion on them. The paint is still shiny in many places.
The engine is strong, starts right up when hot or cold and does not burn oil.
Here is my list of things to do:
spark plugs, wires, rotor, cap, points
gimbal ring
lower shift cable
repair my leaking trim reverse lock valve (hopefully)
exhaust manifolds/risers
install continuity kit on outdrive
gimbal bearing (there was some water in the bellow when I removed the drive)
So does $1500.00 sound about right? Oh, and I will be doing my own work.
Sound impossible/improbable??
I am considering the Merc kit for the gimbal 88302A-1. I was thinking that the Alpha I Gen I gimbal, 94993A-7, is the same gimbal in the upgrade kit I may get, but I have no way of knowing if this is true. If they are the same part, then I can get a used 94993A-7 as long as is comes with a square/spline swivel or pick one up somewhere. The frustrating part is that both of those part numbers sell for about the same price, yet you get several more parts with the upgrade kit. It is truly a better deal to get the upgrade kit in my situation if I went new. But I want a new exhaust too! And I don't think I can cut enough corners to make this work going new all around.
I have also read that the bell housing may have to be trimmed when changing the gimbal, but I can't remember where I saw that. They even had a plastic guide to get the angle correct when grinding material away. Anyone hear of this?
Any sources, help, teasing, suggestions are welcome!
Oh there is the possibility that I can send my old gimbal to a machinist and have him do some magic on it. But I have been frightened by information that I read about the spline/spline being junk and dangerous. Any thoughts on this? Is the spline/spline really bad? Hey, just had another thougt! I wonder if a machinist could take my spline spline and make it a square/spline and I would only have to get the swivel shaft!
Anyone have any guidance for me?
Rich
