non seviceable gimbal bearing???

[kramerpage]

I called mercruiser stern drive division and they state they stopped making grease blender gimbal bearings 7 years ago. So now you get a brass plug with the bearing to close off the grease port. Do I do this or try to hunt down an 8 year old bearing? Man I feel old...lol
Alpha 1 Gen 1 1989 4.3

 

[Bt Doctur]

MOD EDIT - Kramer, shoot Bt a PM or Bt, shoot Kramer a PM.

 

[GA_Boater]

Sierra 18-2100 right here.

 

[HT32BSX115]

The non-servicable bearings have been around for many years. Front wheel drive cars & 4x4 trucks have used them at least for 30 or more years, they NEVER have to be greased or repacked and they don't "fail" much. (& don't try and tell me that a gimbal bearing has more "forces" on it than the front bearings in my F350 4x4!!)

I am not sure I would worry about the gimbal bearing unless you completely disregard the drive (I.E. NEVER remove it and check the alignment)

Mercury recommends (or used to recommend) checking the alignment yearly. That's also a good time to reach in there and fool with the bearing. I think you'd know when it got loose, the bellows leaked and got submerged in salt water or if it "felt" like it was getting bad.....

And if it's bad, just change it.

 

[tpenfield]

I recently got the non- serviceable bearing ( by mistake) and there was a plug to seal off the grease fitting.

You can also get the serviceable kind from Sierra . . .

 

[stonyloam]

If your grease fitting is in good shape, no water will ever leak in. I suspect the reason for the plug is to prevent folks from TRYING TO GREASE a sealed bearing. So if you do not have a plug, don't worry about it. HT is right, with a properly installed bearing and aligned engine, if kept dry the bearing should last a long very time.

 

[achris]

Why the dislike of the sealed bearing? Surely the fact that Merc have removed one more item from the service list should be pleasing. It's the last grease point on the gimbal housing and now it's gone. Hallalua. Less things to think about at service time.

 

[Bondo]

Why the dislike of the sealed bearing? Surely the fact that Merc have removed one more item from the service list should be pleasing. It's the last grease point on the gimbal housing and now it's gone. Hallalua. Less things to think about at service time.

Ohhh Wooorries me,....

Makes my tag line seem so unimportant,......