Outdrive gasket on SX

[nylyon]

I recently purchased a little 1997 Four Winns 170. Unfortunately, this is my first I/O (previously had an outboard run about and an inboard ski boat), I didn't know what to look for. The boat is really clean, however when I took it out on the lake it made a very loud grinding noise. I was prepared to replace the gimbal and check the u-joints when I pulled the outdrive.

Today, I pulled the outdrive off and sure enough, the gimbal bearing is bad, having lots of roughness and noise. The u-joints seem to be fine, move easily, no binding. I will just re-grease them. The u-joint bellow had water in it, so I will be replacing the bellows as well

What I did notice, is that the only gasket is an o-ring around the water passage, but nothing around the outdrive itself where it connects to the bell housing. I plan to clean up the mating surfaces, replace the o-ring but is there another gasket which needs to be replaced, should it be Permatex'd, or just left as is. I downloaded the service manual and it didn't show a gasket, or the use of permatex, but thought I would check.

Finally, it looks like the trim sensor white wire (3-wire) is broken. I will replace this, but does anyone have a picture where the wire runs into the boat?

 

[Augoose]

Welcome to the forum!
The SX drives have no gasket or seal between the housing and the outdrive - you are good to go!
Attached is a photo of wh​ere the trim wire passes - its right out of the manual. If you need a manual for your drive PM me your email address and I'll send you some.

Also, I tried to a post a link to the Adults only DIY sticky section, but I'm having issues with the forum at the moment......

 

[Augoose]

Duplicate post - mods please delete. Problem with Microsoft edge?

 

[Augoose]

Duplicate post - mods please delete. Problem with Microsoft edge?

 

[nylyon]

Thank you, the image you have is better than the one in the manual I have. Good to hear no other gasket or sealer needed. Hope everything comes in this week and can be on the water soon!

 

[dypcdiver]

If you are replacing the trim sender, I posted some time back a "how to" if you search under dypcdiver you might find it.

Here you go. http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engi...eplacement-anyone-with-experience-on-changing

 

[nylyon]

Excellent, it sounds like replacing the sensor is straight forward, just tricky to reach. I like the string ideas, since I usually drop things 5 or 6 times before getting it right.

I finally got the gimbal bearing replaced today. I used one of those gimbal bearing removal tools and have to say it's enjoyable when tools do all the work. The bearing came right out and was really bad. I'm not bothering with the seal behind the bearing, I suspect that's a last chance to stop the water from coming into the boat. Even if the bellow and seal both fail, my boat is trailered so not as worried about that.

Waiting for the bellows to come, I had hoped that they would be here today, but looks like U-Joint bellow tomorrow and exhaust on Friday.

As for the sensor, I am going to attempt a repair on the wire and replace if I can't or when the repair fails. The sensor only works the dash gauge right? There's no other functionality?

 

[bruceb58]

Did you get an OEM bellows? I would not use after market ones.

 

[nylyon]

OEM for the u-joint, aftermarket for the exhaust.

 

[bruceb58]

Yes, aftermarket for the exhaust is ok. I wouldn't even change the exhaust one until it rips.

 

[nylyon]

The exhaust was dry, but it is also dry cracking. Might as well do 'em both, exhaust has to come off anyway to get to the u-joint. It's been so hot out, been dying to get out on the lake!

 

[bruceb58]

You don't need to remove the exhaust to do the u-joint bellows.

 

[dypcdiver]

If it is a 3 wire sender then check that it does not have the trim limiter. the switch on the dash (not the remote handle) should have an over ride button on it.

 

[nylyon]

The only trim switch on the boat (that I know of anyway) is the one on the throttle.

The u-joint bellow came as did the o-rings. It started to rain yesterday, so I packed it in only removing the exhaust bellow. Since I work from home, during my lunch break I decided to replace the u-joint bellow. The bellow which is on there now is soft, and very pliable, where the new one is far more ridged. The clamp was positioned at 12 o'clock not at 1 or 2 o'clock, but I was able to remove it easily. After removing the clamp, I worked it lose from the inside and it was out in short order. Installing the new one, I used a little dish soap to help it slide on, and it almost "clicked" into place, but I continued to massage to insure it was fully seated.

Since it is so stiff the bell housing end almost installed itself, and I re-installed the water hose. Just have to wait for my favorite USPS man to bring the exhaust bellow and I can wrap this up.

While the "drive" shaft was a little rusty, the u-joints felt smooth, so just planning on lubing them up and putting the outdrive back on, then hitting the lake tomorrow (and hope it doesn't sink) !

 

[nylyon]

I would highly recommend anyone replacing the gimbal bearing and bellows on their SX. Following the various posts, it's pretty straight forward.

 

[bruceb58]

Make sure you check the alignment of your drive with an alignment tool. They are available on eBay.

 

[nylyon]

Checked before and after, I was very pleased to see it was aligned perfectly, and those alignment bars double as self defense weapons.

 

[nylyon]

Finally a test drive, sooooo quiet with a new gimbal bearing. Even with the white wire completely severed, the trim gauge works!

 

[bruceb58]

It only uses 2 of the wires.