Shifter Spline Alignment

[E350]

I dropped the stern drive and replaced the impeller (water pump) and now do not know how to align the splines from the shifter to the stern drive. I do not recall whether the shift lever was in forward neutral or reverse when I dropped the stern drive and the lever has since been moved.

1967 REBEL - MERCRUISER 120 HP

Manufacturer: Webell Marine
Serial No.: 289
Model Name: Rebel
Year Built: 1967
MerCruiser Stern Drive Unit Serial No.: 2263798
MerCruiser Marine Model: 120 HP
MerCruiser Marine Engine Serial No.: 2231097
Impeller P/N: 47-89984

Also what "model" stern drive does the boat have? I assume it is MC-120 but I assume it could also be MC-0 or MC-II.

I have never started or driven the boat as we obtained it from my wife's father and although it was reportedly fully functional when he last used it,the boat sat for many (maybe 18) years and I wanted to replace the impeller before starting it up for fear that the old rubber in the impeller would fragment and be pulled through and clog the cooling system.

Thanks in advance.

 

[achris]

Hello E350, and :welcome: to iboats...

Put the control in forward. Make sure the intermediate shift shaft is facing forward. While turning the propeller CCW, turn the lower shift shaft (in the lower housing) CW, until the prop 'lock' on the dog clutch.This is the correct orientation to put the lower back on the upper.

You engine is an MCM120, the drive is an MC1 by serial number.

Chris..........

 

[E350]

Thank you aChris! I will do as you say. Also @wpchrist responded to my pm about his 1967 Mercruiser. He added this to what you have said: "Once you manually place the foot in gear you have to hold the propeller to keep the foot from "falling" out of gear."

To do that, I am going to have to make some sort of holder with hydraulic car jack to more accurately and gently guide the stern drive lower into place into the upper.

Last evening I had my wife slowly move the shift lever back and forth while I observed or held the shift cable spline on the upper stern drive unit. It did not seem like it was doing anything at all. Not rotating the splines. But maybe more upward pressure is required.

I might as well also ask what stern drive lube to use? I bought Quicksilver Premium because it was recommended in the manual and because Mercruiser says on their website that High Performance Gear Lube is not to be mixed with Premium lube. And since High Performance Gear Lube looks like it came out after the MC1 was built, our MC1 likely came with Premium. The drained oil is honey to darker brown with no hint of water intrusion.

 

[harringtondav]

I learned a good trick on this forum. Use a bungee to hold the prop CCW.

 

[harringtondav]

I have a '82 Merc OB that uses the Premium gear lube. It's a viscous honey, not the blue--green High Performance. Sounds like you have the Premium, so I'd continue with that

 

[E350]

Hey guys, I got the stern drive in, but the hydraulic lines need to be replaced. The drive is a MerCruiser I Type according to my manual.

The gimbal hinge pins are not like the later model with the 12-pt torx (?). They are a drift pin on each side with some sort of plug over each which I have no idea how to remove. Any ideas on how to remove the gimbal pins?

I need to tilt down or to pull out the gimbal (helmet) to get to part no."B-22-36033 5 Connector, gimbal housing" (which I will call a hydraulic "Y-block") where the port and starboard hydraulic hoses intersect.

The Y-block is under the gimbal and the hydraulic hoses from the Y-block cannot be removed without better access to the Y-block.

Well I found my answer. See attached photo. It requires a puller.

 

[E350]

I would like to correct something I misstated in a post above about the proper stern drive gear lube. My 1967-72 Mercruiser Shop Manual actually specifies:

Super Duty Quicksilver Gear Lubricant (C-92-52650)

I can't seem to find any cross-reference to it.

Apparently Quicksilver Premium is not the correct gear lube for the stern drive even in my Mercruiser Type 1. According to the below link, Premium Gear Lube is for gear cases BELOW 75 HP.

https://www.quicksilver-products.com/marine/sterndrive-inboard/engine-oils/gearcase-lubricant/

According to the Quicksilver website, High Performance Gear Lube is recommended for all gear cases ABOVE 75 HP.

According to the Mercury website, High Performance Gear Lube is for All Mercury stern drives.

https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/us...rine-products/precision-lubricants/gear-lube/

And it does warn: "DO NOT mix with Mercury Premium Gear Lube."

So, I will be changing out the gear lube in my stern drive to Quicksilver High Performance Gear Lube.

 

[E350]

Any suggestions where I can buy the U-joint Bellows, the Exhaust Bellows and the shift cable Bellows for a MerCruiser I (i.e., Type 1)?

There is a lot of Alpha stuff out there. But Alpha is later than my 1967. On every website I have found, when I put my stern drive's serial number in it says "nothing found." Even on the Mercury website!


1967 REBEL - MERCRUISER 120 HP
NOTES & SPECIFICATIONS

Manufacturer: Webell Marine
Model Name: Rebel
Serial No.: 289
Year Built: 1967
MerCruiser Marine Engine Model: MC 120 HP
MerCruiser Marine Engine Serial No.: 2231097
MerCruiser Marine Engine Name: MerCruiser 120 GM 153 I / L4 1964-1972
MerCruiser Stern Drive Unit Serial No.: 2263798
MerCruiser Stern Drive Unit Model No.: B-1547-3917A2
(Serial #2903619 and below)

 

[andrewterri]

That is a tough one E350, I would say talk to a dealer and go through them. When it comes to bellows you really want to go with OEM as them seem to last much longer. That is not a job you want to do any sooner than you have to. They use the same parts catalog as you do, but they also have the option to call merc and talk to them to get into the archives. I imagine you could too, but it would likely be more difficult.

Don't know the parts catalog you use but here is what i refer too...

https://www.mercurymarine.com/en/us/parts-and-accessories/parts-catalog

 

[E350]

Winner !!! Winner !!! Chicken Dinner !!!

andrewterri I did use the parts catalog you referenced, but I did so by putting my stern drive's SN in the search field which found nothing. This time I drilled down through the table of contents until I got to this:

https://public-mercurymarine.sysonli...=englangDB=eng

I really don't have an MC-1 stern drive. I have a "Mercruiser 120" stern drive.

And here are my three bellows part's numbers:

36223A1 Bellows Assembly, Universal Joint
45597 Bellows, Exhaust Elbow to Engine (Mercruiser 120 and 160)
31659 Bellows, Shift Actuating Cable

Now I am looking for where to buy these oem parts.

Thanks again!

 

[andrewterri]

Glad I could help and welcome to the forum if I did not say that before. You might take a few minutes tomorrow and call merc with that part number. Mercury is infamous for superseding part numbers and that might be what is happening here. The original part number has been superseded by another and you just don't know. That has happened before to me several times and a quick phone call can confirm along with a current part number. You can often find it online if you are patient and good at searching.

 

[achris]

...I really don't have an MC-1 stern drive. I have a "Mercruiser 120" stern drive...

Yes, you do have a Mercruiser-1 drive. The '120' on the drive is just a decal that designates the engine that drive was put behind. A '120' drive and a '140' drive are identical. And they are the same as the '165' and '260' drives, apart for the ratio, which is just the gear set in the top housing. EVERYTHING else is the same.

When the engine installer recieved the drive from Mercury, it didn't have the '120' decal on it. That decal comes with the ENGINE, and gets put on the drive at the end of the installation.

Chris......

 

[E350]

achris Thank you for your help. Take a look at the parts list in the link I posted above. The "Mercruiser 120" stern drive is not quite identical to the 140. See for example:

45597 BELLOWS, EXHAUST ELBOW TO ENGINE (MERCRUISER 120 AND 160)

45-45568 DRIVE SHAFT, UPPER MERCRUISER 120 S/N: 2329996 AND UP / MERCRUISER 160 S/N: 2331946 AND UP

Also consider that there are separate archived catalogs for each of the "Mercruiser I" and for "Mercruiser 1-A, 1-B, and 1-C" stern drives and for the "Mercruiser K20-140-160" stern drives. Each of the archived catalogs cover different years and different serial numbers.

And consider that the bell housing in separate archived catalogs for "Mercruiser I" and for "Mercruiser 1-A, 1-B, and 1-C" look nothing like my bell housing which is accurately shown in the "Mercruiser K20-140-160" archived catalog.

I am familiar with the ***************** chart which says that I have a "Mercruiser Type 1" stern drive, but based on looking at Mercury's archived catalogs, I respectfully disagree.

But please correct me if I am wrong. I don't have any experience. My conclusion is solely based on Mercury's archived catalogs.

Take a look:

https://public-mercurymarine.sysonl...=GuestNA_KEY=NA_KEY_VALUElangIF=englangDB=eng

 

[achris]

E350 My apologies. I have only been stripping and reassembling these things for over 25 years. It does appear for that whole time, when I have been ordering all the same parts for the same boxes, they are indeed different. Thank you for pointing this out to me.

Good luck in the future...

Chris.......

 

[andrewterri]

E350 were you able to get it figured out?

 

[E350]

andrewterri I have determined from your catalog that these are my current updated part numbers:

36223A2 formerly PN# 36223A1 Bellows Assembly, Universal Joint (Superseded by 36223A2 - Bellows Assy) (Sierra International # 18-2752)

45597 Bellows, Exhaust Elbow to Engine (Mercruiser 120 and 160)

74639A2 formerly PN# 31659 Bellows, Shift Actuating Cable (Superseded by 74639A2 - Bellows

For those with a pre-1972 Mercruiser stern drive, here is something interesting that was said in an ebay ad for a (non-oem) bellows kit:

“U-Joint Bellows for Mercruiser #1 (MC-1) Stern Drives without Internal Mounting Ridge Replaces Mercruiser 36223A2. Fits all #1 Mercruiser Units without "ridge" to hold bellows (Serial No. 3443920 and lower - Generally pre-1972) (Check the inside of the bellows at each end -- if it is completely smooth, that is "no ridge" and these are the correct bellows. If there's a little ridge all around the inside of the bellows directly opposite the clamp this is not the bellows. We also carry those u-joint bellows in our Ebay store!) Kit includes bellows, marine grade stainless steel clamps and grounding clips.”

Because just buying the three oem rubber bellows cost $167.94 on the I am really tempted to buy a non-oem bellows/gimbal bearing kit on ebay for $57.95.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Bellows-Ki...Drives-Replaces-36223A2-and-More/370883077107

WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK ABOUT NON-OEM BELLOWS? ANY EXPERIENCE GOOD OR BAD???

 

[E350]

Uh... Is it 'cause iBoats sells parts that I an getting crickets????

 

[andrewterri]

I don't think that's is. I have been sick and we are dealing with flooding from recent storms. I would go with oem if you can swing it. Aftermarket and especially those coming from China just don't last like oem and you could have fitment issues.

 

[E350]

andrewterri : Please get well soon and prayers to you regarding flooding. So, thank you very much for your reply. I will take a look at the condition of the bellows and replace them likely with oem if they have any stiffness or other deterioration whatsoever. But first I need to buy a larger slide hammer or find an adapter from my little slide hammer to this Mercruiser bell housing hinge plug puller:

 

[E350]

Hilarious! I was complaining to my wife that some yahoo had installed nails in the bell housing side hinge pins when I came across this thread which had a post by Fun Times

https://forums.iboats.com/forum/eng...509-alpha-one-gimble-swivel-pin-lower-removal

which included this link which made this statement:

"Very early units (like the old 1970 Model 165) did not have the side mounted trim sender switches.
They use "press-in" hinge pins which were locked into place with aluminum cross-nails.
These early gimbal rings had a trim limit switch at the very top of the gimbal ring."

http://www.outdriveshop.com/merc/driveparts/gimbalrings.html

My question for you guys, including Fun Times is can I replace the u-joint and other bellows by leaving the transom plate on the transom? Do I need to remove the lower and upper swivel pins to do so?

BTW, I don't know if the limit switch is still in there, but I do now that the wire to it is broken.

Suggestions would be appreciated.

And BTW, I was able to replace the hydraulic lines by undoing the bell housing and stretching the bellows out and patiently wrenching out (1/16" turn at a time) the flare nuts.

So part of me wants to just put some 303 rubber protectant on the bellows and boat the thing, but another part of me wants to replace the bellows etc. "as long as I am in there..."

BUT I am not "in there" if the transom plate has to be removed to install the bellows. Rather, I have just started.