ive never done it but i know it is expensive to have done... a friend of mine paid almost 950 if im not mistaken to have those done... im pretty sure the shaft does have to come out

 

No the u joints cant be replaced without removing the drive, but removing the drive is no big deal. The gimbal bearings are another story.

 

I should have been more specific. I have already removed the drive from the boat. I am wondering if the shaft and joints needs to be removed to R&R the u joints? I believe there is a special spanner wrench needed to get the shaft assembly off the outdrive which I don't have.

 

Gimbal bearing is not easy to replace but when you do please do it right and install the notched part of the carrier of the bearing facing back so next time you don,t need to replace the whole thing and just replace the bearing by hand turning it 90 degrees to let it slip out tru the notches, and yes you need to remove the drive to replace the u joints!

By the way if you take it to a Mercruiser shop they will install the gimbal bearing carrier backwards again to make money again out of you the next time and trust me is not cheap.

 

Gimbal bearing is not easy to replace but when you do please do it right and install the notched part of the carrier of the bearing facing back so next time you don,t need to replace the whole thing and just replace the bearing by hand turning it 90 degrees to let it slip out tru the notches, and yes you need to remove the drive to replace the u joints!

By the way if you take it to a Mercruiser shop they will install the gimbal bearing carrier backwards again to make money again out of you the next time and trust me is not cheap.

I have read about this trick.. Supposidly Mercruiser doesn't recommend doing it this way in their service manual. Probably so you can't do it yourself easily right?

 

Also you will need the HD (heavy duty) U-Joints.. You do not have to remove the spanner nut and pull the carrier out if you have the right C clamp press.. I have done them on the drive with a Piston wrist pin...

I would check the cone cluches while I had it off , if it were me...

 

Also you will need the HD (heavy duty) U-Joints.. You do not have to remove the spanner nut and pull the carrier out if you have the right C clamp press.. I have done them on the drive with a Piston wrist pin...

I would check the cone cluches while I had it off , if it were me...

Not sure where the cone clutches are located? I guess I may want to get a service manual..

The outdrive is making a grumbling bearing noise at all times, even in neutral. It is really bad if you start the boat with the outdrive trimmed up. After taking the outdrive off the only thing that stands out to me is the u joints have tightness in certain positions. Also, there is rust on the u joints but yet I cannot find any holes in the bellows?

I did not see any evidence of water in the bellows, just grease slung around that came out of the u joints. The gimbal bearing turns really smooth but I plan to replace it anyways. I read that the new gimbal bearings are sealed so you do not need use the seal that normally goes in front of the bearing? Is that true?

Thank you!

 

Use a ball joint press to do the u joints....makes it super simple and you don't have to remove the shaft

 

They always come out rusty looking like that. No matter how good the bellows and seals are moisture will get in there, and the shaft/joints are not coated (just bare steel sitting in moisture).

From a tad over 5 years working at a marina, I too always put the bearing in with the notches facing back. - Several bravos, many many alphas, never an issue.

Doing the joints w/o removing the drive yoke is a pita, but is do-able. Since you don't have the spanner it's your only real option.

 

you should never start a cone clutch shifted drive(alpha or bravo) with the motor trimmed up. I doubt your "growling" is comming from the u joints, probably from the gimbal bearing or upper gear set. pull the top cover and take a look. I disagree that the shafts always look like this unless your boat is in salt, or sits in the lake all the time. If you trailer your boat and dont have a leak in the bellows or shift bellows it shoulg not look like this. Just looking at that drive i would guess it is overdue for some service especially if you are a fresh water lake boater, boats in salt look like that after a few months.

 

Freshwater lake boat, stored on the trailer. The boat has low hours but I think it has been neglected over the years. I noticed the u joints have stiff spots so I decided to replace them first. For kicks I greased them this evening and each joint took several pumps before grease came out the ends. The stiffness never went away either. I will also put a new gimbal bearing in since its already apart. Will do the bellows and water feed hose as well. Pulling the top cover sounds like a good idea too.