Bravo noise

scottmech	Got an 89 Mercruiser 7.4L/Bravo I. With the drive in the lowest position, in or out of gear, there is almost no noise from the drive. But as it is raised (again in or out of gear) there is a teeth grinding niose comming from what seems to be the upper part of the upper gearcase (not from the universal joint, behind it toward the back of the drive). The noise sounds like an Alpha drive that needs the shift cables adjusted. I have checked the shift cables and they are adjusted properly and the drive goes in and out of gear ok. Check the gear oil every time I launch and I never find any metal or water in the oil. Any ideas on what it could be? Any info appreciated.	2002-08-27
Wellcraft 89	Gimble bearing!!!!! by raising or lowering the drive causes a strain in this area .was the drive ever out or the engine removed after factory install.or it could have been misaligned from factory and now the gimble bearing has gone bad. or is the noise the trim pump is the noise only there with engine running? oops I almost forgot there are shims which set the the upper main gear depth into the counter gears at the top of the drive if the drive has been apart for rebuild ,the spanner nut which holds this assm.could have not been tightened properly and now when raising the drive the gear is being pulled away. This condition needs to be looked at or your repair bill could be higher. Rich	2002-08-28
Wellcraft 89	Gimble bearing!!!!! by raising or lowering the drive causes a strain in this area .was the drive ever out or the engine removed after factory install.or it could have been misaligned from factory and now the gimble bearing has gone bad. or is the noise the trim pump is the noise only there with enginge running? Rich	2002-08-28
scottmech	The noise happens when I'm in nutral or in gear, with the engine running, about 2000 RPM and up, with the drive in the up position (not the trailer position, the full up driving position), full right and full left. The only time it doesn't make the noise is in the down position pointing strait back. Don't know fore sure if the drive was ever removed post factory. Doubt it considering the low time of the boat. I know it's not the trim pump, because that's in the boat and the noise is in the drive. By placing a screwdriver on the gimble housing and the upper drive I'm about 80% sure the noise is aft of the gimble area. Wouldn't the most likely cause be the universal joint? Is there a test or a diagnostic technique I could used to narrow down the causes? If I removed the drive (I'm a competant mechanic so I can perform just about anything given the proper tools) will a bad universal or gimble bearing be obvious? What should I look for? Thanks. Any info appreciated.	2002-09-02
Wellcraft 89	Do you do your own maitenance? Do you have a manual for your drive? The drive comes out like a alpha. The universals will be obvious chk just like a car. The gimbal bearing you reach your hand up into the anals of the bellows and spin it,if it feels rough or marbley(is that a word).Its bad you need to change it. if you have a manual for your drive there are 2 cover plates for inspection of your top gears. If you have changed your gear lube regularly I don't suspect your gears unless you hit something under water. let us know what you find I have the manual for your drive right here if you need some help. Rich	2002-09-03
Wellcraft 89	Do you do your own maitenance? Do you have a manual for your drive? The drive comes out like a alpha. The universals will be obvious chk just like a car. The gimbal bearing you reach your hand up into the anals of the bellows and spin it,if it feels rough or marbley(is that a word).Its bad you need to change it. if you have a manual for your drive there are 2 cover plates for inspection of your top gears. If you have changed your gear lube regularly I don't suspect your gears unless you hit something under water. let us know what you find I have the manual for your drive right here if you need some help. Rich	2002-09-03
scottmech	After reading what was posted here I decided to take it to a shop. The mechanic thought it might be the gimble bearing also. He removed the drive and found a bad universal........but that's not the only thing. The yoke seal went bad and the outdrive was leaking lube. He thinks the lube washed the grease out of the universals and that's why they went bad. The gimble bearing felt fine. No rough spots, very smooth operation. Took the cover plate off the top of the drive and the gears looked fine also. That was also the opinion of the mechanic. At this point I don't know weather to replace the gimble bearing or just grease it and drive on. His reccomedation is to replace it while the drive is off. The total price for the replacement of the yoke seal and gimble bearing is $700 labor and $500 parts(worst case scenario)....and that includes pressure testing the outdrive. I got a trip to Pensacola comming up and I'd hate to have something go bad in the middle of the bay with 6 people on board. Plan for the worst and hope for the best I guess..........	2002-09-11
denniz	$1200. sounds awful high, reseal upper $280. labor, U-joint and gimbell brg.laboR $105. Shouldnt be more than 250.00 in parts.@$70.00 hr.	2002-09-11
scottmech	Yea, tell me about it. Here's the breakdown: Parts: gimble bearing 62 u joints 96 sealing rings 50 yoke 165 seal kit 80 washer 3 cap 2 gear lube 25 Labor: (72/hr) diagnosis 1.0 R&R drive 1.5 check/adjust alignment .5-1.0 u joint/yoke 3.0 gimbil bearing 2.0 yoke seal 1.0 He said he may not have to replace the yoke if no groove is worn in it from the seal. I almost wish he'd let me do the work using their tools.	2002-09-11
denniz	He won't let you do the work but that's a 4hr. job max. I can do it in less, your not reshimming anything. Sorry your getting a bit hosed.	2002-09-12
scottmech	Thanks for the info. I'll try to negotiate with him on the labor. Now there's a new development....... Told him order the parts and get it done so I could have the boat back and do a shakedown on it before my trip to Fla. He comes back and tells me the gimbil bearing was on backorder until Sept 26. Not good. Doesn't leave me enough time for the shakedown. He gave me a list of all the parts including the part numbers so I called around some other dealers to see if I could find a bearing. First of all, the part # he gave me wasn't a good #. So I searched for one by application (89 Bravo 1, 7.4L). Ended up finding one less than 5 miles from the shop where the boat is being fixed. Delivered the bearing to him. He tells me he had those bearings in stock but those didn't fit my application, that's why he had to order one. Told him to keep the bearing and compare it to the old one. When I went home I called 5 other dealers and they all verified I got the right part#, 30 60794A4. I was really hoping that this shop wasn't like your typical auto dealer service department.......incompetant and try to screw every chance they get. Next time I'm going to do more research on the shop I take it to. It's not like my combo is an odd ball set up. Sheeesh. What really gets my goat is if given the time, I could make (or have made for me)all of the tools needed to do this job myself for a lot less than the 740 labor. Live and learn I guess.	2002-09-13
denniz	Youve got the right part # I don't know where he got his info.	2002-09-13
denniz	I don't think theres much room for negotiation now though, youve already given him the OK, Don't wanna piss him off or you might not have your boat for the vacation...	2002-09-13
scottmech	I gave him the OK, that part is right. But that was before he told me the bearing was back ordered, and he didn't even have the right part #. It's pretty bad when the customer can find the right part befoe the shop can. He knows I need the boat. If he really cared about the customer, he would have double checked his info. What are the odds 5 other dealers verified the right part (6 including Rod Knocking) the first time out? Seems to me he made an obvious mistake some where. And when I said negotiate, I didn't mean in a piss of the mechanic way. I'm a mechanic and know what it's like. Last time a pilot pissed me off (he deserved it, lied to me about a part installed on his plane) I wouldn't sign it off. I think it's fair to knock 2 hrs (at least) off the estimate. Thats about how long it took me to find and deliver the part. That's what I'm supposed to be paying him for. He supposed to get to it tomorrow. We'll see what happens. Thanks for the advice.	2002-09-13
flashback	Sounds like the U joints to me..........good luck	2002-09-13
scottmech	Flasback, No doubt one of the U-joints was bad and the gimbil was good. But there's also no doubt about the yoke seal (amount of lube in the drive shaft bellows and the fact it was using some lube as indicated by regular checks of the lube moniter) I was replacing the gimbil as insurance. I do have some questions that may help me save some money: 1. Does the alignment need checked after bearing replacement? The only thing I can find in my manual that needs it is engine/transome ring removal. 2. Should I even bother having the drive pressure tested? Can it be pressure tested off the boat? I never found water in the oil when checked (7 times this season). The mechanic wanted to do it on the boat. If he can do it off, I'll replace the U-joints and install the drive myself. Thanks for the info.	2002-09-14
flashback	I would check the alignment if you have the tool, just for saftey sake. but I don,t think the bearing replacement will change alignment. Don,t know anything about pressure testing the drive, what do they do, pump it full of compressed air? I think I would just go ahead and put it in the water. if it leaks then get it fixed. wait a minute... do you have a trailer for your boat? if your boat has to be taken in and out of the water with a lift, I can see the advantage of knowing ahead of time whether the drive leaks or not. those lifts are expensive...	2002-09-14
scottmech	Rod Knocking, Any input on my previous questions? Thanks.	2002-09-14
denniz	Its important to use the alignment tool to align the bearing once installed, or you may not get the drive back on. Pressure test any drive youve been into to double check your work, you can cut a seal on installation or have a grooved yoke. If you have a drive oil monitor, its best to pressure test the drive off.	2002-09-14
denniz	Guess I should elaborate, the bearing is one unit with two parts, bearing and race, when installed the are driven in with a installation tool and more than likely the bearing won't be aligned. The alignment of the engine will not be changed, just the bearing. A pressure test is done in 2 steps low pressure 3-5 PSI and high pressure 13-15 PSI with a guage installed to verify it holds pressure, if the guage shows a drop in pressure it means you have a leaking seal.There is also a vaccumm test done for the seals that fit on the inside of the back to back seals. Normally if it doent leak on pressure it won't leak on vacumm(NORMALLY).	2002-09-14
scottmech	Thanks man. Funny thing you mentioned a grooved yoke. He was going to replace it if it was grooved. That was included in the original estimate. That gives me a plan of action. I'm going to have the mech pressure test the drive with it off the boat and have him check the alignment. I'll do the U-joints and install the drive. Let you know how things go. Thanks again.	2002-09-14
denniz	You can work with a grooved yoke, Push the seal in another 16th of a inch and your riddin on fresh metal.	2002-09-14
scottmech	Rod Knocking, I'm still fighting the bearing part # issue.... His source is the Mercury on line parts source (updated every week) and this is the part# 30 862540 A 3, on national back order. This number also has no number it superceded. Everyone else using the micro fiche (updated yearly) is comming up with 30 60794 A 4, which also is the same bearing the Alpha uses. Even called Mercury Marine at 405-743-6566 and they tell me its 30 60794 A 4. Call the dealer sales customer service at 1-800-962-0927 and they tell me it's 30 862540 A 3. What the heck . This is really starting to chap my butt. Would really hate for them to pull out the old one and not have the right part to put back in. Am I making too much out of this? Should I just grease the old one and drive on? It feels smooth in operation but it definitly is more free than a new one (lack of grease ?). Being an aircraft tech I tend to dig deal things. Thanks	2002-09-16
denniz	I don't rmember there being a different bearing for alphas and bravos I've always used the same one. If it feels smooth and you had a bad Ujoint, AND are having these problemws Id grease it and go with it for now. I'll try to remember to check on ths at work tommorro. Dennis	2002-09-16
scottmech	Thanks Dennis. Tomorrow is probably the last day before they start putting everything back together. Transom serial is OC75039 Engine serial is OC615151 Outdrive serial is OC722072 Any chance you could e-mail me with any info? My email is [edited] I'll probably make a final decision based on your information. Thanks again.	2002-09-16
denniz	Hey Scott hope I'm not too late, went on midas which is dealerparts breakdown, entered your serial # for the drive and verified part# for gimbell brg as 30-60794A4. The part # 30-862540A3 is a good part # but I don't see it called for in your transom assembly. ...????? Got me on this one, If nothing else have them grease it up and replace the gimbell brg. in the off season. I might try another dealer in your area, (for a second opinion) Good Luck	2002-09-17
scottmech	Thanks Dennis. I think I'm going to tell them to replace it. There's just too many sources that say the 60794A4 is the right one. If I'm wrong, I'll bite the bullet. I just won't enjoy my vacation unless the new bearing is in there. The mech also said he hadn't worked on too many bravos, that should have been my first clue. Next time I'm taking it to a dealer that has a Bravo tech. I'm even thinking about picking up the boat, drive and all the new parts and takeing it to someone else. I'm running out of time and the dealer who has it now is going to be closed Fri and Sat for a dealer meeting. Wish they'd have told me in advance. Thanks again. Any chance I could buy you a beer?????	2002-09-17
denniz	I was going to tell you to take it somewhere else a few post back but I bit my tounge. As for the Beer I've got one now but I may need one later.Dennis	2002-09-17
scottmech	Checked around to see if anyone could get my boat done by the weeked.....no good. Everybody's backed up for about a week. Told the shop who has the boat to install the bearing and finish up the boat, but asked them to call me and tell me if the bearing worked or not (to see if I'd have to wait for the bearing that was on backorder). They called today and said the boat was finished, but they did say the bearing I gave them was about 1/8 inch wider than the old one. The inner and outer diameter was the same. When they bolted the drive back on it wouldn't just slip on like its supposed to. They had to pull it down with the nuts. When they went shift it, the linkage came loose at the clamshells. They thought it might have something to do with having to pull the drive on with the nuts. They pulled the drive off, reattached the shift cable, and reinstalled the drive. Again they had to pull it down with the nuts. They shifted it about 20 times and all seems well, and no noises at all in the drive. The only thing that concerns me is them pulling the drive on with the nuts. They said the alignment tool fit fine with the new bearing. The only thing I can figure is the new o-rings combined with the wider bearing may have caused some binding. Picking it up tonight. Hope to a shakedown this weekend or early next week. Thanks again for the help. Scott	2002-09-19

If you would like to post your own question for the experts just click on
the Boating Forums tab at the top of the page or click here!

Disclaimer: iboats.com provides this content for the education and benefit of all boating enthusiasts.
We cannot, however, take responsibility for individual postings, nor can we verify the accuracy of any posting.
Please use any information provided from individuals with great care and read any applicable manuals or safety instructions.
Also, if you determine that a posting is inaccurate or offensive in any manner, please email us.