Gimbal Bearing - Immediate fix or Nurse Along?-gctid811286

[Guest]

So the guy's at the Marina put my 99 2452 into the water. They said the gimbal bearing was making some noise, but not roaring.

Some boaters told me not to worry for a while, but don't put another 50 of hours on it. Others said pull it out and get it fixed now

So here I sit. I don't to make matters worse, but I don't want to pull it out of the water when I will likely put another 10 hours on it before I can get it fixed.

Any ideas

[Chief_Alen]

For a 10 dollar gasket and a half to one hour worth of work you would have known if water is in the bellow, and if there is water in the bellow you might have more then just a bearing problem.

See any water dripping down from behind the engine, use a flashlight and a mirror look under the front of the engine to the back.

[Cool_Beans]

Have you run it to get an idea of what "some noise" means?

My dad bought a used 22 foot wellcraft back around 2000. It made a little noise that was audible at idle in the driveway. Kind of like the noise a skate board makes going down the sidewalk, but lower pitched. He packed it full of grease and it quieted down. And he just kept up with the grease until he finally decided to rebuild it last summer :whistle:

We popped the covers off and it had a couple small pits in the race, no overheating signs or galling. We ran the hell outta that boat, too!

If it were me, I'd grease it and run and make a judgement call. If it sounds like a low hum, just keep an eye on it (though, if it sounds like gravel in a blender, fix it now) and save the fix for the miserly heat of summer when you couldn't pay me to be out on the water :S Advice based on my experience of boating the lower Chesapeake bay, your mileage may vary!

[driz]

If it was me I'd do what the chief says then grease it well and run it. Then sometime soon get the parts together to do the deed when it eventually starts roaring. Who knows you may well get the whole season depending on useage. Keep an ear on the growling for changes and keep an ear on the noise for changes. Now if you are going to be heading out on an extended trip I'd just change it and be done.

[Guest]

^^^Agreed. Gimbal bearing usually go bad for a reason. 99% of the time it is water intrusion (Bellows failure), in which case it may be your u-joints as well.

A gimbal will typically grind when the steering is at or near then end of travel (IE: Turning sharply) first, before it grinds all the time.

Pulling the drive and checking the alignment, refreshing the bellows are all routine maintenance items. Adding the gimbal while you are there is not a large cost.

If your u-joints are seizing it can cause them to deflect into the bell housing when running with high trim. Not good.

I'd have it checked as it's such a simple procedure.

Chay

[SomeSailor]

Should be annual inspection item and if you're now hearing it... you missed the opportunity to change it. Bite the bullet, swap the gimbal bearing and rubbers and u-joints while you're there. Pretty straightforward and not great expenses.

[Download_Complete]

Plus, once fixed, you're likely good for another 3-5 years.

[Guest]

Thank you all

If only this were a 110 Land Rover. After some 15 years of driving those in the Australian Army, I could diagnose an issue by the sound, pitch, and tone. As this is my first stern-drive, I am on a learning curve.

[Ruffryder]

Yup leaking bellows possibly,

Get it taken care of soon.