Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

Hey guys. I am looking for a message board for Mercruiser's that is as good as this site is to SC's. I know it's a tall order to fill ( if even possible ), but if you know of one, pls send me the info.

Also, tech question: My 3 yr old/new 5.7L, 350 HP, freshwater cooled Mercruiser is making a really sh*tty sound @ 1800 RPM or more, when I turn the steering wheel all the way to one side or the other, or when I lift the trim up. Sounds like a mechanical sound i.e. a bearing connecting the drive and engine ?

Anyone have a clue ? Thx

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

Sounds like the gimble bearing. It is located in the transom bracket or "helmut" bolted to the transom on the back of the boat that the drive itself is attached to.
It could probably wait until you pull the boat out for the winter. Not to big a deal, but the drive has to be removed.

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

Could also be a U-joint, gimble bearings usually make a winding noise all of the time. :cool:

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

Bringing it in tomorrow - I'll let you know what it is. Thx for the input.

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

if you have any questions on Mercuiser, give me a shout, I've been working on them since '85, certified since '87. Currently have a "Master Certification", I can't fix them over the line, but I might be able to help you out

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

Thank you. It turns out it was my gimbal bearing. It was only (3) yrs old with 250 hours on the whole package. It was properly lubed etc in the Spring. The mercruiser guy I bought the package from initially thought I might have put the drive on without the 'main drive seal' seated correctly thus water intrusion, but it was sealed up nice and he keeps saying that I must have used the boat with the trim up too much ( which I know is wrong too because I never ever do that ). So, is it a common thing ?

Also, where can I buy a real Mercruiser shop manual without getting my butt reamed ? I just want the engine one, the drive I won't bother with.

In your experience, what are the most important preventative maintenance things to perform ? Also, is the add'l mercruiser warranty worth it ( I have the option to buy one before March ) ?

Thx...

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

try Ebay for the manual. If you can afford the warranty, go for it.

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

http://forums.iboats.com/bbBoard.cgi?a=viewforum;fid=24
Check here, several forums. My buddy seems to have to chage his gimbal bearing on his Mercruiser about evey 3-4 years, so must be commom.

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

Check alignment every year; lube the gimbal bearing and the coupler (the coupler can be a pain depending on installation); change gear lube. Do you get cooling water via the drive only, or via a seacock??? At 350HP I'd think you have a Bravo I; I'd consider a drive shower to...I have one that's very effective.

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

Try Sterndrive.com

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

How do you do this ? The package is only (3) seasons old. I have removed the drive each season and assumed that if it slid in smoothly, it worked is this a good indicator ?


Done. But, I do not know if it is possible to reach the coupler fitting to grease.

Via a seacock/southbay strainer.

At 350HP I'd think you have a Bravo I; Bravo 3

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

you check engine alignment with an alignment tool, its just a shaft that you slide in thru the gimbal bearing and into the coupler, if the engine is in align, the shaft will slide in easily, if its not, it will take some force, Mercury says it should slide in with two fingers. These shaft were once only available from Mercury, but know the afermarket has them priced reasonable, try Sierra Marine, GLM, Aqua Power, etc. You might try ebasicpower.com for your parts and tools. While you're at it, go ahead and buy the gimbal bearing installer, not really need but it does a nice job and prevents damage to the beariing. You obviously have something going on there, I've been working on Mercruisers since '86 and have neaver seen a gimbal bearing that was bad from wear, its alwas been from water or alignment, make sure you check you're bellows while you have it apart. As far as greaing the coupler, i just spread spline grease( yes they have a specific grease) on the input splines when I put the drive back on, check the splines and see if they look thin and sharp,thats an indication the alignment is off or you haven't had enough lube on them

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

What spareparts said....

I have the 350MAG MPI FWC in a 24' sailfish with Bravo 1. The coupler has two grease fitting and there's enough room for me to lay across the engine a get a grease gun onto the coupler grease fittings. I do it about every 50 hours....
I installed the whole package so I was fimiliar with it...I also stuck a digital camera behind the engine and snapped a few shots....the grease fitting showed up clearly.

The most annoying thing is getting the gallows set up if the alignment is off...you have to lift the engine and adjust the engine mount nuts.

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

Hey spareparts, from up here on the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
Am disappointed in Mercury Marine; their information is notable in the lack thereof (see my post under performance where the drubs refuse to publish power curves so sound engineering judgments can be made.

Anyway: have subscribed to SeLoc's online Mercruiser manuals and find them as clumsy and poor as their print version: can you give an idea of:
. the quality of Mercury's shop manuals
. """""""""""""""""""""""" Owner's manuals.
Want GOOD details for servicing both routine and complex, of a 1976 Mercruiser GM I-6 165 HP I/O.
If necessary will spend the $70.++ bucks but want something as good as an auto makers manuals or even a Haynes or Clymer would be better than SeLoc.
Thanks, HBH

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

I have the merc service manuals for the Bravo and the 350MAG
MPI....they both are pretty good.....much better than SELOC in my opinion...they seem more focused. I think the SELOCs try to cover too many variants in a single book.

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

Exactly right!

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

Bayou - Can you get these at a better price than a dealer ? If so, I would like a Mercruiser shop/service manual for my engine only.

Thx

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

Sorry ab....I'm just Joe Sixpack....I bought mine on-line at regular too high price....
I bought a complete new engine package; engine, transom asbly and drive all stacked on a pallet. It was my first attempt at an I/O and I wanted all the books too. The only special tool I needed was the alignment tool.

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

The best way to align your shaft is to coat the allignment tool with grease and insert it into the spline. Pull it out and see if the grease is uniform around the alignment tool. Different manufactuers have different tolerences but atleast this way you can see how close it is versus just sliding it in.

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

the mercruiser manuals are some of the best manuals i've ever used, do a search online, there are lots of people that are selling e-maunals on disc or download, i havent used them myself, but i know a couple of people that have them and they are a reprint of the factory stuff. Rhinda Technologies sells the factory authorized versions, they also sell scan tools for EFI engines. If that I-6 in your boat has been in salt its whole life, save yourself time and money, and repower with a new or freshwater setup, that thing will eat up your wallet with repairs

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

if you are dissapointed in Mercruiser for their lack of information regarding an engine they haven't used in 25 years, you oought to deal with some of the other manufactures, the Japanese manufactures give out nothing! Their manuals just don't translate well, and the parts are confusing. Before bomb, OMC would just act like they never built some of their disasters, even if it was a couple of years old, their manuals were pretty good, just the information given was usually incorrect.

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

Not specifically a plug..but...

if you surf out to www.go-fast.com and select the merc parts
then the search with pictures, you can get to what looks like everything they ever made with diagrams and part numbers. The drawing on those older inline 6's aren't great, but they do show assembly breakdowns with part numbers. They also have good prices.....

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

That's good news. Will go with the Merck Manuals (pun intended).
Engine running fine, was operated in brackish water (Albemarle, Pamlico, etc.) Flushed diligently and not left in water (kept on lift or trailer).
Just want manuals now for doing the proper maintenance; locating grease fittings and lube spots.

As to e-manuals: always ask the seller/publisher if they are merely raster scans rather than proper text conversions. So far when I've seen such ads and asked the answer has been raster which means they are not searchable content.

Raster scans are pictures of words and the computer can't distinguish them for meaning.
In many ways such CD's or DVDs are less useful than a printed book, hard on the eyes and fuzzy printouts.
HBH

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

outdrive shop

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

I haven't followed the whole thread, but in response to the original question, boatered forum is the best mercruiser board that I have found. There are guys on there that know Mercruisers like the guys on here know our boats, and they will see you through a problem with genuine interest-Ab-definitely go there-they have bailed my sorry a$$ out of a few problems. They are serious experts. We I/o guys gotta stick together. Dying breed on this board :D
I finally joined the board for 20 bucks which allowed me to search all of their archives. You need not pay to post or receive feedback, it simply makes your life easier when looking up a problem.
Who are you using on LI for your mechanic? I'm not so sure I am happy with my guy. I have learned to do a lot more myself on that board, though.
Good luck.
Doug

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

Thx for that link... I will check it out. I do a lot of work myself too. At least the complete winterization of the motor/drive. It is a new motor/drive so it really does not need much. I'm into the theory of "preventive maintenance", so I try not to let things go without me being on top of it.

As for having an i/o, it has it's pro's and con's. When I re-did my boat, it originally had (2) i/o's and I re-did the transom/motor beds and put in (1) new i/o. I thought about the outboard idea - I just could not afford the extra $dough$ for a bracket and (2) FI Yamaha's or (2) Yamaha, 4 strokes. The i/o made more economical sense. I also would have liked a diesel w/ a jackshaft. At least I would have a diesel, but still the drive. All in all, I'm very happy with the i/o. If I stored her on a lift and the drive was not in the water all the time, that would be the perfect scenario.

My mechanic is a really good guy - knows his sh*it, he gets paid well for it like any quality mechanic. I would recommend him. He is in Bayshore, too far from where you are from. The name of the place is Burnetts Marine on Homan Ave in Bayshore., The guy is Gene.

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

My impression is that you are correct: with the exception of legitimate engine manufacturers, Cat', Allison, Volvo, etc. it seems as if the manufacturers insist on treating us like amateurs who should take our machines to one of their service centers. It's all about money and making it a one way flow - all to the mercenaries.
Maybe if they spent some time on boards like this they'd wise up. Seems to me a lot of the guys (& Gals) LIKE doing their own work, and further seem fully capable of doing it.
My compliments to you for sharing good advice freely, but, loyal as you may be to Mercury I think you have to admit you are the exception.
Oh, and BTW: the tradition I'm familiar with does not accept the orphaning of a product because of age, that's Bill Gates crap.
One last question, I have a high opinion of Honda, where do they stand in terms of making GOOD information available. Will tell you this, whether its Nikon `America' or Honda `America' there is a tremendous difference between the parent company and the hucksters who buy their way in via national franchising. this wasn't always so but became thus the past score of years, actually the corruption began around the 70's from personal experience


HBH

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

AND
Excellent referrals, both, thanks guys.

Now to me this (these referred sites) are SMART business. I know that I will buy from them even if a little higher (which they may not be) because they GIVE helpful information

HBH.

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

PHNX, I can see your a man in the know. I'm in the final stages of rebuilding a Detroit 892V, and at the point of setting the rack, could use a little input.

Thanks for any info.

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

oldfielder,

I've been on that boatered forum, and it's the best I've found too. I have two Seacraft I/Os, and I want to be able to do as much of the work myself as I can too. Have you used the mechanic at Ralph's at all for any I/O work?

By the way, I might get back out to Montauk one more time over the Thansgiving weekend. I remember many years ago, maybe '88 or '89, I was fishing for the couple of nights before thanksgiving, and the night I left to get home for turkey, a 67 lber was taken under the light....

rockdoc

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

I used one guy there to help me chase a fuel problem this summer. It's a little tricky there, as it depends who you get in terms of know-how. The guy riding around on my boat knew less about my motor than I did! Nice guy, though.
If I can swing it and get all of the wine bought and chores done for t-day, I'm trying to hit the point on Wed-supposed to be a good NE blow. I might have one more blacfish trip in me and then it's tarp time.

Re: Mercruiser Message Board Needed - A GOOD ONE
 

Sorry Phnster, last I turned a wrench or got grease under my fingernails for a living was before I got my first engineering degree: over 50 year's ago. Since then its just been tinkering with my own machinery; cars, motorcycles, and airplanes, closest I ever came to a Freightliner was a Unimog.

Try truckdriver.org or greasemonkey.com then there's freightliner.edu