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Gimbal Bearing lube - every season?
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Author:  230 Mike [ Mon Sep 30, 2013 8:39 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Gimbal Bearing lube - every season?
I've heard of guys who had blown gimbal seals (or at least were told they did), and had two mechanics warn about trying to over-grease. Dunno - maybe there's more than one type of seal? Why do I hit a very hard resistance after about 2-3 pumps, if there's nothing containing it? Not doubting you - this just runs contrary to what I've always understood.
Author:  LouC [ Mon Sep 30, 2013 8:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Gimbal Bearing lube - every season?
I think that resistance could be hardened up grease in the tube, or crud in the hole in the side of the gimble bearing...sometimes that happens with ujoints on Jeeps and 4x4s that have been used in rough dusty conditions and not greased often.

http://www.pbsboatstore.com/quicksilver ... 4AodF3QAyw

see open...grease just comes right out...don't get what they are talking about.
Author:  taz42169 [ Tue Oct 01, 2013 2:03 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Gimbal Bearing lube - every season?
Pulled my drive and found water in my bellows. Small tear in my bellows. Looks like I caught it in time but I'll be replacing the gimble bearing (and bellows) this off season. It's important to inspect.
Author:  NiagaraChillin [ Wed Oct 02, 2013 6:59 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Gimbal Bearing lube - every season?
taz42169 wrote:
Pulled my drive and found water in my bellows. Small tear in my bellows. Looks like I caught it in time but I'll be replacing the gimble bearing (and bellows) this off season. It's important to inspect.

Yep, it is. How did your U-Joints, driveshaft, and drive oil (any water/milkyness) look?
Author:  taz42169 [ Wed Oct 02, 2013 11:13 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Gimbal Bearing lube - every season?
NiagaraChillin wrote:
taz42169 wrote:
Pulled my drive and found water in my bellows. Small tear in my bellows. Looks like I caught it in time but I'll be replacing the gimble bearing (and bellows) this off season. It's important to inspect.

Yep, it is. How did your U-Joints, driveshaft, and drive oil (any water/milkyness) look?

Everything else was good to go! U-Joints and shaft were fine. NO MILKYNESS in my drive oil! Must have caught it, literally, just in time! WOW! Bellows were only 3 years old.
Author:  rem9607 [ Mon Jan 06, 2014 12:14 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Gimbal Bearing lube - every season?
Anyone ever use Never Seez on the shaft and bolts? Most use marine grease, but I know never seez is good in all conditions like heat, water, etc. Its used on bigger boats for the prop shafts and other long term high temp areas, years later stuff just falls off free of corrosion with never seez.
Author:  LouC [ Mon Jan 06, 2014 6:38 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Gimbal Bearing lube - every season?
I have read not to use Antiseize in salt water; and in my OMC shop manual it says to use OMC gasket sealer on all outdrive bolts thermostat bolts etc. It seals out salt water and the bolts will come right out. Driveshaft splines get OMC triple guard. My boat sitting in salt water 6 months out of the year I've had a lot of experience in corrosion control. Drive comes off every year and the upper and lower gets split every other year to clean the barnacles out of the water intakes.
Author:  jgreve75 [ Tue Jan 07, 2014 5:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Gimbal Bearing lube - every season?
rem9607 wrote:
Anyone ever use Never Seez on the shaft and bolts? Most use marine grease, but I know never seez is good in all conditions like heat, water, etc. Its used on bigger boats for the prop shafts and other long term high temp areas, years later stuff just falls off free of corrosion with never seez.


Normally automotive anti-seize is copper based, which when combined with an aluminum outdrive housing creates a galvanic reaction in the presence of seawater. That being said, there are marine grades of anti seize that can be used. Presumably these do not have the high copper or nickel content that automotive anti seize usually has.
Author:  LouC [ Tue Jan 07, 2014 6:42 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Gimbal Bearing lube - every season?
There is a marine Antiseize but I found it interesting that neither Merc nor OMC recommend it though.
Author:  230 Mike [ Tue Jan 07, 2014 9:10 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Gimbal Bearing lube - every season?
I've got a big container of marine anti-seize; it's completely metal-free. I bought it before I owned a boat and don't even remember why now. Expensive stuff though.
Author:  Jafo4U [ Thu Jan 09, 2014 11:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Gimbal Bearing lube - every season?
LouC wrote:
The gimble bearing is lubed from a grease fitting on the starboard side of the transom mount. Best to do it with the engine running on the water hose, that gets the grease all around the bearing. But, to grease the driveshaft splines you still have to remove the drive. If you have u-joints with grease fittings (the better kind) then you have to remove the drive to grease them. When you have it off you can check the driveshaft bellows for water and gear oil. Water means you have to replace the bellows (and maybe the gimble if you let it go too long) gear oil means the input shaft seal is leaking and will result in the drive leaking oil into the bellows. That if left unchecked will result in low oil level in the drive and possible wear and failure.
Sterndrives (I/Os) are high maintenance machines. If they are not maintained they become expensive to repair, and you can be stranded on the water because of a driveline failure. Pretty much all the sterndrive manufacturers recommended to remove the drive once a year, to check the things I listed above and also check engine alignment. I've been doing it a long time and I think this is why the drive on my old Cobra (original except for a few seals) has lasted this long (25 years).

Lower maintenance boat =outboard, not sterndrive. OB costs more up front but yearly maintenance much less.


I agree with the outdrive, I have been thinking of trading my fourwinns in for a cobia with a yamaha 250 because my friend has one and he laughs at all the stuff I tell him I do to my boat. He tells me he just turns the key on his. :twisted:
Author:  LouC [ Fri Jan 10, 2014 6:29 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Gimbal Bearing lube - every season?
The outboard will need less maintenance, but there is no free ride. If he never removes the lower unit, then one day when he needs to to replace the impeller, it can be a royal battle because the driveshaft will be rusted into the engine. Just like what happens to an outdrive, but there are no ujoints and gimble bearings. If you ever have to do top engine work on a 4 stroke outboard it is VERY expensive, much more so than an inboard. With the inboard, you have to accept the high maintenance requirements in exchange for lower parts prices. If you hate doing the work or paying for it then yes the OB may be better, until it needs major work.
Those of us who grew up in the 70s with small block Chevys are very comfortable with inboard and look at modern OBs as mega complex. But they do take less work....
Author:  Technologic80 [ Mon Mar 31, 2014 12:41 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Gimbal Bearing lube - every season?
I removed my outdrives on my 1997 Vista for the first time last year. Thats 16 years of not being removed and they were definitely stuck/corroded on big time :shock:

It took me and a helper with pry bars and a ratcheting come-along to get the drives off. The port side was MUCH more stuck than the stbd. I wish I had taken pictures of the corrosion that had formed between the outdrive upper housing and the piece that hangs off the transom. And my boat didnt spend any of its life in the water, plus we are in 100% freshwater (Great Lakes).

With that being said, removing and re-installing the outdrive is definitely a challenging proposition for 1 guy - Esp. reinstalling it. Doing it myself, with the help of a friend saved me big $$ but I dont trust myself replacing the bellows on my own. It took me what seemed to be an hour to get my port side outdrive re-installed. I finally went and adjusted the trailer jack to get a better angle and it worked. But I was nervous there for a minute..... thoughts of calling a mechanic $$$$ motivated me to try a little harder, LOL!

Anyways, after the original owner not removing or greasing the u-joints for 16 years, there wasnt much to report. I bought the boat with 90 hours on it. There was still grease in the u-joints, and they moved easily/freely. I greased the living hell out of them though. I also greased the gimbal bearing with the outdrives OFF so I could turn the gimbal by hand and distribute the grease. I also got to watch it push out the old grease visually, which made me feel better. Oh, speaking of that, on my 1 u-joint, there was rusty grease coming out of 1 of the caps. I greased the living hell out of that one too.

When I re-installed the drives, I took light grit sandpaper and sanded the sealing surfaces very lightly, just to get the corrosion off then I coated it lightly with that OMC Triple C grease stuff. Im expecting them to come off much easier this year!

Other than that, take your time and either build a stand or have a (strong) helper. My best advice.
Author:  LouC [ Mon Mar 31, 2014 4:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Gimbal Bearing lube - every season?
OK if you want to make this job easier, then you can either build a wood stand and put adjustable casters on it, like I did about 8 years ago, or spend a bit more money (like $170) and oder a drive stand from Stumpy's Fab Works, like I did last year. This one is great for the price, has easy rolling casters and a trailer jack to raise and lower the drive.
The Volvos get stuck on because VP did not use the gasket between the drive and the pivot housing like the original (Superior LOL) OMC design did. I coat both sides of that gasket with OMC gasket sealer and the drive slides right off even after sitting in salt water out here in Long Island for 6 months out of the year. You Volvo guys should coat the mating surface with either OMC Gasket sealer, or a nice coat of OMC Triple Guard Grease. I even coat the threads on the studs that hold the drive on and the threads on the trim ram rod (as per OMC shop manual). And every single bolt I have ever removed on the drive (impeller bolts, anode bolts, the bolts that hold the upper and lower together). And they all come out. So listen to the master of salt water when it comes to corrosion control lol.....
Author:  NiagaraChillin [ Mon Mar 31, 2014 6:55 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Gimbal Bearing lube - every season?
LouC wrote:
So listen to the master of salt water when it comes to corrosion control lol.....

Don't get Lou started about barnacles tho, lol....
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