www.iFourWinns.com

When in reverse and turning sharp I have a noise that sorta sounds like a slow clunk coming from the rear of the boat. Does not happen moving forward. Am I looking at maybe a gimbal bearing or u-joint? Boat has a Bravo 1. Anyone ever replace gimbal bearing on a Bravo drive? As far as I know it has neaver been changed, but how would I know it is bad for sure without pulling drive?

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1998 Baja Boss 252 7.4L MPI Bravo 1 (SOLD)
2007 FW H200SS 5.0GXI (Sold)
2004 Chevy Silverado 2500 Crew 6.0L (tow vehicle)
1991 FW 170 Freedom 4.3L (SOLD)

If there has been water in the bellows you will be replacing the u-joints, Bellows, and gimbal bearing. The noise you hear is either, or both. The short yoke that holds the pinion gear will have to be inspected for rust at the seal area. To do that it will have to be removed from the Driveshaft housing (upper) and the pinion gear, seal carrier, and pinion bearings removed.
This can't be done properly in less than 4 hours.

Mercruiser retail prices for comparison only.
Gimbal bearing $104.70
U-joint bellows $109.30
U-joints (each) $56.62
U-joint seal $21.10
Yoke (if corrosion on seal surface) $183.20
Rear cap seal $9.40
gear lube $30.00
Install kit $7.00

$578.00 plus tax, a shop would charge you an additional $600 in labor.

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One of 4 Previous (Sold) Boats:
2000 Four Winns 268 Vista

Current Boat: 2004 Chaparral 235 ssi cuddy

With a visual inspection the bellows all look good. How often does the gimbal need replacing? I have no idea for sure how many hours boat has, but rough guess is about 400 going on when the hour meter stopped working.

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1998 Baja Boss 252 7.4L MPI Bravo 1 (SOLD)
2007 FW H200SS 5.0GXI (Sold)
2004 Chevy Silverado 2500 Crew 6.0L (tow vehicle)
1991 FW 170 Freedom 4.3L (SOLD)

You can only inspect the gimbal and u-joint after pulling the drive off. If any water gets in there the gimbal will go quickly.

The gimbal bearing can last a very long time if properly lubed and bellows replaced before failure and allows water to get in. This is why it is recommended to pull drive at end of season and inspect for water intrusion, replace bellows as necessary to prevent failure.

do a search on bellows, u-joint or gimbal replacement, many threads on this

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2000 248 5.7L DP
'92, '94 SXI 750, '08 STX 15F, '12 Ultra LX 300
Videos

I agree with all of the above statements...you can only check a bellows for leaks by removing the drive and this should be done at the end of each season...a gimble that was greased regularly and never got water in could last a really long time...easily 10-20 years....

This is a fact of life for sterndrives...they need this regular maintenance...outboards are simpler in this respect....but they can have other issues...

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II

i had a growl in my 248 vista..found out i had a little tear in the u joint bellows ..had the gimble and u joint replaced now its like a new boat nice and quiet..so you should have it looked at.

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2000 [img][img][/img][/img]248 vista 5.0 gi dp
orillia ontario canada

clunking more likely to be a ujoint...gimble would make a howling like a bad wheel bearing on a car...in any event you're going to get it apart and see what it needs...then try to get on a schedule of pulling the drive each year and you'll be able to spot a problem before it gets really expensive...

I was reading about the new Volvo Ocean X sterndrive...specifically engineered for salt water (hope it's better than the OSI which was a flop from what I heard on the 'net) anyway it has two features which if they work could be a boon to owners of sterndrives...sensors to tell you if there is water in the bellows and gear oil...that would really reduce the frequency of expensive problems because you could catcht it right away...

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88 Four Winns 200 Horizon
4.3 OMC Cobra-4bbl
2002 Walker Bay 10/2012 Suzuki 2.5
2008 Walker Bay 8

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee 4.0/Selectrac
2007 Jeep Grand Cherokee 5.7 Hemi/Quadradrive II