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Alright everybody... I've just received my shop manual for the motor, the parts manuals for the motor and outdrive, and I should be receiving the outdrive shop manual either tomorrow or Thursday. I'm sure there will be 'maintenance tips & schedules' in there (I'm not home, and have yet to actually see anything), but I was hoping some of you not-so-novice boaters had some advice. I'm familiar with maintenance and stuff I should look for and replace to be safe on the motor (gaskets, spark plugs, wires, what have you)... but the outdrive is a whole new animal to me. It's been sitting off the boat for some time now (probably at least since winter) and it was on its side on the floor when I picked it up (and currently, actually.. I haven't had time to build a 2x4 stand for it yet...). The input shaft (eh, it's what I'm calling, I don't know the actual name of it) has been open to the elements (of a garage), and is still covered in grease, so there is no rust. In fact, there is no rust anywhere on anything. Basically what I'm asking is... what should I look for, replace, lube up, check, etc on the Mercruiser Alpha 1 outdrive before I install it back onto the boat, and run it? The seller told me that I should replace the water pump/impeller dealy... but offered nothing else (as he doesn't seem to know much about it either). The shop manual will tell me how to do anything you guys tell me I should do, so I don't need detailed instructions or anything (it wouldn't hurt tho!!), just general stuff I should do before rocking this sucka on the water.

Thanks!!

(P.S. 1987 Horizon 190 w/ 4.3L Mercruiser 175/V6 & Alpha 1 Outdrive)

Outdrive: replace the u-joints, replace the gimbal assembly, replace the impeller and ensure that the housing around the impeller is still OK (no corrosion, cracking, etc.), inspect o-rings and seals present in upper and lower, inspect all bellows (and probably replace them-especially if they are the originals). In addition to the unit, I'd check the shifter assembly to make sure it moves freely and is not corroded into one position or difficult to move due to corrosion.

The u-joints and gimbal may not necessarily require replacement, but I'd do it while I had it all apart. From what I recall, these parts are not horribly expensive on an A-1. I'd also pull the prop and inspect the shaft and the seal on the shaft to make sure they haven't been damaged by corrosion, fishing line, etc.

Seems that the most common problems on these units are leaky seals, impellers, gimbal, u-joints, leaky bellows, and shifter/shifter cable problems.

Good luck. I'm sure some of the more mechanically knowledgeable guys will add more.

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Paul
2007 Four Winns Horizon 220
Mercruiser 350 Mag MPI w/ Bravo III Drive
2004 Ford Explorer Limited (V8-AWD)
Pomme de Terre Lake (Southwest Missouri)

I think Paul hit it exactly.

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Mike
2005 Four Winns 230/240
VP 5.7GXi/DP
1998 F-150 XLT
Boat Pic

Awesome, thanks a lot! Hopefully I get my A-1 shop manual in today and I can visually see what you're talking about (as again.. i know nothing about outdrives whatsoever).

I haven't gotten around to checking out the A-1 yet, but I'll probably replace the U-Joints.. they're cheap enough (about 45$, for each actual u-joint... its 410 for the whole u joint assembly, including the shafts, etc). ... The gimbal assembly wont be getting replaced (List : $1215, I found it for $972)... I'm not going to spend more on that one thing than i spent on the entire boat. I'll probably check out, and maybe replace the gimbal bearing (67$), and inspect the bellows (also pretty cheap).. and def replace the impeller (i think the whole kit to rebuild it is like 44$). I'll also check all the o-rings I can find and replace as many as I can.

Does anyone know if automotive gaskets are the same as marine gaskets, or if there is any difference at all? The closest marina to me is about 2 hours away, and if i can pick these babies up at the local parts store, that would be great. (im talking engine water pump, thermostat housing, exhaust manifolds.. obviously nothing specific to marine stuff (sterndrive).

Thanks!

You have a couple of choices, if you're new to sterndrives, and can find a good honest mechanic, letting them go thru it for you can save a lot of trouble on the water. They wil notice things that have to be done, that you might miss, especially with the lower unit. I did this with my old 88 OMC Cobra, it did not shift right and the engine cut out under load. I tried all the usual tune up steps I could think of, but it turned out to be a corroded anti siphon valve on the gas tank, and the shifting issue was a build up of corrosion in the cavity where the shift cable moves back and forth. After they fixed those two things, I had to have a few seals in the drive and the bellows replaced. But it was 14 years old then and since those repairs were done, it has been pretty trouble free. I have been able to do just the yearly maintenance myself.
As far as the ujoints and gimble,(NO need to replace gimble assemby unless cracked or corroded!!) you can try to see if they ujoints have play in them or seem to bind, and the gimble should rotate smoothly when you spin it with your finger. If the joints seem nice and tight and do not bind, and the gimble spins smoothly with no roughness, I'd put it together and try it out on the hose and listen for noises and vibrations before putting it in the water. If you are going to replace the drive shaft bellows, be very careful, it's not that easy on a A-1 (easier on the OMC Cobra or Volvo SX) and if you goof up you will ruin the gimble and ujoints because of water intrusion. Similarly, the impeller replacement on the A-1 involves dropping the lower gear housing like on an outboard and is a bit more complex than doing on a Cobra (impeller in the rear of the upper gear housing, nice design!) or a Volvo with an engine mounted pump. Read through the manuals and see what your comfort level is with these jobs.

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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