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Black Max 200 help !

J

JK86 Starflite

Member
Has anyone removed the swivel bracket from their merc 200? I have a very tight bracket, probably due to corrosion and need to get it apart to clean and lubricate. I don't think heat and fresh grease is going to free it up enough. Can the upper bracket bolts be removed by removing the drive housing? I have been checking all the available part diagrams, but it is not quite clear. Any knowledge of this procedure would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
JK
 
you sure its the bracket an not the steering cables? - just double checking. i believe this job includes removing powerhead and and lower unit.
 
It is not the cables. The motor is hanging on the cherry picker right now. I spent three hours removing the old tilt tube this past saturday, it wore me out! Now the swivel tube needs to be done. Do you know how difficult removing the power head will be and is there anything to "watch out" for? I was hoping to not have to dissasemble the whole engine.
 
I am currently having the same problem with the my XR2 on an old Bass boat I have. But, after reading this I think I am going to live with the tight steering.
 
I have no choice at this point. The swivel is so tight I had to muscle the steering wheel just to turn it a small amount. Any engine rebuilders out there???
 
last time we did one was a 90hp merc. it was a big job with a lot of small and expensive parts if i remember right. if this is the first time for doing a job like this i recommend you get a service manual. it will make your life a lot easier.
 
I have a manual for this engine and have ripped plenty of other stuff like it down before. I think I might be able to remove the gear housing and then take the bottom yoke off the tube and then slide (slide, yeah right!) the bracket off. I was hoping I could find someone who had done this before. No matter how much mechanical experience you have it is always best to ask questions on something new. There is nothing better than "been there done that"! If I don't get any other suggestions I'll be letting you know next week how it went. One way or another this thing it getting done on Saturday. Thanks
JK
 
tite steering

I removed the grease zerks and squirted Sili-kroil (Kano Labs) creeps to 1 millionth of an inch and then rotate back and forth, and a few days later it was good as new. Try it out
 
JK
I did my 200 a couple of years ago but it was because the splines at the bottom had worn out. It is odd that it has seized up because there is no metal to metal contact. There are plastic bushings top and bottom and composite sleeves along the shaft. I suppose it could be full of rust or crud. The void is supposed to be full of grease.
Nevertheless, if it has to come out, you must pull the powerhead. The expense of that comes in replacing the gaskets.
Here's the procedure as I remember it: First pull the powerhead. 6-8 bolts. Then split the top of mid housing to get at upper motor mounts. 6-8 bolts. Undo the upper and lower mounts and remove the mid-section. Only now can you pull the pivot shaft out. Difficult? Not really. A lot of trouble? Yes.
You have to replace both the powerhead and top housing gaskets. And don't forget to carefully clean off the old gaskets or you may not get a good seal.
If you do go for it, here's a little tip. Install the lower motor mount bolts backwards...next time you will be able to pull the shaft by simply undoing those 2 bolts. Take a good look at it, you'll know what I am talking about.
 
Oh ya, one other thing. It is a royal pain trying to reinstall the retaining ring under the yoke. Is yours still in place? Half the Mercs out there have them hanging down around the shift shaft. A very badly designed system. Go look at a Yamaha, a snap ring that will never fall off and is a breeze to reinstall.
 
Thanks Mark,
When I got home last night I realized that the bottom bolts would not allow me to get the bracket off without removing the powerhead, bad engineering in my opinion. If they were mounted the opposite way as you suggest, it would be much easier. This bracket is not siezed but takes a lot of force to move. I may try some heat and some sort of solvent before removing the powerhead, ya never know! I'll see if I can find the product mentioned by Eluder. The previous owner left this boat in the water in NY. As I mentioned before the tilt tube was a SOB to remove, I had to beat it out with a pipe and a sledge for three hours! so I assume the swivel is in the same condition. Once I remove it, I might have to take it to a machine shop to have the shaft pressed out, we'll see. As far as the retaining ring goes, I hope to put it back on with the whole assembly on the bench. I'll let you know how it goes as I will be tackling it tomorrow. Thanks for all the help.
JK
 
well thank God for chemicals! I tried some PB Blaster in the swivel before trying to remove it and it worked. I figured out that it was only the top bushing that was tight because grease was oozing very well out the bottom. After a day of leaving the Blaster soak in I soaked it with a slicone spray and it moves much better. I will bet that when it gets to 90 degrees things will loosen even more. Thanks for the help guy's. From here on in, everything else should be really easy.
JK
 
getting oil in grease zerks

at work the mechanics there you a port a power to squirt hydralic fluid into frozen zerks on our big haul trucks. (40 ton euclids) they just adapt the hose with some fittings then use the port a power to pump the fluid. once it flows freely put the zerk in and pump full of grease. works like a charm
 
Thanks, I know someone with that type of equip if I find I need it further. The design of the swivel bracket made it very convienent to fill the area around the top of the shaft with penetrating oil. I just blocked off the hole where the trim indicator wire goes through with the tip of an old caulk tube, tipped the motor forward slightly and this made it possible to spray in a pool of oil that slowly seeped into the shaft. So far it has worked great and the temps here in Md are still around freezing. Anyone else with this problem should spend the time to try this before removing the powerhead. Saves a lot of work! Thanks All
JK
 
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