-
Welcome to the Checkmate Community Forums forums.
» Interact with over 10,000 Checkmate Fanatics from around the world!
You are currently viewing our boards as a guest which gives you limited access to view most discussions, articles and access to our other FREE features.
By joining our free community you will be able to:
» Post topics and messages
» Post and view photos
» Communicate privately with other members
» Access our extensive gallery of old Checkmate brochures located in our Media Gallery
» Browse the various pictures in our Checkmate photo gallery
Registration is fast, simple and absolutely free so please, join our community today!
If you have any problems with the registration process or your account login, please contact support by clicking here or by using the"contact us" link at the bottom of the page.
Gimbal ring and swivel shaft
- Thread starter BADBK
- Start date
Chris E
Well-known member
when i was in the business it was an expensive undertaking becuase generally we would replace everything back there when the gimbel ring went south - bellows, shift cable, ring and shaft, gimbel bearing, you name it, we replaced it. at the end of it, basically everything back there was replaced and good for another 10 years. labour wise it was the same amount of work to replace all than to just fix the one part and then take it all apart the next year to fix the next thing. do it once. big money but worth it.
GTStang
Member
Since I'm going through this right now with my bravo I'll share what I've learned going through the process.
The signs are there will be side to side movement of the outdrive before the steering/tiller arm moves and there can be up and down play of the gimbal ring. If it is bad enough you will def feel weirdness in your steering.
This video shows you what to look for in the very first part for play. Also shows the full disassembly without removing the whole transom.
JR Marine
What happens is on the bravo and newer non splined Alpha you have a swivel shaft that has two square sections on it. The large square section goes into the gimbal ring that has a machined square that is split. The u-bolt clamps down on that part to close the square and locks the gimbal ring to the swivel shaft. The smaller square goes into the steering/tiller arm which also has a machined square that has one end open and a bolt is used to close it and clamp down.
Swivel Shaft and Steering Arm:
Stock Gimbal Ring Square:
Those 1/4 circles are not wear marks Mercury drills a hole then square punches.
When one of these square on square connections corrodes, wears away, loosens/eggs out, etc.., you get that play. You can't just retighten(i tried), the only way to fix it is to replace/repair the part that is out of spec(swivel shaft, gimbal ring, steering arm).
Tough to say how long cause depending what part and and why it's failing along with how you drive the boat will all be big factors.
In the end you need to inspect how bad the play on yours is and how you want to use the boat and make your own personal judgement/risk assessment. It is something that could cause you to lose all steering control and the outdrive will just snap to one side or the other. At top speed in a fast boat that is not going to end well.
The signs are there will be side to side movement of the outdrive before the steering/tiller arm moves and there can be up and down play of the gimbal ring. If it is bad enough you will def feel weirdness in your steering.
This video shows you what to look for in the very first part for play. Also shows the full disassembly without removing the whole transom.
JR Marine
What happens is on the bravo and newer non splined Alpha you have a swivel shaft that has two square sections on it. The large square section goes into the gimbal ring that has a machined square that is split. The u-bolt clamps down on that part to close the square and locks the gimbal ring to the swivel shaft. The smaller square goes into the steering/tiller arm which also has a machined square that has one end open and a bolt is used to close it and clamp down.
Swivel Shaft and Steering Arm:
Stock Gimbal Ring Square:
Those 1/4 circles are not wear marks Mercury drills a hole then square punches.
When one of these square on square connections corrodes, wears away, loosens/eggs out, etc.., you get that play. You can't just retighten(i tried), the only way to fix it is to replace/repair the part that is out of spec(swivel shaft, gimbal ring, steering arm).
Tough to say how long cause depending what part and and why it's failing along with how you drive the boat will all be big factors.
In the end you need to inspect how bad the play on yours is and how you want to use the boat and make your own personal judgement/risk assessment. It is something that could cause you to lose all steering control and the outdrive will just snap to one side or the other. At top speed in a fast boat that is not going to end well.
Last edited:
Gimme Fuel
Well-known member
Depending on what it needs, sometimes you can get deals on complete new transom assemblies which makes it a easy swap....but motor needs to be removed or supported. Removed if you want to change inner plate.....supported if you reuse your old inner plate.
My 253 had the gimbal ring replaced using the merc method with two plugs on side of housing. I will say that is difficult to keep everything tight as you tighten the main nut with a punch and hammer. I had to re-tighten everything after I bought it but rock solid after that.
FWIW external hydraulic steering virtually stops wear on the gimbal ring because of how much better it is supported. Something to think about. If the tiller is loose but everything else is ok, find a used external steering setup and once installed, the tiller arm is no longer used at all. That might be a cheaper alternative once you start talking about paying someone to rebuild the gimbal assy. You can install the hydro ram yourself. It actually isnt that bad of a project, just measure 16 times, cut once!
My 253 had the gimbal ring replaced using the merc method with two plugs on side of housing. I will say that is difficult to keep everything tight as you tighten the main nut with a punch and hammer. I had to re-tighten everything after I bought it but rock solid after that.
FWIW external hydraulic steering virtually stops wear on the gimbal ring because of how much better it is supported. Something to think about. If the tiller is loose but everything else is ok, find a used external steering setup and once installed, the tiller arm is no longer used at all. That might be a cheaper alternative once you start talking about paying someone to rebuild the gimbal assy. You can install the hydro ram yourself. It actually isnt that bad of a project, just measure 16 times, cut once!
BADBK
Well-known member
Good stuff guys, thanks.
Reason I asked is because my brother just bought an I/O. Was told it was squared away... he's ran it 4-5 times this year and it's junk. I thought it was pretty shady and the previous owner would more than likely have known it was going bad/needed work.
Reason I asked is because my brother just bought an I/O. Was told it was squared away... he's ran it 4-5 times this year and it's junk. I thought it was pretty shady and the previous owner would more than likely have known it was going bad/needed work.
GTStang
Member
Agree if you go to external hydraulic steering you should never have these issue. The swivel shaft just becomes what the drive will pivot on for left to right movement. The force applied to keep the drive in place and turn are now moved to the end of the drive where the rams are instead of the two squares on the swivel shaft.
After I fix mine I'm going to external steering so I don't have to deal with it ever again.
If you do it yourself the way JR Marine shows it can be done for $500-$1000 depending how bad the hard parts are.
After I fix mine I'm going to external steering so I don't have to deal with it ever again.
If you do it yourself the way JR Marine shows it can be done for $500-$1000 depending how bad the hard parts are.
Big Red
Well-known member
Dont do the way with the plugs on the side that way sucks,, I did it that way the better way is threw the front now.. ndaniels .. Nick did a good post with his superboat..
Here is the thread this is the best way
http://checkmate-boats.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15308
.
.
Here is the thread this is the best way
http://checkmate-boats.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15308
.
.