My bet is U-joint. Gimble bearings usually growl when bad. When turned fully to side or trimed up excessivly high, the u-joint is really working and the noise is more noticeable. Pull the drive and take a look.tcgravy said:
Lower Unit Clicking/Clunking
This problem started at the end of last summer and seems to be getting a little worse. Took it out over the weekend....
Mercruiser Alpha I Gen I on a 1987 Baja Sunsport, 350 I/O. Shifts into gear fine, runs fine, turns fine...without the noise you wouldnt notice anything being wrong.
Problem is at lower speeds when the wheel is turned all the way (left or right) there is a definite clicking/clunking sound coming from the lower unit. Only when wheel is all the way cranked in one direction. I can only notice it at lower speeds, but I think thats just because I cant hear it at higher speeds because of engine noise. Even at high speeds it turns just fine.
I was thinking maybe gimbal bearing or U-joint.....looking for input here.....
Mercruiser Alpha I Gen I on a 1987 Baja Sunsport, 350 I/O. Shifts into gear fine, runs fine, turns fine...without the noise you wouldnt notice anything being wrong.
Problem is at lower speeds when the wheel is turned all the way (left or right) there is a definite clicking/clunking sound coming from the lower unit. Only when wheel is all the way cranked in one direction. I can only notice it at lower speeds, but I think thats just because I cant hear it at higher speeds because of engine noise. Even at high speeds it turns just fine.
I was thinking maybe gimbal bearing or U-joint.....looking for input here.....
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Re: Re: Lower Unit Clicking/Clunking
Ditto,,,,, What He Said..US1Fountain said:My bet is U-joint. Gimble bearings usually growl when bad. When turned fully to side or trimed up excessivly high, the u-joint is really working and the noise is more noticeable. Pull the drive and take a look.
NORMAL operation of an ALPHA.
Mine did the same thing for 3 years. If you want to pull it to lube the ujoints fine.
But when you are done it will still click.
As long as it is not real LOUD
Mine did the same thing for 3 years. If you want to pull it to lube the ujoints fine.
But when you are done it will still click.
As long as it is not real LOUD
Re: Re: Re: Lower Unit Clicking/Clunking
you probably dont notice it at high speed cause you dont have the wheel turned all the way at WOT.
the u-joints would also have a load on them and wouldnt make any noise under acceleration
YEA, me tooFyhr Factor said:Ditto,,,,, What He Said..
you probably dont notice it at high speed cause you dont have the wheel turned all the way at WOT.
the u-joints would also have a load on them and wouldnt make any noise under acceleration
My Alpha doesn't make any noise at all, even whem turned full lock. It made the noise you are talking about when the gimbal bearing was bad.
My alpha does not make noise at full lock at all, very quite. I would check your u joints.
was on my nephews boat sunday and his made the same noise. He said it always did. He hasn't had the boat ver y long though
i always hated the clicking sound 
Yea.....I'm going to go tear it apart right now. It certainly doesnt seem like the clicking sound is normal operation.
I do think its true that you can drive with a bad gimbal or a bad u-joint for a long time, but I'd prefer to find the problem now, fix it, and have a great summer on the lake.
Thanks for the input guys....hopefully by this evening I'll have an update....
I do think its true that you can drive with a bad gimbal or a bad u-joint for a long time, but I'd prefer to find the problem now, fix it, and have a great summer on the lake.
Thanks for the input guys....hopefully by this evening I'll have an update....
OK - outdrive is off........
the u-joints look fine, there is little/no play in the outdrive/lower unit. The gimbal bearing also seems very solid and spins freely. There is no water build up in the bellows either.
As I said, there doesnt seem to be outdrive play either.
Any ideas here?
the u-joints look fine, there is little/no play in the outdrive/lower unit. The gimbal bearing also seems very solid and spins freely. There is no water build up in the bellows either.
As I said, there doesnt seem to be outdrive play either.
Any ideas here?
I had a broken tooth on the upper drive gear in my old Bravo one that sounded just as you described.
Have you checked all the gears closely?
Have you checked all the gears closely?
Gears look good, no shaved/missing teeth. Hopefully I'll have it back on the water in the next couple of days.....we'll see if the problem has persisted.
Right now I'm hoping that re-greasing the ujoints, steering pins and gimbal has fixed the problem...though I highly doubt it, because all of those felt clean and in good condition....
any other thoughts?
Right now I'm hoping that re-greasing the ujoints, steering pins and gimbal has fixed the problem...though I highly doubt it, because all of those felt clean and in good condition....
any other thoughts?
How about the pivot points on the transom assembly. The points where it trims? Or any play in the steering? When you mention it only does it when you steer on direction and it's not the u-joint makes me think there might be some play letting the drive rock back and forth or up and down...? Good Luck
can't always tell ujoints if they're not completely trashed without pulling the caps and inspecting the roller bearings... in other words, they might feel ok by hand and while mounted in the yokes, but when you take em apart and look you see a different story... just my experience...
my alpha drive doesn't make any clunks etc... unless I'm being a bonehead and shift into gear with the idle too high...
my alpha drive doesn't make any clunks etc... unless I'm being a bonehead and shift into gear with the idle too high...
I thought it may be pivot pins too, but they all look pretty tight in there.
I agree wtfo, the u-joints may be starting to go and just dont feel that bad yet. We'll see if greasing them did anything....if not then I may just run it a bit and see if I can figure anything out. The good thing is that pulling the drive and getting to those is an easy job.
Thanks for all the help guys. Any other ideas feel free to chime in again.
I agree wtfo, the u-joints may be starting to go and just dont feel that bad yet. We'll see if greasing them did anything....if not then I may just run it a bit and see if I can figure anything out. The good thing is that pulling the drive and getting to those is an easy job.
Thanks for all the help guys. Any other ideas feel free to chime in again.
Grease may help for now, but from what you described, it's the U-joints, it's just a matter of time before they get real bad. I just hope you don't wait too long before it wipes something else out..
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