Has anyone here ever replaced the gimbal bearing on their outdrive? It does not look too difficult as long as you have the correct tools. We have a Mercruiser 5.7L with an Alpha One outdrive. We are not even certain it is bad but my son claims he feels a vibration from the OD. Some helpful soul mentioned the gimbal bearing. No noises as far as I can tell but I am deaf as a post so I can't be much help in the listening department. Is there a way to lubricate the bearing through a grease fitting or do you have to drop the lower part of the OD ? Any suggestions or comments (sensible) would be appreciated. He plans on pulling the boat out next week to check it out.

I can't believe it. 260 views on this post and not one reply. Might as well remove Tec talk from the forum. You would think somebody in here would have some experience in this subject.

We pulled the boat out and had it checked. No bearing problem was detected. The alternator is on its way out though and , that, we will deal with over the winter. Just another couple hundred dollars gone. My Dad was right. B-O-A-T stands for " Break Out Another Thousand ".

Hey Bud you have to pull the whole outdrive to get at the gimble bearing and it should be greased every 2 yrs. max. I've never replaced one but it can be done by yourself. Hope this helps you out if you have the original manual on the motor & out drive you should be able to see what you have to do or you can buy manuals at most marine stores Bass Pro Etc. Have a good one EH!!!

Bakie, don't you need the alignment tool for that?

I,m not sure adout an alignment tool but I would think not you aren't moving the motor, I'll check with a couple of my buddies & let you know.