Outdrive Movement

[RichardR]

Hello,

My 1990 Sea Ray Amberjack has the original twin Alpha same rotation drives on it. After deciding to replace the drives and move toward counter rotation of the port drive my local mechanic suggested repalcing the transom assemblies because both drives have several inches of movement left to right.
I felt that replacing the drives would solve the problem of left to right play in the drive. He disagrees. What are your thoughts? Thanks in advance.

Richard
Port Richey, Fl.

[Technical Support]

The left to right movement is most likely caused by the gimbal ring wearing where the upper swivel shaft goes through. If you move the drive left to right while looking at the bottom of the swivel shaft you should be able to see if the swivel shaft is moving or not. Look between the bell housing and the gimbal ring. There are two bolts at the top of the gimbal ring that have some ability to crush the gimbal ring around the swivel shaft. You could try tightening them to see if you can get rid of some of the slop. If not, then you will need to replace the gimbal rings. You should not need to replace the complete gimbal assemblies unless they are so corroded you can't get it apart.

Thanks,

Tech support