SE106 upper wear issue?

[redsput]

My SE106 is just over two years old, has seen maybe 50-60 hours of use since installed. Followed the break in procedures to the letter and have used nothing but mercruiser LU oil. U-joints greased annually with the LU oil change. Toward the end of last season, I started getting that hammering noise while turning. We do a lot of tubing, so I figured I would check the u-joints, gimble bearing etc. The u-joints have some side to side slop, I'd est .020 to .030 at least. The gimble brg is still smooth, alignment is good. When turning the input shaft, seem like there is a LOT of slop in the upper. But then, I thought that since the day I removed it from the box. The drive has never been as quiet and smooth as the original was.

I pulled the top cover off to take a peek at the upper gears. The bearing and upper race doesn't look very good to me, and the gears have a odd wear pattern. It even looks like there is rust on the upper part of the shaft just below the bearing (which I assume may have been there since I got it?) There has NEVER been any hint of moisture in the old oil when changed. This is a fresh water boat, meticulously cared for, always trailered and stored indoors.

Technically, the drive has not "failed", what is covered with the warranty? I really don't want to run it till failure if there is a remedy now to spare future problems.

some pics attached

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[admin]

The unit is covered for 3 years, and you are having u-joint noise, so I would suggest calling the warranty department and sending the upper in for repair. The gears and bearing look pretty normal to me, but if there is a concern while it is here, we will certainly take care of it.

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