Comparing new to old

[rcash]

Just received my new 106 to replace my Alpha R, and I noticed a few differences that I would like some clarification on.

1. My old drive has two SS washers, for the mounting studs, that are fastened to the housing by screws. The new drive does not have these. What is their purpose and why don't I need them on the new drive?

2. My old ujoint shaft only has two grooves for orings, but the new one has three. Also, I didn't find the two orings, closest to the drive, in the bell housing kit, so I had to carefully remove the old ones to install on the new shaft. Aren't they part of the install kit? I did find one that was a little larger to fit on the third groove, near the end of the shaft.

3. I assume the ujoint bearings were greased during assembly? Please confirm.

4. On the subject of grease, I have some extreme, saltwater resistant, general purpose grease made by StaLube, that is the same color and texture as what I see was used on different areas of the new drive. It specifies its usage for trailer wheel bearings, but do you know if this grease would be suitable to use on the splines, shift lever, and other areas during assembly?

5. When assembling the two parts together is there any sealant required where the oil passage holes meet?

Lastly, just out of curiousity, the new upper drive housing has a large, wide fin around the bottom, where my old drive had only a very small fin. Is this fin of any specific purpose, or is it just a design feature?

Sorry about all of the questions but I want to be sure everything goes together as it should. I do have a manual but it doesn't address all of these issues.

Can't wait to get it together and try it out.

Thank you...Randy

[Technical Support]

Randy,

Here are your answers.

1. These are called grounding washers. They are supposed to make sure that you have continuity between the gimbal assembly and the drive. You could try to reinstall them on the SE106 drive, but I think once you install the drive and tighten everything down, continuity will not be an issue.

2. The third o-ring is for use with a newer style coupler. You do not need to install the o-ring if your old yoke does not have it. If you do install it, that is okay too, it just doesn't serve any purpose. The o-rings should be in the gasket set.

3. The u-joints are greased at the factory, but it wouldn't hurt to grease them a bit more to make sure.

4. Any grease is better than no grease. Some companies make a specific grease for splines, but I always just use a marine wheel bearing grease.

5. There is no sealant required for the oil passage holes, but if you boat in salt water, you may want to put a little bit of grease on all the mounting studs and surfaces to make removal easier in the future.

6. If I had to guess, I would think that the large plate on the upper helps the drive to get the boat on plane and keep it on plane at a lower speed. Similar to the bolt on whale tales that some people use, although the whale tail would have much more surface area and therefore be more effective on some boats.

It could be just for looks though :)

Thanks,

Tech Support

[rcash]

Great answers. Thank you very much for your response to my questions.

Randy