Gimbal bearing or U-joint
 

Hi,

New to the forum not to the site as I've been lurking around for a couple of weeks now. I've been into snowmobiles, bikes and cars and never boats. I finally decided to the take the plunge and purchased an 07' Mariah SX19 with a 4.3 Mercrusier engine. Previous boat owner rarely used it and it's been sitting for the last 2 two seasons.

With some help from friends that are boat owners we changed all the fluids and looked over the boat and took it out for a test run. Everything went well and it ran perfect.

The next day I decided to go out and when I started the engine there was a squeeking sound for a few seconds and then it stopped but occasionally it would appear and disappear. It takes about 5-10 mins to get out into open water from the marina I was at so I was moving along fairly slowly. As I approached the open water I accelerated and there was a loud thud. I stopped the boat immediately and nothing appeared out of the ordinary. I started it once again and it idled fine. I put it in drive and it makes this loud whirring noise so I turned aroud and head back. I drove it back slowly back to the marina and loaded it up. Here's a video I took, the quality isn't the greatest but I hope it helps to hear the noise. YouTube - VID 00000-20100524-1407.3GP

From what I've read it can possibly be two things. Gimbal bearing or the u joints..... On a boat this new with no real hours on it can anyone else think of what it might be? It looks like I'm removing the drive to get to these two parts. Are the manuals available on this site?

Thanks in advance for your help.

Re: Gimbal bearing or U-joint
 

Update

I removed the drive last night and I took pictures of what I found. Looks like water managed to get into the U-Joint and Gimbal bearing areas. Lot's crud and dried up grease. The drive shaft might have worn spot on it. You can see the ring close to the knuckle. I tried spinning the bearing with my fingers and it sounds rough.... needs to be replaced. Ujoints moved freely but I'm going to replace them anyways. Now I'm assuming the water got in there through the rubber boot to begin with I can't see where else it came from. Any ideas?

Can anyone tell me if the manuals for my boat are located on this site?

Re: Gimbal bearing or U-joint
 

Merc service manual links. - iboats Boating Forums 1693398
I think they have them on this site, if not look here. I need to pull mine as well and inspect. Good luck

Re: Gimbal bearing or U-joint
 

There's nothing like a member recommending you go elsewhere (iboats) for help. :mad:

We do have them here at our own site under the Maintenance & Repairs section:
Service, Repair, and Operating Manuals
A special feature for contributing members. Access to Volvo Penta and Mercury MerCruiser service manuals.

Click here for information on how to access

Re: Gimbal bearing or U-joint
 

So I went to Mercrusier and to purchase my parts and they wanted $305 for the kit. P/N# 30-803099T1

I thought this might be reasonable until I started looking around and there are aftermarket kits available for as low as $79 from a company by the name of SEI.... Has anyone ever purchased their product? It's currently on EBAY Mercruiser Alpha one Gen 2 Transom Seal Kit 30-803099T1 on eBay.ca (item 370306812843 end time 12-Jun-10 16:34:32 EDT)

I can get the Sierra kit for $129....

Re: Gimbal bearing or U-joint
 

Do yourself a favor, and go with the OEM kit. The rubber in the bellows is far superior and will last much longer. Don't forget to use bellows adhesive too.;)