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WORN GIMBAL RING - BRAVO ONE

kimbalee

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Dave please move if there's a better forum for this but my question is has anyone replaced theirs themselves? How involved was it (have seen the youtube vids)? What was the cost doing it yourself vs outsourcing it? Anyone heard of JR Marine in Ohio and his (Ron Bender) kit and if so how was your experience? Still in the research stage but have to get mine done before next season. Any and all suggestions and advice appreciated. Thx
 

Enen

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I have never heard of a gimbal ring wearing out. Did it crack?

I would think that a professional installation would be appropriate in this situation. Personally I wouldn't want to risk a mistake due to inexperience with something as critical as a gimbal.
 

Dettom

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I had one replaced years ago because it was worn. Motor had to come out of the boat. It's not a do it yourself project. Take it in, do it right, bring money. I think mine, all said and done was about 3,000. But I had to replace a flex plate too, so that could be another reason.
 

DaveC

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Are you talking about the steering? Or something else.

My steering is plain worn out at the gimbal. Changing over to full hydraulic to eliminate the OE steering.
 

BDMar

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Pretty sure by worn out he means the top square hole that clamps on the steering pin. Very common when the steering pin clamp bolt isn't torqued every year at service time.
As said, it is not a good do it yourself project. To do it properly, the engine needs to come out and the whole gimbal assy removed from the boat. You can do it by drilling large holes in the top of the gimbal housing, but most of the time you can't access the locknut on the top of the steering pin. Definitely a better job by removing from the boat.
 

575cat

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I have done it myself , again a person spends more time thinking about it than doing it , get the kit and get it done do some measuring and cut the hole I made my own stainless cover plate tapped the housing to put 4 fasteners in I had to snip the nut with a torch and split it with an air chisel , yes you should be skillful .
 

kimbalee

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I have done it myself , again a person spends more time thinking about it than doing it , get the kit and get it done do some measuring and cut the hole I made my own stainless cover plate tapped the housing to put 4 fasteners in I had to snip the nut with a torch and split it with an air chisel , yes you should be skillful .

Thx all - yes, the husband is very skillful & has always done his own everything on the boat - the boat is an 03 Lavey - never had any problems with it & from all the research it is normal wear (we boat a LOT & there is a tiny bit of play in the steering so its time to replace). So no experiences with JR Marine's stainless replacement kit huh? I see on OSO the guys swear by this guy Ron Bender. I will report back once its done. Thx again
 

mjc

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Thx all - yes, the husband is very skillful & has always done his own everything on the boat - the boat is an 03 Lavey - never had any problems with it & from all the research it is normal wear (we boat a LOT & there is a tiny bit of play in the steering so its time to replace). So no experiences with JR Marine's stainless replacement kit huh? I see on OSO the guys swear by this guy Ron Bender. I will report back once its done. Thx again

I have had to replace one before, even if you do it yourself just get a new part they aren't that expensive.
 

throttle

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I gotta say, I was at the shop when mine was pulled once. It gave the guys one hell of a fight to get out.

While its out, be sure to check the shaft for alignment, no pun intended.
 

Racey

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Pretty sure by worn out he means the top square hole that clamps on the steering pin. Very common when the steering pin clamp bolt isn't torqued every year at service time.
As said, it is not a good do it yourself project. To do it properly, the engine needs to come out and the whole gimbal assy removed from the boat. You can do it by drilling large holes in the top of the gimbal housing, but most of the time you can't access the locknut on the top of the steering pin. Definitely a better job by removing from the boat.

Yep, it's a major project for a DIY'r to take on. Trying to do it with the engine in usually just ends up being more of a pain in the ass than pulling the engine and the inner transom plate so you can take the entire gimbal housing and work on it on the bench.

I did SKIA36's 30' Hallett back in May, i also had to change from a leaking saginaw to brazil steering rack and relocate a bunch of the engine electronic bracketry to clear the new rack (Had the motor basically all the way in the boat and it wouldn't fit, had to take it all back apart lol). What a huge cluster, it ended up taking a week by the time it was all said and done. The Gimbals alone take an entire day to do a pair if you have them on the bench, by the time you completely disassemble and then do the pins/bushings, seals, anode wires, bellows, blah blah blah.... They are really kind of a pain to do because once they start going together they get harder and harder to work on, floppy, and hard to reach things like the drive oil hose clamps etc. I'm sure if you do them more often you learn some tricks and shortcuts.

I'd rather weld and machine :p

Also like Brian says here, those two nuts on the top of the ring that are on the steering pin u-bolt should be torqued yearly, once they start getting loose it wears out QUICK, and then starts leaking water into the boat.
 

guest hs

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I have done many over the years the easiest way is to get the plug kit from Merc. use the template to drill the holes to access the steering pin fasteners. I have used Ron Benders cover plate fit. It works good but its a pain in the ass to cut the front of the transom assy. with what he includes in the kit. to install his kit. There's really no need to remove the engine. Its about an 8 hour job if you don't remove the engine.
 

Ragged Edge

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Pretty sure by worn out he means the top square hole that clamps on the steering pin. Very common when the steering pin clamp bolt isn't torqued every year at service time.
As said, it is not a good do it yourself project. To do it properly, the engine needs to come out and the whole gimbal assy removed from the boat. You can do it by drilling large holes in the top of the gimbal housing, but most of the time you can't access the locknut on the top of the steering pin. Definitely a better job by removing from the boat.

Does this clamp bolt need to be torqued every year if you have hydraulic steering or only if you are using the Merc tiller arm?
 

Marine Industries West

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It's a big job, the last few boats we've just replaced the entire transom assembly. By the time you buy all the associated parts to replace the gimbal ring, then change all the bellows, shift cable, and gimbal bearing, cause you're in that deep you might as well change it all, plus all the labor to rebuild the transom, it's cheaper to get a whole new unit. Plus you get a sellable transom assembly you can easily get 500.00 back out of. You'll still have the R&R labor for the transom and engine, but in the end, it will save you money to buy the new transom assembly. Plus the labor of the job goes very fast. The engine wouldn't even come off the hoist. Lift the motor up, 30 minutes to knock the old transom assembly out, 30 minutes to install the new transom assembly, and you're ready to dip the motor back in.
 

Bleakish Times

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Are you talking about the steering? Or something else.

My steering is plain worn out at the gimbal. Changing over to full hydraulic to eliminate the OE steering.

When do you plan on doing this?

Is it cost competitive to replacing/rebuilding the gimbal?
 

Bleakish Times

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I have done many over the years the easiest way is to get the plug kit from Merc. use the template to drill the holes to access the steering pin fasteners. I have used Ron Benders cover plate fit. It works good but its a pain in the ass to cut the front of the transom assy. with what he includes in the kit. to install his kit. There's really no need to remove the engine. Its about an 8 hour job if you don't remove the engine.

What is a "plug kit from Merc" ? Any link available?
 

LargeOrangeFont

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Guys,
Correct me if I am wrong, but this is what needs to be torqued yearly correct?
50-55 lb.ft is the spec, right?

DSC04031.jpg
 

mjc

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Guys,
Correct me if I am wrong, but this is what needs to be torqued yearly correct?
50-55 lb.ft is the spec, right?

DSC04031.jpg

Yes and it looks like somebody already did the replacement with motor in the boat.
 

Racey

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Does this clamp bolt need to be torqued every year if you have hydraulic steering or only if you are using the Merc tiller arm?

The only load against it if you aren't using the internal tiller is thrust load from propulsion. It will probably be fine, i would check it just to be sure as every case may be a bit different, but the majority of problems come from the square working because of the tiller arm pushing back and forth.
 

Mandelon

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I had in done a couple years ago to my 2003 Lavey as well... I think it was around $2400. Local mechanic in Havasu.

Where are you located?
 

Ragged Edge

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The only load against it if you aren't using the internal tiller is thrust load from propulsion. It will probably be fine, i would check it just to be sure as every case may be a bit different, but the majority of problems come from the square working because of the tiller arm pushing back and forth.

Thanks Racey. I'll start checking them at the beginning of every season.
 

JJK94

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Hill Marine makes a stainless Steel Ring replacement.
 
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