Rebuilding the Gimbal Housing and Bellows Replacement

In Today's video we Rebuild the Gimbal Housing on my Mercruiser Alpha I Gen. 2 outdrive. This is very similar to the process for Bravo drives as well.
We Replace all of the bellows( U-joint bellows, Exhaust Bellows, and Shift-cable Bellows), replace the gimbal bearing as well as the Water hose and Oil Line. We also repair the speedometer tubing and trim sender wires.
Product Links*:
Mercruiser Alpha I Gen II Bellows Kit - amzn.to/3gR0G6h
Drive Shaft Alignment Tool - amzn.to/3lDKo4j
Bellows retainer Sleeve Installation Tool - amzn.to/2QNT1ec
Gimbal Bearing Installation Tool - amzn.to/3lCYbYQ
Mercury Hinge Pin Tool - amzn.to/31SUXc5
Oil Line: amzn.to/32lk9b5
*Disclaimer: I receive a small amount of commission from Amazon when the links above are used to order items. Even a different item than what is linked. So if you want to help support the channel at no extra cost to you, it's a great way to do so :)
Contact Info:
Email: [e-mail]
Instagram: _zachsgarage
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[@gordonlentz2340]

It's nice to see someone being totally honest about how they made mistakes and to show them so we benefit and save time. Good job bro and thanks

[@mastershakebmore]

Great video! Couple of things I noticed thought, you don't have to put bellows adhesive on the u-joint bellows where it meets the bell housing, the retaining ring seals that end. Only need it where it meets the gimbal housing where it's secured with the hose clamp. You DO need bellows adhesive on the shift bellows where it's attached to the gimbal housing. Also, you should use perfect seal/Permatex aviation form a gasket on the speedo fitting threads.

[@ZachsGarage1]

Thanks! Great info!

[@sirlancair]

Thank you for taking the time and making the effort to video and post. Most folks are into outboards seems these days..but I love my twin 488 4 cylinder mercs in my 25 bertram flybridge sportsfisherman. Now I feel more confident to change the bellows , bearing etc when the time comes

[@mikee2398]

Just bought my first boat. You're going to be more helpful than you know! Great vids.

[@kw57rx8dr.9]

Don't use electrical tape on wires exposed to liquid it's terrible for that. Use 3M tape that bonds to itself when stretched, it uses no adhesive to bond it seals by chemical reaction and is rubberized for a nice water tight seal and good durability. The 2 X 4 tip though is a good one but you also could have raised and gently dropped the outdrive to use it's own weight to pull it from the gimbal like a jackhammer, I choose to utilize the 2X4 piece myself if my outdrive even works on the boat I acquired, I've yet to evaluate the electrical fully but I know there is issues with that.

[@garylarose2561]

My out drive was making noise especially during slow turns. After noticing a lot of water pumping out while my bilge pump was on, I knew I had problems. This video shined a light on the fix. Now for the fix!

[@Thewrightstuff777]

Really cool job! I’ve seen how doing gimbal work is difficult no matter what brand it is. And they ALL have “special” tools that are often pricey.

[@SmokedTirez]

Every niche has special tools especially jetskis,motorcycles and cars/trucks planes etc but basically thats why marine mechanics get paid what they do and when you do a few jobs with the tools it usually pays for itself after that in rewards. The tools alone needed to do the job let alone the technical knowledge of how to do it step by step to get the tasks done quick n efficiently is what you pay for..Sure theres Marinas with shoddy mechanics and thats because they cant pay a real marine mechanic what hes really worth and stay in business so they settle for hit n miss diagnosers or as I call them second rate parts changers that surprisingly generate money too when they hook the golden whales with deep pockets that want to get out on the water.

[@stevendegreef93]

Come on.... electrical tape! And that’s probably not a “safety wire” but a “grounding wire”!

[@floridagirl386]

It's also a safety wire. It's a 3 circuit system & the ground actually protects the electric circuit from fires or shock, therefore also being a safety wire.

[@floridagirl386]

Mostly older people call it that though. Or they call it earth lol

[@ВладимирХомидов]

Thank you,i repair my sea ray 180 with alpha ,hello from Russia

[@ashipshow]

great video! One word of advice, if you spray the bellows retaining ring with quicksilver powertune, it goes in so easy, you can pretty much do it by hand without the tool.

[@ZachsGarage1]

Thanks! Good advice!

[@JamesBakariTV]

Thank you for making this video I am about to tactical a full on engine (350 5.7) and drive rebuild wish me luck

[@trendkilla254]

Holy shit this video is pretty damn perfect. Thank you!

[@ZachsGarage1]

Thank you! I hope it is helpful for you!

[@BrandBrian]

This makes me want to SELL before I have to deal with these problems. ...and I thought changing the impeller was a pain.

[@ZachsGarage1]

Old fixer uppers' just need a little love

[@neverclevernorwitty7821]

Worked my bellows repair today, got the bell housing removed from the gimbal housing, took about 2 hours. Half that time was on the water hose, agreed, what a PITA!

[@ZachsGarage1]

I agree! Huge PITA! Only thing that made it easier was slicing the darn thing

[@jmo6722]

Great video, any reason why not replace the trim sender and limit switch? A lot of work to remove unit if these fail

[@ZachsGarage1]

It's only money 🤑

[@XALTEREGO1]

a zip tie on the oil line ? you are asking for trouble

[@fritzc.9700]

There's no pressure in that oil line, it's gravity fed from the reservoir

[@roysiewerth980]

Nice video but let’s use the proper tools to do the job Socket and extensions to drive things out not right

[@KurtKoster-s6t]

I've done that rebuild once ,what a I though a mess,then switched to jet drive less moving parts,but they have problems too,not as many

[@libingliang7967]

you need upload a trim adjustment, there's no-one post this

[@Dwq47]

Hi Zack, mind helping a fellow boater out??I don’t plan on doing any repairs to my boat, I just don’t have the tools or skills but I want to understands this all. I have a bravo one with a decent amount of play (3.5” or 7.72 degrees). I think I need a new gimbal ring. Here’s a video of the play in the gimbal ring side to side- kzbin.infoAQFZvOBoGSM?feature=share . There isn’t much vertical play in the outdrive, it’s fairly stable. Does it seem to be a bad gimbal ring?

[@goneballistic]

good video, appreciate the tips. I would not trust that clear plastic tubing as far as I could throw it, that stuff degrades quickly in the sun and heat.

[@bretnewman286]

Bravo is all I can Say! Great Attempt and Great Advise Followed from one who has confidence and is not afraid to pass on a tip or two of Knowledge.

[@beyondrvcampers4129]

Hi there, I need to rebuild my mercruiser 3.0, could u tell me where I can buy all the parts. Thanks

[@ZachsGarage1]

All of the links for the parts I use in this video are in the description above. Also, in addition to rebuilding the gimbal housing, if you are rebuilding the engine itself, checkout my engine rebuild video. I also list the parts I used in the description there docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/151qjGcmrvE5JpPQ8q5yXeylS3ly_TJpWVcAeYYnLgY0/edit#gid=0

[@sharronhumphries6727]

Thank you for sharing this !!!.

[@portagepete1]

6,56 Cable does not pull through. Caution cable now stuck and cant get in or out.

[@bradburns1468]

This has helped me so much, thank you!

[@ZachsGarage1]

I'm glad!

[@eddepet3196]

My god, that looks complicated! But it is necessary to replace the bellows every now and then. My buddy 1997 Bayliner sank in the harbor because the big bellows had burst. so during one night the water filled his boat. it cost him a small fortune to fix everything. I don't know in the US, but insurance here (Netherlands) didn't pay out because it was a lack of maintenance …But I'm so NOT looking forward to start with this major job.

[@ZachsGarage1]

It is quite the undertaking, but most of the individual steps are not too difficult. That sucks about the insurance for you buddy!

[@sirlancair]

Very difficult to find someone who knows or willing to work on these. Good job!

[@rogerlehr7991]

Very hard to find somebody at a reasonable rate best thing to do get a book and do it yourself if you’re mechanically inclined that’s what I do

[@biggifrank69]

Called every single marine place within a hundred miles and couldn't find a single one to do it. I ended up doing it myself the bellows leaks now gotta re do it

[@neverclevernorwitty7821]

@@biggifrank69 Oh no! I am in the middle of doing my repair now, I am planning to wait a day after gluing each bellow sleeve so it sets before moving onto the next. Ya also really need to clean the bell and gimbal housing metal sleeves (I'm using a stainless steel brush with paint thinner) and also clean the rubber insides of the sleeve with light sandpaper and paint thinner. The OEM rubber bellows come coated with an anti-rat poison that will impede a good glue seal that needs some treatment before you glue it on.

[@biggifrank69]

@@neverclevernorwitty7821 set the one on the transmon plate first

[@neverclevernorwitty7821]

@@biggifrank69 Agreed! There is a magic order to this. Zachs video is great, but most of us doing a bellows job are not going to be removing the Gimbal Housing from the transom.

[@faithwalk2cor578]

I have learned through my many years to use bearing grease on my cables whenever possible to help prevent internal cable rusting.

[@jhondeman8302]

Stupid work wrong replacement

[@grante1461]

Would like to see the outdrive rebuilt as well. Thanks!

[@csamf]

New to boating and have an old beater. Someone spotted a tear in my exhaust bellow. I tried to replace it without taking everything off, but no luck. I've been still taking the boat out with it just attached to the boat side. My question is, because it's the exhaust, does it HAVE to be connected? Will it let water into the boat if it's not attached?

[@ZachsGarage1]

Short answer is that it should be fine. The exhaust actually comes out of the sides of the gimbal housing anyways. The exhaust bellows just helps route some of the exhaust to come out of the outdrive where the propeller is

[@KDMarine]

bellows adhesive is the worst lol

[@StupedDave]

Fantastic massive help! Just got my first boat formula 206 and following this to sort my senders and bellows

[@ZachsGarage1]

Glad it helped!

[@kubaSWAT]

Hey buddy do you have a Seloc book manual?

[@ZachsGarage1]

I do not

[@joeguerrier7975]

Great vid. Did you use a marine grade oil line or will normal oil line work?

[@ZachsGarage1]

Check the video description for the link to the oil line to find out 👍

[@hydraulics]

good job. slide hammers may not remove gimbal bearings successfully. better to have a threaded puller where the nut will steadily draw the bearing out. And at 19:00, you definitely want that special tool for the bellows retaining ring. You'll destroy the ring with anything else. Also, the bellows adhesive is a contact cement type glue so you want to let it set up a bit on both surfaces before assembling the parts.

[@ZachsGarage1]

Good info!

[@propboy941]

Zach how did you properly align the gimble housing to the motor?? or is that in another video?

[@ZachsGarage1]

The gimbal housing should not need aligning, but the gimbal bearing will. For that I used the alignment tool. I don't have a video on that yet

[@wilfredovega192]

Power steering bellows

[@vizibug]

nice claw hammer...

[@freeze5033]

What year is this boat?

[@emanuelocasio3452]

Hey were the next video ?

[@markbailey6051]

The gimbal barring should be installed with the carrier housing slots faced aft. This allows the barring to be removed by sliding the alignment tool into the barring and twisting it sideways and out through the slots. No hammer needed, this video shows the barring and carrier installed backwards.

[@PatriotPlus179]

Nice video. I'm currently replacing my bellows and gimbal bearing for the first time on an Alpha One Gen 2. Has anyone told you that you sound just like David Schwimmer? Friends, the giraffe from Madagascar, etc..

[@PatriotPlus179]

You should have applied the bellows adhesive and allowed it to dry some until it was tacky, then install the bellows.

[@ZachsGarage1]

Nobody has ever told me that! haha that's an interesting thought ;)

[@hydraulics]

Ha ha. It's Ross!

[@chrisweis]

Excellent video! Very well done, and super helpful! Thanks so much for taking the time to do it.

[@ZachsGarage1]

Glad it was helpful!

[@aplanet4sail]

And ,do you know if they sell a KIT for the parts that needreplacement ?? Gracias

[@thomaseckelkamp3053]

I forgot to place the Allen screw on the end of shift cable . I know I probably didn’t have to remove its, but I did. All in all a great video .

[@aquablueoceans]

Hi from Australia, Great video. Clear vid, clear talk, and in depth explanation.

[@pvtpelnar11]

U put the unjoint bellows on backwards

[@fritzc.9700]

That's not possible, there's an outer lip that fits in the bell housing.

[@irredeemabledeplorable5227]

just a little FYI....when replacing hoses, especially the WATER HOSE, it is important that you not install it TOO LONG. In the lowered (running position) it WILL kink and pinch off water flow which will cause an overheating condition. ALWAYS operate the unit up and down fully to ensure the components travel freely.....oh, and that bellows tool is worth it's weight in gold......unless you don't value your time.

[@kubaSWAT]

good vid, do you have to put bellow adhesiv on shift bellows and exhaust bellows too ??

[@ZachsGarage1]

You can If you want, it probably no isn't needed on the exhaust bellows. But it may be a. Good Idea to put some on the shift cable bellows since that one could leak into your boat

[@kubaSWAT]

@@ZachsGarage1 ok and the bellow ring which one you have to install goes between the bellow and the housing or it goes inside the bellow itself? Thanks

[@ZachsGarage1]

@@kubaSWAT It goes in the bellows and holds the bellows tight to the shape of the housing

[@David_Flournoy]

Since I tuned into your video to learn how to repair my 2008 Tahoe 4.3, I have nothing but praise for your work. I have followed you step by step, simply pausing the video while I completed your example. I did watch the entire video from start to finish before attempting this job, so I was aware of the couple of corrections you made in the beginning. KUDOS to you. My stern drive is just about ready to reinstall. I had purchased a rebuilt engine ( block cracked last February during hard freeze in the Dallas area. My fault entirely for not properly winterizing ) Anyway while I had the engine out , I decided it might be worth checking the bellows etc and service them at this point. Very good choice on my part. Thanks for a great instructional video.

[@fritzc.9700]

I wanted pop back in and add in my challenges and solutions in case anyone else runs into the same. I have a V8 with a removable cover, but seats on either side. So reaching back to the inboard side on the transom is VERY difficult. I did all work with the engine in place. - I should have snipped the gear lube line before trying to remove the bell housing because I broke off the plastic fitting on the gimbal housing. The fitting is attached with an E-clip on the inboard side, I was able to remove the original clip with a long screw driver and bore scope coming from the Starboard side. Installing the new one was tough! I tied a string to the new E-clip because it got dropped a hundred times while trying to position it in the groove. Once I got it located, I taped a washer to my finger tip to push the clip in place. I did the install from the port side, and yes, the string is still there. - Installing bellows to the bell housing: I had a piece of 1" wide x 1/8" thick aluminum flat bar, about a foot long, that I bent ~100 degrees around 3/4" from the end, then I rounded and smoothed the bent end. This was great at grabbing the inside convolutes on the bellows to get them in place. I installed the driveshaft bellows ring by first lubricating with spray degreaser (like simple green), then I found a tin can in the garage that happened to be the perfect diameter and used this with a dead blow hammer to tap it in place. This all went very smoothly. - Lower shift cable install: I had a tough time getting the sheath through the transom and under the engine/manifold. It has to take a sharp turn right after passing through and this was a 2 person job using various means to guide it around. But when I went to put the core/cable in the sheath after the bell housing was installed, the solid cable end was too stiff to pass through this tight bend area. I had to unscrew the sheath fitting from the bell housing while holding the greased boot with a pair of vice grips so it didn't twist. Pull it out about a foot, then push the core in as far as it would go, then push the sheath and core together past the tight area. This worked great, but then I couldn't use the special socket to reinstall the sheath fitting to the bell housing because the core was in the way. The fix was to grind a slot in the special socket so the core could run through the center, then use an open end wrench to turn the socket. In the end, everything came together and no more leaks! Good luck to those getting ready to tackle this. It's not too tough if you follow good videos like this and take your time.

[@fishheds]

Your voicereminds me of Tom Bodette from Motel 6. We'll keep the light on for you.

[@duffelbagdustin9944]

Great video. Thank you for taking the time to make it.

[@ZachsGarage1]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@scottgrzymkowski]

Holy cow you took the long way home on that job 😲

[@ZachsGarage1]

Lol indeed I did 😆

[@tedschmitt178]

Impressive video. This is not something I would dare tackle myself. If it could be messed up, I would do it.

[@lindseypenn107]

a 1/2"drive impact wrench makes short easy work out of the intire job...

[@djmelody96]

Awesome video! What year was this outdrive?

[@ZachsGarage1]

Thanks! 1998

[@MrGeorgeferreira]

Amazing..A true act of bravura my friend, to take this all apart and do what you did. great video too. congrats.

[@flashracer2682]

Thanks for this Video. Regards from Germany

[@jeanpierre9538]

Good friend. Today I went to the sea with my mercrusier and water got into the boat through the lower unit. What do you think it is? Thanks

[@aplanet4sail]

the whole video is amazing ,but the cameras view is also great so you can see all in clarity Thanks a lot for this tutorial :)

[@hotjthe14u]

awesome video, very informative and not too much extra talk. to the point!

[@user-iv7jp5kg9k]

With the Alpha Gen one which does not have the insert that attaches the U-Joint bellows to the bell housing it is necessary to put the bellows on the bell housing first and then slide the unit in. Its really a pain.

[@TheKnceoincusa]

Zach did u ever do a video for the trim lines? From.the pump down to the rear housing?

[@awesomemodzzz6856]

lot of work, good video thanks

[@northerndawgnortherndawg]

great patience, attention to detail, and super informative. see you out on the water my friend!

[@kartboarder22g17]

When you mean oil line is that just the breather tube?

[@thomasbailey9820]

Great video. It didn't put me sleep. I'll use it

[@davescruton387]

I liked it so much. I subscribed

[@ZachsGarage1]

Thanks Dave!

[@davescruton387]

Zachs Garage hey I have a 23 ft rienell has a 350 Chevrolet 4 barrel 4bolt main with cobra outdrive. Motor appears to be toast . I’m not sure what to do ? I’m a disabled vet and I need help with this. Floor is soft and has a hole in the floor right in front of the sleeping quarters( the cuddly)

[@coryjesperson9463]

Use air tools for the hing pins way easier

[@jfisch01]

What year is the sterndrive?

[@ZachsGarage1]

'98

[@joshuap.2470]

Why is there no like button?

[@5andme851]

Hey Doc, can you confirm to me that the shift cable housing on a bravo 3 is pressed in from the back? I need to replace mine but upon inspection of the bellhousing and current cable installed I cannot figure out for the life of me how to get the brass threaded housing out of the bellhousing as the nut on the back is locked in via a metal form molded into the bellhousing to stop the nut from turning.

[@ZachsGarage1]

I do not know for a bravo 3, I'll be curious to hear the answer

[@5andme851]

@@ZachsGarage1 Is there a way to send you some video/pictures?

[@alichebitou496]

Excellent video. Great job.

[@jamesc6593]

excellent video on a complicated project

[@challenger1014]

After pulling the drive shaft bellows into the bell housing grove (I did add glue in the grove as you showed) I can not get the metal retainer ring to drive in, I do have the proper driver, would it be ok to add grease to the ring so it will slide in?

[@ZachsGarage1]

Should be ok to use grease, just want to make sure it's not able to slide back out

[@randyweaver9528]

Dang! You had the Unabomber helping you. Good deal.

[@jameswhiteman6901]

Thanks mate ...they are my new day job.!!.

[@JKURR]

I’ve traced a gear oil leak coming from the oil line. Do you know if this can be replaced without disassembling from the housing? Meaning, just undo it from inside the boat as you showed then pull it out from outside?

[@ZachsGarage1]

Probably not, because you have to re attach the new line on the inside of the bell house piece I don't know if you have enough space to get to that, you can certainly try though

[@challenger1014]

Excellent video, well described.

[@wewons]

hey man great job lovin these

[@ronniefisher1782]

This seems like a tremendous amount of work that was not really necessary. None of the parts you replaced seemed to be damaged? Was all this really necessary?

[@gearjammergamer8560]

If you don't replace them every few yearsish theres a chance it could sink your boat. Its preventative maintenance. On a side note that bearing was well on its way to being toast

[@robfromtoledo9514]

Great video thanks. Did you do this because you just wanted to show how to or was there something happening that made you realize it needed done?

[@ZachsGarage1]

It needed to be done. I found rust in the gimbal bearing bellows, plus all the original bellows and hoses were 20+ years old and super brittle.

[@nitetimemafia-9169]

How much in parts$$$$$

[@fritzc.9700]

Best video I've found, thanks Zach!

[@ZachsGarage1]

Glad it helps!

[@paulkehrig6958]

I bought a kit bellows, bearing ect u joint bellow retaining sleeve not in the package do I have to remove and replace or can I leave in and reuse?

[@ZachsGarage1]

If you're able to get it out without bending it all up I think you could reuse it

[@kevinvanlohuizen2709]

Need to do this top sometime likely

[@TheKevinmaya]

Hey bro you are an amazing rebuilder, your videos help me a lot on my 3.0 mercruiser, but I have a huge question, do you know why there is water (milky oil) on my gear lube and the little container beside the motor?

[@ZachsGarage1]

Have you tried draining the oil from the container and the lower unit and then refill it to see it it turns milky again?

[@rimalore]

Olá, como faço para adquirir essa ferramenta?

[@ChastainServices]

Amazon!

[@01Z06guy]

Right at 14:00 you are putting a steel tube into the shift bellows. I took mine apart so long ago I forgot. Does this stay in the shift bellows? What does it do? I can't find that part for sale anywhere on the internet.

[@ZachsGarage1]

That was a ratchet socket 🤣 I used it to help push the bellows on. It is not required! I did not leave it on there

[@01Z06guy]

@@ZachsGarage1 Well that's a relief as I don't want to deal with fishing my shift cable up to the carb again. On the other hand, I have this peice of steel tube that looks very much like your socket in my parts pile that I now have no idea where it came from. This is why I shouldn't take things apart and then not put them back together for four months. Thanks for the reply. I appricieate it.

[@encandepot3774]

very interesting , i follow you step by step assemble mine, thank you

[@frankcastro5421]

I have a cracked oil line on alpha 1 gen 2, is it necessary to remove the bell housing to replace?

[@ZachsGarage1]

hmm, you might not, actually

[@kevincurran4205]

What is that piece you unscrewed for the speedometer I don't even know where to get one

[@ZachsGarage1]

Not sure what it is called, threaded hose nipple maybe

[@corbinsc36]

No matter what I do I can’t get my shifter tube to pull through... so I can’t get my gimbal off.

[@ZachsGarage1]

What is it getting stuck on? Feel free to email pictures to [e-mail]

[@kevinpiercy8188]

I cut the cable with a whiz wheel on the outside the use the core wire i had previously removed.

[@MatthewPierce9]

great videos!

[@kevint8886]

Zach, in the middle of my first alpha 1 gen 2 rebuild. Must have watched your video 10 times by now. thanks! i have the Gimbal bearing installed but can 't convince myself its in all the way. is there some kind of measurement basis, like the depth of the them groves on the side ? or anything. should the back of bearing be inside the seal ? i can feel a space with my finger past the bearing... just freaking out. sorry any help appreciated. thanks again

[@ZachsGarage1]

Well the way I knew is I couldn't get it to push in any further. If it's not budging despite your best efforts then it should be fine. I believe the drive shaft has some tolerance of surface area for the depth the bearing touches on it

[@kevint8886]

@@ZachsGarage1 thanks, i'll push ahead and see what happens.

[@alexst567]

could you share an INSIDE DIAMETER for the gear lube line that was replaced using zip ties

[@ZachsGarage1]

1/4" inch

[@alexst567]

@@ZachsGarage1 thank you very much I was torn between 1/4 and 5/16

[@williamhaines856]

thank you great