How to remove & install a Mercruiser Alpha 1 Gen 2 sterndrive to inspect Bellows & Gimbal bearing 

Awesome! Thank you!

🙌🏻 yesssss 🤘

Agreed!

Thanks! Will do!

Glad it helped!

Great suggestion!

Glad it was helpful!

As soon as I get a u joint job through the shop I will do a video on the process. Thanks for watching.

When I was younger I used to do it without the crane, but not anymore! Glad it helped.

Thanks for watching! And thanks for the kind words.

Glad it was helpful!

Glad it was helpful!

Thanks for the kind words, so glad you enjoyed it.

Glad you enjoyed it!

Thank you, I appreciate the kind words and support.

Thank you, 43 years and counting.

Where you hold the ratchet, fastener material, arm position, etc are all factors.

Only someone who has similar experience would recognize that.

@@CanadaWideMarine European cars since 1980. I was skeptical about this job as my brother years ago told me it was a nightmare to do by yourself. He must not have been working on an Alpha it seems (1988 or so).

As soon as a bellows job comes through the shop I will do a video on it. Thanks for the compliment.

@@CanadaWideMarineany chance you’ve uploaded a bellows job video yet? Tackling that job this weekend on an alpha one gen 2

Yes, I have many requests for a bellows change video, just waiting for one to come through the shop. Thanks for watching.

Nice work!

Thanks for the feedback Brandon. Bellows change video is on my list, just waiting for the next bellows job to come through the shop.

@@CanadaWideMarine Hey Sir, I also need the Bellow Change Video. PLEASE ASAP!!

I don't have one yet, but I hope one is coming soon.

Awesome! Thanks for the feedback.

Thanks for the nice words. Yes, as soon as a bellows/gimbal job comes through the shop I will do a video on it for sure.

Thank you.

Thank you too

And thank you for watching.

Yes, a video on replacing the bellows will be done as soon as we get another bellows job through the shop. Thanks for watching.

I touch on the gimbal bearing in the video. Reach in through the bellows and turn the inner race of the gimbal bearing by hand. It should turn freely and smoothly, if it is rumbly or rough or has tight spots at all it is shot.

Thank you, yes, planning on a bellows video, just waiting on the next bellows job to come through the shop.

Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for watching.

Thank you too!

Thank you.

I glue the o ring so it doesn't fall out of position while installing the sterndrive. Yes, a Bravo video is in the works, thanks for asking.

Without inspecting it myself I would only be guessing at possible causes, but the most probable would be improper installation.

I haven't yet done a video on gimbal bearing or bellows, but as soon as a bellows job comes through the shop I will.

If you are talking about your driveshaft bellows then I suggest plan on replacing your driveshaft/u joint assembly and gimbal bearing as well.

@@CanadaWideMarine fortunately, after a quick look, I think I’m just seeing the exhaust bellows. The other looks in tact.

Hydraulic leaks would be from the trim rams. Oil leaks from the outdrive can come from input and prop shaft seals water pump shaft seals, upper housing seals, as well as monitor bottle hose and fittings, and more. best bet is to pressure test to identify the exact source of the leak.

the driveshaft turns quite freely in neutral. But you do have the drag of the water pump impeller. (unless you have an engine mounted bravo pump)

I made it. I think I modified an "S" hook off an old ratchet strap.

You could certainly spray your bellows with silicon spray, it will help protect them inside and out.

Not quite sure what you have going on. What make and model are we talking about, and what are you adjusting from in the water?

As long as the cav plate is pointed up at the front, relative to the waterline, when trimmed all the way down you are good. And no you cannot push the rams in by hand. If you can move them by pushing on the the thrust of the propeller would move the leg up and down.

@@CanadaWideMarine 👍

Thanks for watching. Some Mercruiser drives have a simple flat plate where you would see a trim tab. Look up from underneath the cav plate to see if it is a flat plate or if it is missing totally. If your steering is not pulling or heavier turning on way over the other there is no need for a trim tab.

What he said ...plus with power steering...a trim tab would still not make a difference

Not much different, the shift connects a little differently, so pay attention to that, particularly as you re-assemble it.

Shift control into forward gear and shift the lower unit into forward gear

Well, there is no motor oil in that area, perhaps you are seeing a gear oil leak? If it's gear oil there are several areas that it could be leaking from in that area. The gaskets and o rings we replace in the video do not seal any gear oil, so replacing them will not resolve an oil leak. I highly recommend having a marine mechanic perform a pressure test to identify the cause of the leak and advise on the best way to repair it. Then you can decide if you want to tackle it yourself. Thanks for watching.

You do not have to drain the drive to remove it. There is a check valve in the line from the gear lube monitor bottle that will close when the drive is removed, so the monitor bottle does not drain either.

I can promise you I did not forget it, but I may have forgotten to mention it in the video. Great catch.

You do not need to drain the gear lube. There is a check valve that automatically seals the reservoir when the drive is removed.

Exhaust Bellows are a pain because you need to tilt the drive up to get to them which wants to pull the bellows off the gimbal housing. There is a special tool we use for the exhaust bellows, it is not listed on the store, but the part number is: Mercury 91-45497A1 or Sierra 18-9847. It makes the job much easier. I would also use a new bellows rather than try to re-attach the old one as a new one will be much more flexible. Thanks for your kind words, I'm still new at making videos so I appreciate the support.

@@CanadaWideMarine You are doing a great job with your videos, exeptional quality and clear execution. I had been looking for similar content for weeks until I ran into your channel. So thanks for that and for your answer. Exhaust bellow is indeed a painful job and you'll know if it's done well only when you go in the water :-). I will likely replace the bellow with a new one as you suggested. My engine is a 4.3 MPI.......if you ever plan on a tutorial to replace the spark plugs will be highly appreciated. I have made space left and right in the engine bay but the spark plugs are still hardly reachable. I wonder if the exhaust manifolds need to be removed to have better access ? Also on another subject if you don't mind the question....the engine bay blower and the sterndrive trim can be operated also when the main battery switch is off (Bayliner 652 CU). Any good reason for that ? Rgds Gio

Spark plugs: use a six inch extension and you should be able to reach them past the exhaust manifolds, the manifolds do not have to come off. The middle plug on either side is hard to get the wire off because of the water fitting, I sometimes carefully use long needle nose pliers to get it off. To get the new plugs back in I use an eight inch long piece of 5/16" fuel hose, push it over the end of the spark plug and use it to guide the plug into position and get it started in the threads. For some reason unknown to me Mercury wires their trim system direct to the battery, bypassing the battery switch, so that is "normal". The bilge blower should be wired after the battery switch. The point of the battery switch is to disconnect "all" electrical systems from the batteries in the event of an emergency. Except for the automatic function of the bilge pump and any memory circuits required.

@@CanadaWideMarine All well noted. Many thanks

if you email us the serial number of your drive we can get one for you. support@canadawidemarine.com

Those symptoms indicate a possible problem with gimbal bearing or universal joints. Remove the drive and inspect should identify the source of the problem.

@@CanadaWideMarine I will follow your video to open it up and see if that's the problem. Thanks a million!!

Let us know what you find.

I assume by driveshaft housing, you mean "bellows"? If you have milky oil in your bellows there are two likely possibilities, first, and most likely, you have water in your drive, so your drive oil is also milky, and it is leaking out the input seal into the bellows. Second, I guess its possible that you have an oil leak from your drive into your bellows, with no water in your drive, mixing with water that is leaking into your bellows, and causing the milkyness. First thing to do is to check your drive oil. If you have water in your drive, it settles in the bottom, remove the bottom drain plug and let a little oil out to inspect it. Or just change your oil anyway. If there is water, or it is milky, you will need to re-seal your drive.

Which seal are you referring to? Oil on the gasket is not a problem.

@@CanadaWideMarine the large gasket between the upper section of the outdrive and the transom housing

I grease that gasket so it is easier to remove next year, so the oil will not be a problem at all, just a mess to clean up.

@@CanadaWideMarine

@@CanadaWideMarine Thank You!

Sorry for the late reply, I don't seem to get proper notifications for comments. I'm not exactly sure where you are actually leaking. But I might take a guess that you may need a new gasket between the drive and the gimbal housing?

SE 106 is a replacement for the Mercruiser Alpha One made by Sterndrive Engineering, SEI. Thanks for the compliment.

Hi Jose, Sorry, I don't remember what propeller that was, but it was on 19' boat with a 4.3 TKS engine. Thanks for watching.

Hi Gilbert. No you do not need to drain the gear oil first. There is a check valve in the fitting between the drive and the gimbal housing that automatically closes when the drive is removed so the reservoir doesn't drain.

@@CanadaWideMarine thanks

Hi Marlon, Nice truck in your profile pic, is that yours? Unfortunately the o rings will not stop your gear oil leak. If the oil is definitely coming from your driveshaft you will have oil in your bellows when you remove the drive. (Have a look at the video I did on removing a volvo sx sterndrive, it has oil in the bellows). If that is the case then you will need to replace the driveshaft seal on the front of the drive. This requires some special tools. The other place gear oil can be leaking into your bilge is from the drive oil monitor bottle or the hose that goes from the bottle to the transom plate. That hose connects to the transom bracket near the driveshaft so it could look like the oil is coming from the driveshaft.

@@CanadaWideMarine good morning, Thank you replying i appreciate it. No the truck in the picture is not mine, but i am currently restoring the exact truck which the end result will be that picture. I have an mercruiser alpha one drive. I already checked and traced the gear oil reservoir line no leak there. I saw leak is definitely coming from the drive shaft. I will take it apart replace the drive shaft seal and order the tools and seals necessary to complete the task in my shop. Thanks again!

Absolutely. As soon as I get a bellows job through the shop I will do a video on it. Thanks for the suggestion.

@@CanadaWideMarine Thanks so much! Love how thorough you are! You're an excellent teacher!

Thank you very much!

You definitely want to remove your drive and check the driveshaft bellows. If it is them that is leaking you will need to replace your gimbal bearing and most likely your driveshaft/u-joint assembly. We do ship to the US but generally our pricing is higher so you are better off shopping locally. Thank you for your kinds words and support.

@@CanadaWideMarine thanks.. pulled it apart. Driveshaft bellows was leaking due to not being clamped well or glued at all on transom end.. someone did a poor job of a replacement sometime in the past before I bought the boat. Replaced all the boots, gimbal bearing and u joints. Your video was very helpful. Thanks again.

Hi Jason, I don't remember exactly what was going on installing this drive, I recorded a year ago, and have done a pile of them since. What I can say is that trying to do things with a camera in the way, and so the camera can see the important parts is really challenging at times, so I may have just been in an awkward position while filming. Good luck with your project, and thanks for watching.

Who is Brandon? Lol. No Need to flush or drain the gear oil first. There is a check valve in the line to the monitor bottle that closes when the drive is removed so you don't lose any gear oil. Thanks for the kind words.

@@CanadaWideMarine Oops. Terribly sorry about. Thanks for the info. I assume I have to remove the bell housing to get to and replace the gear cable bellows?

On a Gen II the outer cable can be removed from the back once the drive is removed, no need to remove the bell housing.

My guess is that you did not have both the drive and control fully into forward gear when you installed the drive.

@CanadaWideMarine ok how to I make sure both are in forward gear .especially the outdrive thanks for helping

@@weinerpugdad Shift control all the way forward. On the outdrive there is a lever at the very front, an upside down L shape, it must be pointed straight ahead to line up with the corresponding slotted lever on the transom, (bellhousing). It will move away from straight ahead very easily, so be careful, turning the propeller backwards a little helps it to stay engaged.

OK with that lever it won't move to the left just the right. With it in the forward position is that drive

sorry, I thought I replied to this message , I'll try again. Yes, with the lever in the straight ahead position, that is forward gear.

Well first you will need to work out why and where the shift is frozen, then free that up. If I had to guess I would say the lower shift cable is seized in it's housing, in which case I would trim the drive up all the way and cut the lower cable off with a zip cut wheel as close to the stern drive as possible.

@@CanadaWideMarine Thanks for the reply! I'll continue trying to find where its seized but if not, then I'll cut the line. Do you have a video on hoe to replace lower shift cable?

Not yet, I haven't had to do one in quite a while. But as soon as I get one through the shop I will do a video on it.

@@CanadaWideMarine thank you! Keep up the informative videos!