Outdrive service

[jamie1131]

In two or three weeks I'm gonna be doing the bellows and impeller on my Alpha 1 sterndrive. Plan is to take the drive off first and do the bellows but I'm wondering if it would be easier to do the impeller while the drive is off the boat, any thoughts???
If the weather isn't too bad I'm going to try and take a few pictures whilst I go through the job, I'll put together a bit of a guide once its all done.
If anyone has done this job before I'd be grateful for any tips!

[betty boop]

Mechanic once told me to do all on a bench, off the boat as a whole unit, but given the weight of the lower leg changing the impellor I dont believe him. open for hints n suggestions as I'll be starting mine in a month or so

[dpb101]

I have found changing the impeller with the drive on the boat easier.
These gudes are usefull...........and quite entertaining to!
http://www.sterndrives.com/supplies/mainsupplies.html
I am sure there are other sources.

[EastCoast]

Always found this a lot easier with the drive unit still attached to the boat, splitting the cases can sometimes be a pain if they havnt been off for a while so I personally always take the lower gearcase off first. Also less weight to work with & you dont have to wrestle with a whole drive on a bench or stand if the cases are stuck.

[jamie1131]

I started the work on the bellows today.... Its tough going! I'm up to the point where I have the new bellows attached at one end (drive bellows on the bell housing, exhaust bellows and shifter on the transom) and I've connected up the water hose at both ends, the shift cable outer is routed through the boat and ready to get connected once the bellows are all attached.
So far its taken me about 6 hours, but I reckon if I was doing it again I could get to this stage in three hours, not wasting time figuring things out. The stern-drive came off fairly easily and the gimbal bearing feels as good as the new one so I've left it in, no sense in risking damage to the housing if I get the new bearing slightly out of true.
Tommorrow morning I'll get it all finished off, I had to stop because light is fading but also I want to be fresh when I start trying to get the exhaust and drive bellows back in, it looks pretty awkward. If all goes well with the bellows I'll do the impeller as well, if not I'll take the drive home with me and do the impeller in my nice warm garage.
If all goes well I will have saved myself about £300 so its worth the work.

[jamie1131]

Well the bellows are done, but the impeller is a different story. The two halves of the sterndrive are stuck fast and no amount of hammering, chisels or force can get them apart, any ideas?

[Gazjen]

Not trying to tell you how to suck eggs but have you got all the bolts out? the one right on the front and the one under the anode?

I'm only up the road in Tamworth if you need a second opinion, Plus where do you keep your boat? PM if you prefer

[jamie1131]

Yeah all the bolts are out, even the hidden ones! I'll love your help but the boat is on the Isle of Wight so about 160 miles from you! I've found a few bits of advice on the net which suggest using a paint scraper to break the joint which apparently becomes corroded together.
I'll try again tomorrow, failing that I'm gonna take the sterndrive to the local mercruiser dealer and cough up the readies!

[Gazjen]

Fair enough there's not a lot of surface metal to hold them together, The last one I did just needed a little tap but that one had never been kept in salt water. I've got to do mine soon so that could be trouble too

[Argonaut]

In two or three weeks I'm gonna be doing the bellows and impeller on my Alpha 1 sterndrive. Plan is to take the drive off first and do the bellows but I'm wondering if it would be easier to do the impeller while the drive is off the boat, any thoughts???
If the weather isn't too bad I'm going to try and take a few pictures whilst I go through the job, I'll put together a bit of a guide once its all done.
If anyone has done this job before I'd be grateful for any tips!

There are some good guides on web on how to do this, including videos.