OMC Electric Shift Drive Shaft Bearing

[SeanJamesOMC]

I hope this is the correct place for this post.....

I have an OMC Electric Shift and I've just cooked the drive shaft bearing (tapered bearing at the top of the shaft in the lower unit). Does anyone either have one I can get a hold of, know where to find one, or know of a part number - preferably the OMC part number so that I can cross-reference one. I'm struggling to find one and it's all I need to get my boat back on the water.

Thanks in advance,

Sean

[CDK]

Here are exploded views and part numbers for old OMC stern drives:

http://www.crowleymarine.com/johnson...arts/33680.cfm

[SeanJamesOMC]

CDK - thanks sooo much - this is an excellent resource! I was able to pull model numbers off of the bearing (a Timken) and a local machine shop that our company deals with sourced one - looks like they will have it tomorrow or Monday.

Cheers,

Sean

[SeanJamesOMC]

One more question for you,

I'm re-assembling now and can't help myself when it comes to greasing bearings, so I've applied a high temp/water resistant bearing grease to my tapered roller bearing. The manual doesn't make any mention of greasing this bearing but I can't see any obvious problem with - will prevent a dry start etc. My only concern is that the grease is going to inhibit the flow of gear oil up the shaft and or break loose and wreak havoc on my electric shift components? What do you think?

[CDK]

You should not have done that, but I do not think it will have severe consequences. The grease will quickly dissolve in the oil so the flow of oil will be restored after a few minutes and since there is a considerable amount of oil and just a bit of grease, the viscosity won't change much.

[SeanJamesOMC]

Thanks again CDK - much appreciated.

I was just fiddling with the upper unit and was turning the ball gear by hand. The water pump is out - how much resistance should I expect here? I can move it with two fingers but it does offer some resistance - a bit more than I was anticipating but I suppose it's partly dependant upon how much preload is on the bearings - what should I expect here?

[CDK]

Hard to express in figures. A hefty bearing behind the ball gear, seals, helical gears, it all adds up. Important is that the rotation is smooth: any heavy points indicate debris present or bearing trouble.

Something between 8 and 10% of engine power is lost in the stern drive...