Alpha 1, why hammer it together?

A friend had his Alpha 1 worked on. The guy hammerd it back together with a Sledge and a block of wood!
First trip out it began to crunckle and crackle.
The Mechanic says he needs all new gears now.

So why would you have to drive the outdrive back on with a sledge?
And now, knowing that, what would have caused all those gears to die an ugly death?

 

Over the years I've owned several Alpha-1's and I must admit that there have been moments when I came very near to hitting one with a sledge hammer. What always kept me was the fact that I paid good money for it.
This guy must really hate Merc's.

Older drives tend to stick to the gimbal housing and also the lower and upper parts do not like to be separated. Without proper cleaning and alignment they also refuse to be joined again.

The treatment says something about both the drive and the mechanic: your friend had better abandon both.

 

That sounds correct to me.
He's not going to like the part of abandoning the drive. But the Mechanic is swearing he didnt do it and no amount of legal actions will fix that part.
It looks like a dead end. Pun intended!

 

I have worked on a alpha 1 unit and the only time I ever picked up a hammer was when the service manual said to, the same with my OMC unit. The mechanic needs to have the hammer dropped on his foot, then his head. Be sure you friend tells all who will listen about this jerk to save others from his bad habits.

 

He's orderd a new unit. I hope I get in on the teardown of the broken unit.
I'm curious to see the damage.
If it's real obvious there might be a reason to go after the damages etc.

I can remember haveing a Chevvy V-8 spread out all over a garage floor. We tried to see what failed. It was a little like trying to put a Hand grenade back together looking for the fuse location.
If is drive is all ground up, its just a lost cause. But I'd like to see for myself.

 

I've removed a few dozen Alpha's and you don't need a hammer. If you work clean and pay attention, you can get these things together without much difficulty. Don't get me wrong, I've cussed hard over lining up stuff, but usually when you get it right, a reassuring click is heard as it runs down onto a seat.

Buy a couple of local bikers a case of beer and have them pay a late night visit to the idiot's place.

 

I have an alignment tool. He has a new drive coming. I hope to see what the damages were to the old drive.
I'd like to see for myself, so I can tell if the Hammer did the job or not.

 

An out of alignment drive will wear out the gimball bearing and the U-joints. It shouldn't do anything to the gears. Have you isolated the clunking before dismantling anything?

 

I wasnt there Gonzo. Niether one of them are experienced mechanics. Thats why it wound up where the hammer was, and also why I want to see the damages for myself.

 

I suppose if the splines were not lined up and they pounded the hell out of it, they could've fractured a gear or broken the upper bearing. They are not made for hitting.