Winter Storage

[r.karjala]

Well the season is quickly coming to an end. We had a great season and only had one problem...we had to have the gimbal bearing replaced.

We have 4.3 Volvo Penta. In the past I have stored the board with the lower unit in the up position. I'm thinking about storing it in the down position.

What are your thoughts or recommendations?

[MH Hawker]

From my limited understanding it is suposto be stored in the down position.

[badmoonrising]

Yep, down. Did your boat ever get enough water in the bilge to get into the gimbal or did an outdrive boot leak ? Most common gimbal failure is water intrusion.

[r.karjala]

When I pick up the boat from getting the gimbal replaced I asked about what caused the failure. The mechanic said they just go out.

[playcat]

When I pick up the boat from getting the gimbal replaced I asked about what caused the failure. The mechanic said they just go out.

Wrong answer from the mechanic. Something caused it to fail, possibly water getting in and diluting lubrication. I didn't need to replace mine until I replaced the engine in 2010.

[badmoonrising]

Yep. Gimbal failure is almost always caused by water intrusion.

[Bamaman]

You need to have the outdrive carefully inspected for a weathered or cracked bellows.

At least water leaking thru a bellows on a pontoon boat won't sink it--like in a full hulled inboard outboard. I once had one parked in a marina, and the owners wasn't watching the boats. Mine sank over a period of a week. And I did rescue the boat and get it back in running shape.

[cwag911]

You have to remember that the bellows is 6 years old.