GLM Ball Gear Kit Stringer from Wholesale Marine

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Drive System

Maintaining your drive system is very important in achieving a trouble free boating experience. Inspecting and replacing anodes, bellows, gear lube, seals, u-joints and bearings should be done on a regular basis. Inspections should occur ever 100 hrs or annually, which ever occurs first.

Each sterndrive unit is equipped with a sacrificial anodic trim tab or plate. Depending on your drive year and model, there are other anodes possibly on each trim cylinder, under the transom assembly at the trim hoses, and on top of the cavitation plate at the front of the drive. These anodes MUST be replaced if they are eroded 50% or more. There are now 2 types of anodes. A Zinc anode is for saltwater use and the Magnesium anode is for fresh water use. Use Zinc anodes if you boat in both types of water.

Inspecting the bellows is recommended to be done every 100 Hrs of use or annually, which ever comes first. Bellows that are soft, cracked, or torn needs to be replaced. This is to prevent water from damaging the bearings and u-joints. The bellows also prevent water from entering the boat.

The Coupler is what connects the drive unit to the engine. The coupler should be lubricated every 100 hrs or annually. A bad coupler will slip and cause the engine to rev up its rpm’s. Signs of a bad coupler include a black dust behind the motor, the drive feels like it is slipping, the coupler has shinny metal around the input shaft, or is the drive will not go into gear.

Periodically inspect the gear lubricant for water to ensure that the drive unit seals are not leaking. A couple of signs that the drive seals are bad is water in the gear lube, gear lube leaking out from the drive, or having to add more than 2 Oz of gear lube to refill the drive unit.

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