Mercury pinion height tool part number.

[skialot2]

I am going to switch the guts from a standard gearcase to a CLE gearcase. The cheapest quote i got to shim the gears is $700. So, it will be a couple hundred dollars cheaper to buy the tools and do it myself. I need the part number for the pinion height tool for the early ratcheting gearcases. I have the manual for 1992 and later. That manual says to use pinion tool 91-74776. But when I look it up it says for use on serial numbers 0G9****** -1T*******. I need from earlier than that. Somewhere around 0A****** or 0B******. Can anyone verify the part number from the service manual? I don't want to buy the wrong one. They are several hundred dollars. Thanks.

[Tcatrett]

Long as its not a old preload case that tool will work with 1.87:1 and 2:1 gears. You also need the preload tool 91-14311a04.

[108]

Jesus. I'm not charging enough lol. It shouldn't take more than an hour to set up a gear set.

[skialot2]

Jesus. I'm not charging enough lol. It shouldn't take more than an hour to set up a gear set.

That is what I was thinking. About an hour labor. One guy told me about 4 hours. Maybe if they had to get an old case open. But I am handing them an empty case and mostly assembled parts. i.e.. Bearing installed on gears. Shift dog on propshaft.

[skialot2]

Long as its not a old preload case that tool will work with 1.87:1 and 2:1 gears. You also need the preload tool 91-14311a04.

Thanks for the info. I found a used preload tool with the indicator that clamps to the driveshaft for the micrometer.

[skialot2]

I got all the special tools needed. I ended up getting the alternate part number tools. The pinion tool has 3 different size discs and 8 flats. I need disc 2 and flat 7. The preload tool is a simpler design. It just holds the driveshaft up into the bearing while you measure everything. It came with the clamp on tab to measure the backlash with a dial indicator. I used the plate from the preload tool with a threaded rod and nuts and washers to draw the pinion bearing up into the case. Plus, I got a foot long feeler gauge. The rest of the tools you need I already have. My doner guts come from a highly corroded case that lost its nose cone. The skeg is very worn down so it's kind of worthless anyway. But there was no water in it. Instead of struggling to get the carrier out, I just cut it open. Everything inside is in perfect condition. I don't see any wear anywhere. All bearings look perfect. I am using everything over.

[skialot2]

I spent about an hour trying to figure out how to use this pinion height tool. I started with the same shims that came out. The first time I took a measurement I got I needed .006 more shims. I installed them and measured again. Now I got I needed .010 less shims. Every time I measured the pinion height, I got a different measurement. I finally figured out the tool was assembled backwards. The measuring block was on the wrong side of the snap ring. I used the tool the way it was assembled when I got it. Once I fixed that I get the same measurement every time. Turns out I had to take the .006 back out and the original shim is perfect for the pinion height. I do need one more special tool. A block to attach the dial indicator to the case. I found it for $30. While I was looking for it, I found an original Merc-O-Tronic dial indicator for $27. I bought that also. Once you know how to do this shimming process, it is actually pretty easy. The only thing that makes it a pain is you have to install the forward gear bearing race and the forward gear to measure the pinion height. But you can't measure how much shim you need for the forward gear until you set the pinion height. But figuring out how much shim you need is easy. Just measure and add or subtract as necessary. .001 of shim under the pinion race will change the pinion height .001. Same with the forward gear backlash. According to the book. +/- .001 shim behind the forward gear race will change the backlash .001. The pinion height is supposed to be set at exactly .025. The backlash gets an acceptable range of .018-.027 for a production gearcase. But a tighter tolerance of .021-.026 for a CLE. I can't measure the backlash until i get the dial indicator holding tool. But going by feel, it feels perfect. I can barely feel any play between the gears, and they spin perfectly smoothly.

[skialot2]

Well... That was easy. I can't believe they wanted $700+ for this. Not counting the time it took me to figure out how to use the tools, this probably took me around an hour. It helped that I started with the used original shims that came out of the donor case. They ended up being perfect. .025 pinion height exactly and .024 forward gear backlash. Right in the middle of the .021-.026 range specified for a CLE. I am pretty sure this case was never loaded before. It has no wear on the skeg and looks like its still the original paint. Just a little banged up from bouncing around shops for like 30 years.