Alpha 1 outdrive diagram

[markmdz]

hey guys, I was just looking over my '87 Ambassador that i'm finally going to put in the water after owning it for 3yrs. But upon inspection, I noticed that on the outdrive, there's two small 3-4" diameter caps, one on each side of the outdrive, with a wire lead coming from them. On one of them, the wire is exposed and frayed. I called up a local outdrive repair shop and they said it was the "trim indicator/sensor" and would cost $85 for the part, and that the job was very labor intensive.

This is truly disheartening b/c I've spent soo much time and $$ already on engine/mechanical repairs, and rebuilding & reupholstering the interior by hand. Now to find this little part like this, I'm not so happy.

Do i really need this part? Can it wait 'til the off season?

19'7" '87 Checkmate Ambassador - Blue on White.

[markmdz]

hey guys, I was just looking over my '87 Ambassador that i'm finally going to put in the water after owning it for 3yrs. But upon inspection, I noticed that on the outdrive, there's two small 3-4" diameter caps, one on each side of the outdrive, with a wire lead coming from them. On one of them, the wire is exposed and frayed. I called up a local outdrive repair shop and they said it was the "trim indicator/sensor" and would cost $85 for the part, and that the job was very labor intensive.

This is truly disheartening b/c I've spent soo much time and $$ already on engine/mechanical repairs, and rebuilding & reupholstering the interior by hand. Now to find this little part like this, I'm not so happy.

Do i really need this part? Can it wait 'til the off season?

19'7" '87 Checkmate Ambassador - Blue on White.

[Bill]

If it actully the side that sends a signal to your trim gauge, then it is up to you weather or not you need the gauge for the summer

2003 ZT 240 6.2litre/Bravo 320 H.P. 25P Mirage Plus

[vinny p.]

I agree with Bill. You don't NEED the trim guage to run the boat. It is all a matter of you being comfortable enough to run with just your feel for the position of the drive. I have run boats several times without the trim guage and found no ill effects. It is easy enough to tell when the boat is trimmed out correctly without a guage.

[vinny p.]

By the way--- If you do run without the guage, just don't trim it up too high. If you do, you will be stressing your U-Joints, the coupler and gimbal bearing. Also, the sending unit on the starboard side is for the guage, the unit on the port side is for the trim limiter.

[markmdz]

Thanks Bill and Vinny! Well I've just spent the last few hours searching on the net for a how-to for replacing those little guys, and came up empty handed. I'm thinking that b/c I'm a newbie to the whole boating scene, I should have all my gadgets working properly.

The best price I've found for the pair is $80. Does anyone out there know of a place where I can get this for less?

Also, is this something that I can do myself, or do I really need to bring it to an outdrive mechanic? I would really like to try and do this myself, but don't want to mess anything up. If it's not that bad of a job, would someone be willing to write up a quick how-to on replacing this?

Sorry for the long post, and thanks in advance for any more advice/info that anyone offers up.

-Mark

19'7" '87 Checkmate Ambassador - Blue on White.

[85diplomat]

A short term fix is to get wire loom from a car audio store or NAPA auto (1/4"), put it around the wire, zip tie the inside end and push it up the wire as far as you can, zip tieing as you go.This worked for me all summer last year.Actually haven't fixed it yet! The wire runs behind the motor under and out through the transom. I'm waiting to repair mine this winter when I replace the lower shift cable.Also a nasty job!! Make sure to repair any frayed wires so they dont ground out against each other!!!

17' checkmate "Cheap Thrills"

[vinny p.]

Mark;
As usual there are 2 ways of doing this job. The right way and the easy way. To do it right is a bit labor intensive, especially if you are not the best with a wrench.
THE RIGHT WAY;
Once you get your new senders, you will see that there are 2 long wires attached. These wires go through the gimbal housing and attach somewhere behind the engine, to the trim pump. You will also see a rubber plug that is on the wires on your new senders. That plug is the real critical part!! This is what will keep your boat afloat. The rubber plug goes in a hole in the gimbal housing. This hole is UNDER WATER , the plug must be seated correctly to ensure that you don't end up with a leak. The hole in the gimbal is not in a place that I would call "Accessible" You will be cursing to get the plug in that hole. So, basically that is all it takes. Just pull the old wires and plugs out , and fish the new ones through the hole. The sender themselves just screw onto the gimbal with phillips screws. After you replace them, you will have to adjust them to get your gauge in sinc with the sender. This is done by dropping the drive all the way down, loosen the 2 screws that hold the sender to the gimbal, twist the sender until the gauge reads zero trim, lock the 2 screws down.

Now for the easy( incorrect ) way.

The easy way can only be done if the wires are not frayed too close to the rubber plug.

Unscrew the sender from the gimbal. Cut the wires as close as you can to the sender while eliminating all damaged wire. Attach your new sender to the gimbal. Cut off the appropriate amount of wire from the new sender. Solder the wires together and heat shrink them closed. You don't touch the plug this way.

I recommend the correct method, but if you want to cut corners, this way will work. I have done it both ways with success.