lower unit gear backlash

[marty moss]

hi Justin ; just got the new drive in and as I am A mechanic I compared the lower gear backlash and the driveshaft up down movement. There is less up down play in the driveshaft and the fwd gear backlash is tighter suggesting the fwd pinion gears are closer than the merc gears, is this
standard or should it be checked ? Thanks Marty

[Technical Support]

Marty,
The spec on the forward gear backlash is .017-.028 Most of ours get shipped out at about .020-.023. To check backlash properly, you must load the bearings, and check the backlash with a dial indicator. You would also need to remove the water pump assembly. If you are tring to rotate it with the water pump on, you are probably feeling the slop in the water pump keyway.
As far as the driveshaft movement in concerned, once you put a load on the unit, the gears will try to push away from each other. The driveshaft has a tapered roller bearing that gets preloaded when the gears are loaded.
In other words, don't worry about it :)
Thanks,
Tech Support