Bravo 3 UJ's - Play

[alt]

Trying to help a friend out.

I have a very vague description of an error "making a dodgy sound when on full lock either side" - He didn't give me a chance to have a listen and now the out-drive is off.

To me, it sounded like the Gimbal (from his description), but it is smooth and when I turn it by hand it's smooth (but would you know by turning it by hand?) - Also appears (to the naked eye) ok aligned but I appreciate this is not scientific.

However, one thing I noticed is that there is some play in the UJ's. On one of the cross-bars (is that correct?) there's about 1mm, on the other much more, possibly up to 2mm.

I'm taking that this is not normal? Should there be *any* play?

Many thanks for any info you guru's can provide!

[beamishken]

Any play at all in the uj crosses is a bad thing that will turn catastrophic if left (possibly sinking the boat)
Usualy when they start to fail you can see the cup starting to break up but they must be changed if any movement is evident.
You can also get a knocking on full lock if the drive top bearing preload is incorrect
But id imagine in your case the joint is the culprit