Those are grounding springs for older Mercruiser 1 Drives. They ground the trim rams to the cross pins that hold them, which in turn, grounds the trim rams to the drive itself. That allows for the anti-corrosion anodes to protect the trim rams. When these are not used, in salt water, the rams are isolated and can rot holes through, spewing trim oil into the water. (You would be surprised at how far one quart of oil goes…..It used to look like the Exxon Valdez had run aground.) The springs were put between the pairs of rubber ram mounting bushings, four per outdrive. The introduction of braided stainless covers for the trim hoses made these springs unnecessary.
Long live American manufacturing!
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