Maybe Dumb first time boat owner maintenance questions.

[Gabriellii]

Well … I bought my first boat …
1997 Four Winns Horizon RX - 4.3 GL, VP Cobra SX outdrive. 18’ open bow. The HOBBS meter says 740 hours, but it doesn’t work, so it has at least that on it. It is a

Sorry if I’m going to ask a bunch of dumb new guy questions that have been answer a hundred times is 25 different posts (I did look first).

The guy I bought the boat from had it for 2 years and put it in the water twice, he changed the outdrive oil, but I think that is the only maintenance he did. He had no maintenance history information.

Questions:
I noticed (last night) that there is a 4” tear in the gimbal boot … so there is going to be a boot replacement in my immediate future. This process is well documented on this forum … happy for that! I put the product number from the outdrive ID tag into VP’s site and it comes back with “SX-C1 (AQ)” … is the AQ significant? I see SX-C1 listed in various parts lists, but not with the AQ.

The boat has a “growl” when under a load anytime the stern drive is not centered. If I trim all the way down and hold button up for about 3 seconds, and the helm is straight, it doesn’t growl, but pretty much any deflection from that and it growls. Bad gimbal bearing? U-Joints? VP says replace the drive shaft… is that really the solution or am I ok pressing in a new set?

I read on a post on this forum that there is supposed to be some “anode maintenance” performed … what does that mean? The drive has a large half-circular anode on the leading edge.

The owners manual lists top speed at 47 with 4200 - 4600 rpm. I get 42 (showing on boat speedometer) at 5200 … the prop has been replaced with a stainless 14.25 R 21. The manual says it should be a 14.25 x 23 … is this a concern?

We have taken it out a couple times and the temp gauge doesn’t quite reach 120 degrees after at least 30 minutes running. When I put my hand on the exhaust manifold they are just warm … I didn’t measure the temp, but based on feel I’m guessing they jive with the temp gauge at somewhere around 100 - 110 degrees. You could leave your hand on the manifold for several minutes with no discomfort … is this normal? I believe I read somewhere that the water pump I have is a ‘stay-cool’ pump. It is remotely mounted and spun by its own dedicated pulley. I did take it apart, the impeller is in excellent condition. I polished the inside of the pump housing and reassembled.

I appreciate any thoughts you can give ‘the new guy’ … thanks.

Darin

 

[Horigan]

Welcome to the forum! There are no dumb questions.

There are two bellows, the upper U-joint bellows and the lower exhaust bellows. A tear in the U-joint bellows will kill your U-joints and gimbal bearing, which is the noise you hear. Not familiar with that specific drive, but you likely need to replace the entire input shaft.

Replace anodes when they are half way consumed. I just do it annually. There is another one at the bottom of the gimbal housing.

If you put the 23" pitch back prop on you'll get rpms more aligned with the manual. You shouldn't run the rpms to 5200 if the manual is saying 4600 rpm max. The 21" does have better hole shot, but this results in reduced max speed and risk of over revving the engine.

Good that you checked the raw water pump impeller. I would replace the thermostat to get the temps to 140 or 160F, depending on the engine.

 

[BRICH1260]

Remove the drive and you will probably need to replace the gimble and U joints as water has probably gotten in and ruined those. With regards to the "underheating", it is probably a result of a bad thermostat or clogged bypass ports in the thermostat housing. I would remove it completely, replace the thermostat and look dep inside as there are small passages that you can hardly see, probably are clogged by debris or impeller parts.

 

[Scott06]

As mentioned replace the bellows gimbal and ujoints. If yo are handy you can usually cross ref the ujoint to an automotive

the thermostat needs replacement if you are only running at 120

The prop you may want to test the tach with a shop tach or timing light to see if it is off (happpens frequently) before swapping props. While it would have come with a 23" someone might have swapped the 21" on to get better holeshot. being a vortec 4.3 I would think you are good to 4800 just like the mercruisers with the same engine. Bottom line you may loose low end or loaded performance when all you need to do is throttle back when runing wide open and lightly loaded.

As delivered props are more for generic overall performance, if you are happy how it behaves or you want to have a full load while pulling skiiers you may not like how it works with a 23"

 

[bruceb58]

If you have a tear in the u-joint bellows, expect to change the gimble bearing and u-joints. Actually, you will just change the entire drive shaft and likely the driveshaft seal where it goes into the drive. Hopefully not much water got into your drive becuase that is a definite possibility.

Don't use this boat anymore until you pull the drive.

 

[Gabriellii]

Update: Got the drive removed. That wasn’t really that bad. Ordered bearing, u-joints, both bellows, trim transducer. Discovered 1 missing bushing, so ordered that too.

Quick follow up question: on the SX drive, should I replace the ujoints with the shaft in the upper unit, or disassemble the upper unit to get the shaft out?

 

[bruceb58]

The best option, although more expensive, is to just buy a whole new shaft.

 

[Gabriellii]

The best option, although more expensive, is to just buy a whole new shaft.

Curious on this one ... and being that I am brand new to boating ...
Why is it a better option to replace the shaft vs. replacing the ujoints?

 

[Scott Danforth]

Curious on this one ... and being that I am brand new to boating ...
Why is it a better option to replace the shaft vs. replacing the ujoints?

Because often the seal surface is rusted and will eat the new seal. Additionally, if neglected, the splines wear enough to strip out

 

[Gabriellii]

Because often the seal surface is rusted and will eat the new seal. Additionally, if neglected, the splines wear enough to strip out

Got it, and thank you very much for pointing out a couple things I need to inspect. I suspect that this shaft unit has been replaced previously ... based on the overall condition. The shaft has (2) o-rings that seal, presumably, to the inside of the gimbal bearing, I ordered replacement o-rings in the bellows kit. Is there another seal? I could see if I disassemble the upper unit to pull the shaft assy, there is probably a seal in there somewhere, but I didn't know I should replace that too.

 

[Gabriellii]

Update: got the gimbal bearing and bellows replaced. New u-joints, exhaust bellows, trim transducer, and fresh water intake hose. Job wasn’t really too bad. Took a couple days.
Question: is there a breakin period on that gimbal bearing? Since the driveshaft spins all the time, should I throw it on a set of muffs and let it sit in the driveway and run for an hour or so?

thx
Darin

 

[Horigan]

No break-in required for the bearing.

 

[Scott Danforth]

the break in period is from the time you start cranking to the time you release the key.... after that, drive it like you rented it.