4.3L I/O Bad Coupler Again..

[alldodge]

check the oil level first, remove the top plug and insert a blade of grass, see if you can detect oil level
No oil, then remove top cap and look. Damage will be obvious
If oil is to the plug and you dont see the damaged gears, shift into F and remove the drive. If you find thin long needles of aluminum in/on the inputshaft you spun the coupler

Do what BD mentioned first to see if there is lube in the drive.
Then follow his next step if no lube is found

 

[Bt Doctur]

Now that we know what happened where did the oil go? You will need to try and pull the vert gear and shaft straight up after you remove the inputsjaft. It there is any difficulty the tips of the teeth cut into the casing and you may need a complete new upper

 

[Dave87]

Alright so I drained the oil and there are very tiny metal shavings in it. Do I still need to remove the lower unit ? Or is it safe say its scrap now ?

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-xovPheDlc5BXJVrNEAqJqMzkFSMKfsD/view?usp=sharing

https://drive.google.com/file/d/105w462_kG4j-V8xTxIisrfyayjT6Nsuk/view?usp=sharing

 

[Dave87]

Also I found this outdrive for sale for 500$

Should I buy it ??

If i decide to buy it what should I look out for ?

Just to double check my gear ratio is 1.81 ?

Where would I find this information ?

 

[alldodge]

It probably is scrap from the symptoms and the metal found, but take the very top cap off the drive. The cap screws should be 3/8 12 point. Removing it you can then see the gears. You don't have to remove the cap and just call it scrap, your choice.

I don't know what ratio you have, could figure it out if the drive was apart and could count teeth. If yours is a 1.81 then you need to find the same ratio or change props.

The alpha 1.18 will have 17/19 in the upper and 17/28 lower. Can rotate by hand and count the revolutions

 

[Rick Stephens]

I still have not heard, or seen pictures, of what you saw that was broken or damaged.

 

[Grub54891]

The oil you drained looks milky. You had a leak, so removing the top cap is the first step to access the damages.

 

[Dave87]

It probably is scrap from the symptoms and the metal found, but take the very top cap off the drive. The cap screws should be 3/8 12 point. Removing it you can then see the gears. You don't have to remove the cap and just call it scrap, your choice.

I don't know what ratio you have, could figure it out if the drive was apart and could count teeth. If yours is a 1.81 then you need to find the same ratio or change props.

The alpha 1.18 will have 17/19 in the upper and 17/28 lower. Can rotate by hand and count the revolutions

If you check out my post #18 it has the photos of the upper unit gears all destroyed and stripped..

 

[Dave87]

I still have not heard, or seen pictures, of what you saw that was broken or damaged.

Hey check out post #18 it has pictures of the upper unit all stripped inside..

 

[Dave87]

[/SIZE]

First need to determine what is wrong... it is not always financially reasonable to rebuild an outdrive. Upper case, is financially and technically within DIY reach. But if it ground up the gears in the upper, then it also put metal in the lower through the shared oil pathways. When you get to the lower the cost of the special tools is more than the cost of a replacement drive.

Post pics of what you find wrong and collectively there is a huge enough pool of advice to assist in the proper course to take to get back on the water.

Why would I need to replace the lower unit gears if small metal bits went down there ?

 

[alldodge]

If you check out my post #18 it has the photos of the upper unit gears all destroyed and stripped..

OK, missed those, yes its toast

 

[HT32BSX115]

You might seriously consider buying a new SEI drive instead of a questionable used drive.......

Just saying....

 

[Dave87]

You might seriously consider buying a new SEI drive instead of a questionable used drive.......

Just saying....

I agree but keep in mind I have an old boat (1991) and I only plan on keeping it for another year or two..

The drive that I would be buying would be from a 1992 boat and at the price of 500$ its hard to say no....

 

[Dave87]

Why would I have to replace the lower unit gears if it was just small shavings that went down there ?

 

[HT32BSX115]

Why would I have to replace the lower unit gears if it was just small shavings that went down there ?

You may not have to replace the gears. But you would have to completely disassemble, clean, and reassemble with possibly new gears, bearings, shims and seals.

You will not know if there's damage in those gears and bearings until they're out in the open, and you cannot effectively clean the lower if it's not disassembled.

 

[alldodge]

^^^ Agree
Also a 500 drive may be good or bad, depends on its status, nothing wrong with a used drive if it has been taken care of. And assume your going to sell the boat, so hope its still working

 

[Rick Stephens]

Why would I have to replace the lower unit gears if it was just small shavings that went down there ?

Sorry I missed the pics!

IMHO, it costs waaay too much just for the tools and parts you need to disassemble and reassemble the lower. Not even counting anything that is damaged or marginal. The upper may be savable with new parts, but will require some tooling and the bearings, seals, shims, gears and shaft ain't cheap either. Tools required are the spanner wrench and a torque indicator that will read accurately in the 6 to 10 INCH pounds range.

I would purchase a $500 drive if they let me pull the lower plug and see if it is a magnet and what's on it, and pop the top cap and look inside. Hand manipulating the shifter and rotating the prop the appropriate directions to feel the gears. Note, a lot of friction is created by the impeller. But at least you can tell if it shift super easy, locks up the correct way and turns properly. I believe the top cap bolts get 17-23 ft pounds torque.

I did replace my drive on a 1989 boat with an SEI before I swapped the motor out. It was, at the time, $1200 delivered and worked fine and has a no fault warranty you cannot beat. I think they went up a couple hundred since then. I got $950 for it while it was still in warranty. Guy who bought it is still cruising years later.

 

[tank1949]

So I was driving along in my boat and then I suddenly lost propulsion. The engine kept running and started to over heat.

I put the boat in forwards and the prop would lock up when I spun it by hand but only in one direction and the same when I put it in reverse.

I will check the oil tomorrow.

Should I also remove the upper case cover and see what it looks like in there ?

Not to sound stupid, but have you checked prop hub? Most are rubber or synthetic and will eventually give way and spin under pressure. They fatigue! Put OD in gear and try to turn prop. If it turns, take prop to prop shop for examination.

 

[Dave87]

Sorry I missed the pics!

IMHO, it costs waaay too much just for the tools and parts you need to disassemble and reassemble the lower. Not even counting anything that is damaged or marginal. The upper may be savable with new parts, but will require some tooling and the bearings, seals, shims, gears and shaft ain't cheap either. Tools required are the spanner wrench and a torque indicator that will read accurately in the 6 to 10 INCH pounds range.

I would purchase a $500 drive if they let me pull the lower plug and see if it is a magnet and what's on it, and pop the top cap and look inside. Hand manipulating the shifter and rotating the prop the appropriate directions to feel the gears. Note, a lot of friction is created by the impeller. But at least you can tell if it shift super easy, locks up the correct way and turns properly. I believe the top cap bolts get 17-23 ft pounds torque.

I did replace my drive on a 1989 boat with an SEI before I swapped the motor out. It was, at the time, $1200 delivered and worked fine and has a no fault warranty you cannot beat. I think they went up a couple hundred since then. I got $950 for it while it was still in warranty. Guy who bought it is still cruising years later.

Thanks for the info. I'm going to check out the drive tomorrow and see if I can spot anything that I should be wary of.

If I pull out the bottom plug and I see some metal on the magnet is it an automatic shouldn't touch situation ?

I will ask the guy if he is ok with me opening up the top cap and have a look in there.

 

[Dave87]

Not to sound stupid, but have you checked prop hub? Most are rubber or synthetic and will eventually give way and spin under pressure. They fatigue! Put OD in gear and try to turn prop. If it turns, take prop to prop shop for examination.

Hey tank ,

We've established that its the gears in the upper unit that are completely stripped.