Hello!
I have been studying many of the very helpful posts here since I bought a 1989 Sea Ray 270 in September. Twin 5.7 GM, Alpha One (0C733590), both standard rotation. Second thing I bought was a service manual.
Short version
ort drive upper gears destroyed themselves, I suspect due to loss of gear oil. Is there automatically Lower unit damage too? I plan to buy a complete upper. Should I be buying both?
History: Previous owner limped in on one engine. The boat was hauled shortly after and winterized. Drive and boat went untouched for a year until I bought it.
Less than half a quart of thick milky gear oil came out of the lower drain screw. No evidence of filings, surprisingly. Found an oily and greasy but water free mess in the bellows. Pressure test reveals leaks at the u joint seal in the upper and prop shaft seals in the lower. I have opened the upper case and found stripped gears and some filings, but not a lot.
Long term I plan to do as much maintenance as possible myself, and invest in the tools, but I'm not ready to deal with pressing gears, backlash, pre load, etc. I can manage the prop shaft seals and will invest in those tools if that's all it takes. If it's likely that there's expensive damage to the lower gears or bearings then I'd rather spend that money on a new complete aftermarket drive right now.
Thoughts?
I have been studying many of the very helpful posts here since I bought a 1989 Sea Ray 270 in September. Twin 5.7 GM, Alpha One (0C733590), both standard rotation. Second thing I bought was a service manual.
Short version
ort drive upper gears destroyed themselves, I suspect due to loss of gear oil. Is there automatically Lower unit damage too? I plan to buy a complete upper. Should I be buying both?History: Previous owner limped in on one engine. The boat was hauled shortly after and winterized. Drive and boat went untouched for a year until I bought it.
Less than half a quart of thick milky gear oil came out of the lower drain screw. No evidence of filings, surprisingly. Found an oily and greasy but water free mess in the bellows. Pressure test reveals leaks at the u joint seal in the upper and prop shaft seals in the lower. I have opened the upper case and found stripped gears and some filings, but not a lot.
Long term I plan to do as much maintenance as possible myself, and invest in the tools, but I'm not ready to deal with pressing gears, backlash, pre load, etc. I can manage the prop shaft seals and will invest in those tools if that's all it takes. If it's likely that there's expensive damage to the lower gears or bearings then I'd rather spend that money on a new complete aftermarket drive right now.
Thoughts?
