Anybody ever see this?

[glust]

Good morning... Anyway its better than Saturday was. Was pulling out the pontoon for the season. The forward gear was slipping a bit and banging the shift dog but I was making good progress toward the dock. 100 yards from the dock I lose all propulsion. No forward, no reverse. I'm thinking linkage let go, broken cable, etc. Luckily, the wind carries us toward dock. I get boat on trailer and out of lake to find this....



The guy pulling out boats from a local marina said he had never seen that one before. I have a line on a new lower, but do I have a problem systemic of the motor that I should address, Or is this just gear slipping and banging cracked housing causing catastrophic failure? Thanks for any guidance. Always something!!

 

[steelespike]

Re: Anybody ever see this?

Examine the crack; see if it appears that a partial crack existed.Look for corrosion and some areas like a fresh break.
Perhaps someone struck something years ago and the crack finally let go.
Years ago I had a 67 E 40 hp that the heads popped off the bolts that held the gear case to the leg.
There was enough to hold it together but about 90% of each head was gone.
To the best of my knowledge it never struck anything, very strange.

 

[F_R]

Re: Anybody ever see this?

Yeah, years ago, I repaired a V4 that the gearcase dropped off of in 10 feet of water and mud because the heads popped off the bolts. Very strange indeed.

But back to the OP's motor, no I've never seen anything like it. However, that is the area that they bend if you hit something with sideways thrust or bounce around on the bottom. As said, probably an old injury. That's probably why it was banging like a dog. Been running with water in it rather than oil for who knows how long.

 

[glust]

Re: Anybody ever see this?

Great points and very helpful. Just replaced lower unit shift dog and forward gear mid-way through season. No water in gearcase oil then. Ran great all summer. Was just banging a time or two coming in and I figured I needed a linkage adjustment. Found a good used lower for $200 nearby so I'm going to jump on it. Most everything else I found was $800 and up.

 

[kfa4303]

Re: Anybody ever see this?

yikers, that's scary :/ glad you found a whole new LU for a decent price. hopefully it will bolt right in place with no issues.

 

[likitvi]

Re: Anybody ever see this?



Yes. But we hit an underwater rock at normal cruise speed, and it was a matter of fractions of an inch that the whole boat would had gone under.

 

[emdsapmgr]

Re: Anybody ever see this?

If some gear or clutch dog let go (blew up) while the engine was under power, there is a lot of force moving bits of metal inside that case. Possible something fractured the case. An innocent banging inside the gearcase can be a huge metal piece that's out of place. When it hits an immovable object, all sorts of things happen. It certainly is a rare failure, however.

 

[boobie]

Re: Anybody ever see this?

In my years of working on these motors I've never seen one that bad. Wants to make one sick. Good Luck.

 

[glust]

Re: Anybody ever see this?

I didn't wig out when I saw it. Really wanted to understand why though. Kept a pretty cool head and then I find a replacement 1 hour away for $200.00. I'm leaning more toward a loose piece locked her up under power and something had to give. Anyway, most of the evidence is at the bottom of the lake. Thanks guys. I appreciate all of your thoughts and advice. How did we function before forum sites???

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Anybody ever see this?

How long does it take for that much goop to build up on the exhaust housing?
Could be corrosive.

Not sure I'd swim around there....