Bent lower part of outdrive- Advice on what to do?

[bumblebeeamigo]

Let me get the embarassing part out... After owning the same boat for 15 years, Today I somehow managed to crash my lower into the ground or the trailer (not sure which) while trying to load it. User Error.

Now I don't know "what to do". we are supposed to be taking a huge family week long boating trip to a cottage in 3 weeks, so I'm hoping to get it fixed QUICK.

I've been reading online that essentially- "it can be welded, so find a good welder, but then it might be cheaper just to buy a new one"

So since time is not my friend I need to get this moving tomorrow. I was thinking I should just call the boat shops in the area, but:
1. I don't know the right terminology to refer to the damage- Can anyone advise on how to explain this to someone on the phone?
2. I don't know if I should go STRAIGHT to a welder or jump to the idea of ordering a new outdrive

Any help from your expertise is GREATLY appreciated.

NO damage to the propeller. It was like a vertical drop as opposed to a horizontal. I don't know exactly how to explain what happened (the front of the boat got lifted up on the trailer board driving the rear down, and when in reverse to get off of it, it like dropped down into the concrete)

 

[s.hadley81]

Heat it up and bang it back straight and buy a skeg guard. No big deal !

 

[bumblebeeamigo]

Heat it up and bang it back straight and buy a skeg guard. No big deal !

Never even heard of a skeg guard.

That I can do. I'll heat it up with a torch, work on bending it back into place, and order a skeg guard from iboats tomorrow..

 

[thumpar]

Don't heat it unless you know what you are doing. You can fry the seals. Take it to a prop shop and have it done right. My friend completely snapped his skeg off and it was only $100 to fix.

 

[Scott Danforth]

you could simply leave it and go boating.

definatly not cheaper to buy a new one. at thumpar indicated, $100 or less (I have paid as little as $50) a new outdrive is about 2400.

 

[nitedmn]

My dad has knocked his skeg off more times then I can count. Eventually he stopped having it repaired. Now I have his old boat with only half a skeg. Some day I'll get it fixed.

 

[H20Rat]

*deleted, duplicate*

 

[H20Rat]

Do not heat it up! You aren't going to bend that back, it looks like the metal might have stress cracks on it. I'd take an angle grinder and just whack the lower half off, and if it bothers you, get a skeg guard.

 

[Rick Stephens]

I agree. Either take it off at the cracks or take it to a shop. Pretty easy fix but requires some very specialized equipment and knowledge. No way do you heat it unless you want to replace seals.

 

[s.hadley81]

Don't heat it unless you know what you are doing. You can fry the seals. Take it to a prop shop and have it done right. My friend completely snapped his skeg off and it was only $100 to fix.

Good catch I should have specified not to get crazy with the heat , I had no problem heating mine up with a propane torch and banging it back on my drive I got off Craigslist, that why it was cheap. I had it in the stand so that was easier than on the boat and I tapped and heated a little at a time and only on the skeg with a block of wood. Sometimes I forget that not everyone goes at things with a light touch.

 

[Scott Danforth]

if you want to heat it, below are two of the best inventions ever to enter the welding world

its what the prop shop used to weld on a new skeg for my boat while I got lunch one day (under 30 minutes)

 

[Rick Stephens]

if you want to heat it, below are two of the best inventions ever to enter the welding world



its what the prop shop used to weld on a new skeg for my boat while I got lunch one day (under 30 minutes)

That stuff is pretty good for welding, where the heat is for a reasonably short period of time. However, you really need to limit the amount of time since it quits working pretty quick. Sucks up the heat and hardens like concrete. Once hard, no more heat barrier.

 

[s.hadley81]

That stuff is pretty good for welding, where the heat is for a reasonably short period of time. However, you really need to limit the amount of time since it quits working pretty quick. Sucks up the heat and hardens like concrete. Once hard, no more heat barrier.

That's cool ! I never knew about that product , when you say it dries like concrete does it adhere to the surface you applied it to so you have to scrap it off or are you just saying once it's hard that its no longer doing its job?

 

[Rick Stephens]

Once hardened it stops doing anything. You build it up on both sides where you want the heat to stop. Kind of like a light putty. The bigger the build up the more BTUs it can absorb. It chips right off when you're finished.

I wouldn't heat and bend back when you have stress cracks that need welding anyway. I would take it somewhere and have it fixed, or ignore it until I could take it somewhere.

Rick

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... I guess I gotta comment, with all this talk of heatin' it up,.....

The housin' is cast aluminum,....
Aluminum likes to bend, Only once, then needs to be annealed, not heated 'n bent,....
Aluminum don't "Glow" when heated like steel or iron,...
It's there, then it's a puddle on the shop floor,.... No color changes, just there, then gone,....

To anneal aluminum like the drive above, you'd wipe one side with a rag soaked in motor oil, then heat the opposite side with a propane torch with a broad flame, til the oil on the over side evaporates away,....
Let cool, then repeat on opposite sides,....

Let it cool, 'n you'll probably get 2 or 3 wacks at it, before it work hardens, 'n ya gotta anneal it again, or bust it off if ya don't,.....

It's easier to just bust it off, grind it up, cut a replacement chunk outa 1/4" plate, 'n weld it back on,....
Even with the weldin', 'n grindin', a wet rag 'round the gear cavity keeps any stray heat from any rubber parts,....

 

[Rick Stephens]

Ayuh,..... I guess I gotta comment, with all this talk of heatin' it up,.....

The housin' is cast aluminum,....
Aluminum likes to bend, Only once, then needs to be annealed, not heated 'n bent,....
Aluminum don't "Glow" when heated like steel or iron,...
It's there, then it's a puddle on the shop floor,.... No color changes, just there, then gone,....

To anneal aluminum like the drive above, you'd wipe one side with a rag soaked in motor oil, then heat the opposite side with a propane torch with a broad flame, til the oil on the over side evaporates away,....
Let cool, then repeat on opposite sides,....

Let it cool, 'n you'll probably get 2 or 3 wacks at it, before it work hardens, 'n ya gotta anneal it again, or bust it off if ya don't,.....

It's easier to just bust it off, grind it up, cut a replacement chunk outa 1/4" plate, 'n weld it back on,....
Even with the weldin', 'n grindin', a wet rag 'round the gear cavity keeps any stray heat from any rubber parts,....

I appreciate you putting it straight in long form. For someone who hasn't worked aluminum I figured it best to just come out and recommend it go to a proper shop. I owned a welding shop for 26 years and I don't know enough about outdrives to have taken this bent one in as a professional job. I'd do my own drive without qualms. But this is no where as simple as heat it up and bend it back. Aluminum is funny stuff and the joke has been on me too many times.

Bondo, your answer is well done.

Rick

 

[bruceb58]

If you want to see the proper way of fixing it, check out this thread. I would do it the same way

http://forums.iboats.com/forum/engin...ighlight=lucky

 

[bumblebeeamigo]

Don't heat it unless you know what you are doing. You can fry the seals. Take it to a prop shop and have it done right. My friend completely snapped his skeg off and it was only $100 to fix.

How do you know if you fried the seals?

I took the initial advice and heated the heck out of it.

It bent back fine, with no trouble.

I put a skeg guard on it.

However, I'm also having a lot of water with trace amounts of of brown stuff leaking out of the intake now... I don't know if its related though. I had a different thread addressing that. I showed my father the picture over 4th of july weekend and he said it looks like its just iron or rust.

Could heating it up to fix it have actually caused a seal to break down causing oil to drip out into the intake?

Picture uploaded to imageshack with the One4um.com application - All your forum's content merged into one4um

 

[Rick Stephens]

Could heating it up to fix it have actually caused a seal to break down causing oil to drip out into the intake?

Yes, absolutely.

Starting another thread without stating the obvious, that you just finished a repair and the questioned behavior is new since that repair, means anything said on the new thread is not based on the elephant in the room.

Stick a bucket under the drive if you want to be certain it isn't leaking oil.

 

[bumblebeeamigo]

Yes, absolutely.

Starting another thread without stating the obvious, that you just finished a repair and the questioned behavior is new since that repair, means anything said on the new thread is not based on the elephant in the room.

Stick a bucket under the drive if you want to be certain it isn't leaking oil.

I did say in there that I just repeaired it- the 2nd sentence was that I bent it back and put a stainless skeg cover over it.

Its definitely not oil after letting it dry up:

Picture uploaded to imageshack with the One4um.com application - All your forum's content merged into one4um

Thanks. Now I know how to repair it nex time!