Help I screwed up!

[erichy]

Hello everybody, I made a big mistake the other day and raised up my drive for shallow water and goosed it :redface:. It ran great the rest of the way out of the harbor but when I got to open water it went up to 15 knots or so struggling the whole time and not getting onto plane. This is when it went clunk and locked up, I just looked at the ball gears and they are shot. Is this a job I could do or should I hire it out. Is there shimming and tight clearances involved? I'm hoping that I didn't damage the shaft and shifting linkage also. It goes in and out of forward and reverse ok without the engine running. Any info would be greatly appreciated. Oh one more dumb question (since I've already revealed my stupidity) am I not supposed to run the engine even in neatral in the drive way with the drive up? Do the ball gears spin in nuetral?

 

[fyrfightr]

Re: Help I screwed up!

What make/model drive do you have?

 

[cannonford57]

Re: Help I screwed up!

if the engine is turning the ball gears are too

 

[cr2k]

Re: Help I screwed up!

That switch is a tilt, NOT a trim.

Pull the drive and see what works and what don't.

I believe ball gears are still available. There is some shimming or torquing required to pre load the bearings.

 

[erichy]

Re: Help I screwed up!

I'm sorry the make and model would help. It's a stringer 800 on a 1979 Wellcraft 196. Thank you for the info, I just bought the boat and I've been running it with the drive tilted up in the driveway so thats why the gears chewed up. The drive with the engine not running goes into gear fine and spins free and smooth in neutral, does that mean the driveshaft isn't damaged and the shift linkage is OK?

 

[erichy]

Re: Help I screwed up!

One more question. Since my ball gears are so chewed up could that actually bind up so severely that it stops the engine dead and prevents it from turning over now?