I'm Broke and Stuck!!!

[Restless22]

After playing hard today, all of a sudden the drive stopped. Engine fine, but transmission feels broken. Will not shift into gear. Feels like its in neutral. I have TowBoats US, thank God.

Boat is 1988 Wellcraft Aruba with 350 stern drive and Alpha 1.

 

[lineman09]

Re: I'm Broke and Stuck!!!

are you noticing a pattern here yet ........ anyways good luck hope its not too spendy to fix!!!!!!

 

[laserbrn]

Re: I'm Broke and Stuck!!!

What happens when you try to shift? Lots of crunching noises? Won't shift without force? Handle moves but engine doesn't shift? What are we lookin' at here? Could just be a cable. Could be time to haul the boat already...need a little more info.

I'm not sure how hard you're playing, but c'mon dude. You're in an OLD boat, treat it as such. Take it easy on her and she'll treat you well. Play hard and you'll have to PAY hard. Alpha 1 drive on a 350 on a big boat? Playin' hard isn't a great idea. You want a Bravo One if you want to play hard like that.

 

[nlain]

Re: I'm Broke and Stuck!!!

You need to find out what is wrong first, a 350 and Alpha 1 are fine, the Alpha will handle 300 HP with no problem. You need to do some diagnostics, get the engine cover off, move the shift lever, does the cable to the drive move, is it broken, stretched, drain the oil, is there metal in it. Hopefully a mod will come along and move this to the right forum below where the people are that can help you.

 

[Bondo]

Re: I'm Broke and Stuck!!!

After playing hard today, all of a sudden the drive stopped. Engine fine, but transmission feels broken. Will not shift into gear. Feels like its in neutral. I have TowBoats US, thank God.

Boat is 1988 Wellcraft Aruba with 350 stern drive and Alpha 1.

Ayuh,..... You can get an SEI replacement drive, right here at iboats,.... I believe for under $1500...

 

[r.j.dawg]

Re: I'm Broke and Stuck!!!

Best thing for a good answer is to post your engine serial number. All kinds of 350/5.7's out there with different setups.

 

[Restless22]

Re: I'm Broke and Stuck!!!

What happens when you try to shift? Lots of crunching noises? Won't shift without force? Handle moves but engine doesn't shift? What are we lookin' at here? Could just be a cable. Could be time to haul the boat already...need a little more info.

I'm not sure how hard you're playing, but c'mon dude. You're in an OLD boat, treat it as such. Take it easy on her and she'll treat you well. Play hard and you'll have to PAY hard. Alpha 1 drive on a 350 on a big boat? Playin' hard isn't a great idea. You want a Bravo One if you want to play hard like that.

When I try to shift into F or R, the usual feel of going into gear is gone. Shortly after failure it would still creep along in F or R, then nothing. The engine revs fine. It's like it's in neutral.

My guy is looking at it tomorrow. I will have to look for the SN. All I know is it's an Alpha 1 and has 350 Magnum on it, which matches my engine.

Thank God for TowBoat US. Well worth $58 a year!

 

[rogerwa]

Re: I'm Broke and Stuck!!!

Did the engine get warm after it broke? If it didnt I would think that power was being transferred to the water pump. That indicate a bad cable or a problem in the lower gears by the prop shaft/clutch dog. If it got warm I would suspect the ujoints or the upper gears.

Although you are probably fearful just touching this boat by now, don't let it scare you away. It's just money. Once you get set and have a few outings where it as just fun, you'll hopefully forget the hassles and extra money..

 

[CC245]

Re: I'm Broke and Stuck!!!

Is the prop still on? If it's still on the hub might be spun.

 

[CaptainKickback]

Re: I'm Broke and Stuck!!!

Is the prop still on? If it's still on the hub might be spun.

That was my thought as soon as the OP said it creeps along.

Sea ya...

 

[theteacher]

Re: I'm Broke and Stuck!!!

Did you hit the bottom with your prop? If so, spun hub ( messed up the prop).

 

[Restless22]

Re: I'm Broke and Stuck!!!

I hit the bottom Friday. I hit some rocks swinging around, but everything seemed fine. Think I may have set this in motion?

 

[theteacher]

Re: I'm Broke and Stuck!!!

Yep, probably. Someone will chime in and tell you how to check for a spun prop. I hit bottom and spun 1 years ago. I carry an extra prop at all times now, just never know.
Craigs List usually has used, mint condition props for sale. Guys buy and try different pitches to get a few extra mile per hour. I've seen guys with 7 and 8 props in their garage, all like new, except their favorite 1 that's on the boat !

 

[laserbrn]

Re: I'm Broke and Stuck!!!

You need to find out what is wrong first, a 350 and Alpha 1 are fine,

Oh, I'm not saying an Alpha 1 and a 350 aren't a good match, I'm just saying that a 22-23 year old Alpha 1 might not take as much abuse as a brand new Alpha 1 and not near as much abuse as a Bravo. Would you go on CL, but a 22 year old car and then drive it around all day long with your foot all the way on the floorboard all day? If that's your thing, I think you'd expect to replacing a lot of the original equipment with new to get it back ready for that kind of abuse. Otherwise you'd expect to be on the side of the road, broken at least a few times.

Hopefully it's just a spun hub, but every post seems to start with "after playing hard today" or something similar. I guess I'm reading into that a bit much. It's just quite a large boat and I can see it loaded with 8 people, a tube hanging off the back and a guy just pinning it out there all day long. Not that that it's not okay, but it's going to get pricey to play that hard compared to say...cruising around the lake, hanging out in coves and having some cocktails while leisurely enjoying the lake. Two different personalities that will likely pay a different amount overall to play the game.

 

[Restless22]

Re: I'm Broke and Stuck!!!

Prop hub is spun. Just got the call.

 

[JASinIL2006]

Re: I'm Broke and Stuck!!!

Sounds like one of the least expensive of the possible problems, so I'd say you lucked out!

 

[lncoop]

Re: I'm Broke and Stuck!!!

Prop hub is spun. Just got the call.

Hallelujah! Best case scenario for sure. Phew!

 

[Restless22]

Re: I'm Broke and Stuck!!!

Yep, but I'm taking heed on the advice on pushing the old girl hard. As of yesterday, flogging her all day long is over. I'll buy a Jet Ski for craziness.

 

[bgc]

Re: I'm Broke and Stuck!!!

Yep, but I'm taking heed on the advice on pushing the old girl hard. As of yesterday, flogging her all day long is over. I'll buy a Jet Ski for craziness.

I would buy an aluminum prop form iboats and have you old one fixed as a spare. I have done in my share of props and paying for repairs to a steel or brass prop is no fun, aluminum is cheep.

 

[lncoop]

Re: I'm Broke and Stuck!!!

Yep, but I'm taking heed on the advice on pushing the old girl hard. As of yesterday, flogging her all day long is over. I'll buy a Jet Ski for craziness.

Don't beat yourself up too much Restless. You just got her. It's only natural you'd want to run her hard. As the newness starts to wear off you'll find yourself slowing down and enjoying the ride more.