Is this normal for my lower drive?????

[bds85466]

Re: Is this normal for my lower drive?????

I think there's some questions left unanswered here.

How is one supposed to know how high is too high?

Can the motor be started in the water with the trim up? On muffs?

When boating in shallow or severely weedy areas, how should one proceed?

 

[IVAZ]

Re: Is this normal for my lower drive?????

I think there's some questions left unanswered here.

How is one supposed to know how high is too high?

Can the motor be started in the water with the trim up? On muffs?

When boating in shallow or severely weedy areas, how should one proceed?

There are some plates on the side of the drive and gimbal housing (don?t remember their name). You?re supposed to stay within those plates, they handle the side to side load. If the trim limit switch works, don?t use the trailer button to trim higher. Hopefully someone can explain it better than me.
If I'm in really shallow water I get out and push off to deeper waters.

 

[bruceb58]

Re: Is this normal for my lower drive?????

The owners manual says not to run over 1200 RPM when in the trimmed up position and to not run it past 5 degrees at other times. Even if I am in shallow water and the engine is at idle speed do I have it trimmed any more than half way. I just don't want to put any excess stresses on my drive if I can help it.

 

[180shabah]

Re: Is this normal for my lower drive?????

There aer two ports on either side of the transom shield - water and exhaust should exit there (as well as the prop hub). If it is coming out around the shift shaft then you probably have a ripped, or loose, exhaust bellows. This doesn't really matter, you can run without it, BUT...

Without the bellows you risk water intrusion from a following wave.

If your bellows have deteriorated and ripped, then your ujoint bellows is not far behind, if it hasn't already torn.

If you exhaust bellows has just come loose on one end, when you lower the drive, it won't be properly located and can push up into the u-joint bellows forcing them to rub against the u-joints. If no hole now, there will be VERY soon.

 

[smithrock]

Re: Is this normal for my lower drive?????

There aer two ports on either side of the transom shield - water and exhaust should exit there (as well as the prop hub). If it is coming out around the shift shaft then you probably have a ripped, or loose, exhaust bellows. This doesn't really matter, you can run without it, BUT...

Without the bellows you risk water intrusion from a following wave.

If your bellows have deteriorated and ripped, then your ujoint bellows is not far behind, if it hasn't already torn.

If you exhaust bellows has just come loose on one end, when you lower the drive, it won't be properly located and can push up into the u-joint bellows forcing them to rub against the u-joints. If no hole now, there will be VERY soon.

My bellows are fine. I'm thinking that I've got water coming from the new water pump and its filing up the wet cavities in the lower drive and since that intermediate shaft isn't sealed its coming up from there? Maybe I need to drop the lower again and tighten the pump housing a little more?