lower unit damage... dead in the water......

[iwombat]

Re: lower unit damage... dead in the water......

At this point, if the drive shaft is broken that LU needs to come apart and be inspected and rebuilt anyway. I'd suspect a rusted bearing/bushing or three put some excess load on the drive shaft and caused it to fail.

Assuming the shaft is broken and water intrusion (we're still waiting to find out), I wouldn't put a new one in unil I had that LU apart.

 

[brussell]

Re: lower unit damage... dead in the water......

ok got all the bolts out, pulled the cotter pin on the linkage and it won't come out. Do I take the small blot off holding the entire linkage in? The one with the square back?

Are the 4 5/8ths bolts on the front of the foot the shifter bolts?

it's hanging there about an inch apart but is still stuck.

The fluid was milky looked like water got in but never saw any come out.

while I'm at it how muck to rebuild a foot? can I do it solo?

I bought the thing for 1500 bucks 7 years ago. All I have done to it was maintenance, plugs, wires, foot oil change etc. Its been more than I could ever have asked and I dont know how many hours I got on the water but a bunch.

I'd hate to see her go...

 

[brussell]

Re: lower unit damage... dead in the water......

Also i took the square panels off of the sides of the motor. What are they?

 

[HighTrim]

Re: lower unit damage... dead in the water......

You need to unhook the shift rod. Look behing the starboard carbs on the floor of the cowl. Trace the shift rod up the lu to the cowl and you will see where it comes through. Put a couple of the bolts back in through or your lu will drop to the ground when you disconnect the shift rod from the bellcrank. Also remove the prop to avoid damage.

 

[brussell]

Re: lower unit damage... dead in the water......

it got dark and will go at it again tommorrow. These bolts are they about 9/16?

 

[HighTrim]

Re: lower unit damage... dead in the water......

Im not 100 percent and hopefully someone will be able to jump in, but I believe there are 4 bolts (9/16) to remove, 2 on the port side, 2 on the starboard, the trim tab bolt, a countersunk bolt underneath the trim tab and to disconnect the shift rod from the bellcrank.

 

[Joe Reeves]

Re: lower unit damage... dead in the water......

Brussell.... You took the cotter pin (Clevis Pin) out of the shift linkage arm, BUT did you push that arm in so that the linkage releases the shoulder pin from the shift rod? If not, do so.

 

[brussell]

Re: lower unit damage... dead in the water......

Boy what am i doing wrong? the foot now is 4 inches in the back about 1 in the front. It won't come off of there. This whole shift rod has me confused. I pulled the pin and wiggled the whole thing. It moves an inch or so. I even used a screwdriver to try and push the rod out from underneath with no luck. How much force is required and am i tearing something up trying to get this thing loose?

 

[iwombat]

Re: lower unit damage... dead in the water......

You're doing just fine. It could be that your drive shaft is in tact and still holding it in too. Put four of those bolts in about 1/2" and turn the flywheel (starter motor or by hand - be sure to remove your spark plug wires). It may just pop down those bolts will catch it.. Once you get it cockeyed like that it can bind in the guides too.

Thinking about it some more . . . If the shaft is broken off under the impeller, that shaft can still stick in the powerhead and keep it from going anywhere. The above trick should still work.

 

[brussell]

Re: lower unit damage... dead in the water......

Alright got it off and the driveshaft is broken flush with the top of the foot right at the water pump. That's a big shaft just to snap. What happened? I found a rebuilt foot for 660 bucks shipped. Guess I should have done a pressure check first to see if i had a good top end. It ran great though.

Do I need a whole new unit or new driveshaft?

Thaks for all the help. What did we do before the internet?

 

[brussell]

Re: lower unit damage... dead in the water......

Also, how in the world do ya get the shift rod back in position? It looks like it would be a booger to line back up

 

[HighTrim]

Re: lower unit damage... dead in the water......

Dont adjust the shift rod, it will look like you should tighten it but dont, the tolerances are tight and it will no longer shift, or you wont even be able to hook it back up to the bell crank again. It is alot harder to put back together than it is to take apart.

 

[iwombat]

Re: lower unit damage... dead in the water......

Like I said before, the water intrusion is what caused the driveshaft to break. You've probably got rusted bearings, worn gears etc. That put too much of a load on the driveshaft and it gave way. You could tear it apart and rebuld it, or just go for the new LU.

Are you willing to do the rebuild yourself? If so, price out new gears, bearings and seals and see what the worst case will run you. I think you'll be looking at $350 in parts or better.

At $660 I'd be pretty tempted to get the new LU and call it a day.

 

[HighTrim]

Re: lower unit damage... dead in the water......

I agree with Bat, it all depends on whether you are going to do the rebuild yourself. If you're not, it will definately be cheaper to buy the rebuilt one. I imagine alot of that price is for the shipping, those buggers are heavy, so if you find one local it will be quite a bit cheaper. If you do keep your current lu though, be sure to properly vaccuum test it to determine where the leak is so you dont have to go through this again.

 

[brussell]

Re: lower unit damage... dead in the water......

I would like to do it myself, But, I was talking to the guy who towed us home and he did a rebuild only to have it fail after 3 rides. Obviously wasn't done right.

A bolt on may be best. That would leave my with the cost of the foot plus a water pump. He said it came with a shifter and drive shaft.

A shop will charge a fortune.

Thanks for the help. Guess putting it back together is next. Then its on to the steering issues and the other boat.........

 

[HighTrim]

Re: lower unit damage... dead in the water......

If you want to get in the water more this summer, you could always buy the rebuilt lu you found, then rebuild the one you have now, give it a coat of paint, and sell it when you are done to re coup some of the cost of the one you purchased. It just depends on how much it will cost you to rebuild it and what you can get for it when you're done, you'll have to run some numbers.

* It will get u away from the wife for some alone time in the garage over the winter *

 

[iwombat]

Re: lower unit damage... dead in the water......

You'd be better off gutting the old one and ebaying the case if it's in good shape. Lots of LUs with cracked plates or broken skegs out there needing new cases. Figure you could sell it fully rebuilt for $600 - $350 in parts and you're looking at $250 profit. What's your time worth? You could probably get $150 just for the case if its in really good shape.

 

[brussell]

Re: lower unit damage... dead in the water......

I'm gonna take it apart because it's gone and I wanna see what all is involved. Is it like setting up a diff on a Jeep?

I sell it for 150.
That brings me 2 my next question.

I have a 74 Bomber with a 650 mercury. The merc has some fuel issues. My guess it needs carbs. So it cranks and runs and even fast idles. Once you get going it just bogs down then speeds up then bogs again.

Also it has a leaky foot and from the looks of it a 74 foot is hard to find. Should I sell the fishing boat(minus the trolling motor which I could put on the Glasstream somehow and make it a fish and ski) then sell the empty case off the rude and break even on a new foot?

Or fix both boats and be where I was last year with a fishing boat and a runabout?

 

[iwombat]

Re: lower unit damage... dead in the water......

Well, you've already contracted MBD (Multiple Boat Disease). So, if you sell the one boat, you're just gonna go right out and buy another one.

Don't fool yourself.

 

[brussell]

Re: lower unit damage... dead in the water......

I tell ya I was talking to a friend earlier about how much new boats cost. I live on a lake and would love to have all 3 bases covered(fishing, skiing and pontoon boat). If I can fix the 2 I have and find a deal on a pontoon I'm in business. I could do all this for prolly 5 grand.

Looking at new boats it looks like 15 grand just gets you in the door.

Can I still get parts for the Bomber?