Lower unit damage: what would you do next?

[BTL]

I was out on the water yesterday at idle speed when my engine came to an abrupt stop. I started it back up and as soon as I put it into forward gear it stopped again. The prop seemed to be locked up, but eventually I was able to get it running by throttling up before shifting into gear, and I was able to make my way back 6 miles the dock.

Got back home and the first thing I did was drain the lower unit to look for metal. To my relief, there were no shavings though the oil was dirty. When I took off the prop it was another story altogether.









Ugh. That's a bolt stuck inside the prop.

So where would you go from here? Replace the prop? Replace entire lower unit? Everything still seems to be working now, but you know how that goes.

Motor is a 1988 25hp. E25RCCA.

 

[Joe Reeves]

You going to tell us where that 3/8" hex head bolt came from? There is more to the story obviously.

 

[racerone]

Take the lower unit apart for inspection.------It does appear that the prop shaft bearing housing rotated.----That needs to be corrected.-----There may not be much wrong internally.

 

[BTL]

The bolt is from the exhaust tube. I pulled the powerhead a while back and noticed two of the mounting bolts for the tube were gone so I replaced them.

As soon as I took the prop off and saw that it occurred it to me that I never accounted for the whereabouts of those lost bolts. I guess I assumed they fell out the last time I dropped the lower unit.

 

[F_R]

Since that is actually the exhaust pipe, the bolt may have come from much higher up. That might be a serious concern (??)

 

[jimmbo]

Are the bolts that hold the Bearing Carrier to its Anchoring Plate still there and attached to the Anchoring Plate? The Anchoring Plate has a tab that fits into a notch in the gearcase, to prevent it from rotating.

 

[BTL]

Are the bolts that hold the Bearing Carrier to its Anchoring Plate still there and attached to the Anchoring Plate? The Anchoring Plate has a tab that fits into a notch in the gearcase, to prevent it from rotating.

Yeah they're still in there. I've found some used bearing carriers online for $40-50 so I think I'll replace that along with the prop. It all still works but that stuff is definitely chewed up. I don't *think* there's any other damage. Shifts fine and the prop spins freely in neutral now that there's no longer loose hardware jammed inside it. Imagine that :lol:

 

[jimmbo]

An inspection will reveal if there is more