major $ assessment without starting the boat? mercruiser 330 trs

[Bounce19712]

I finally got my 1982 Nordic 26 foot Viking daycruiser on the water...however it had tranny problems

didn't really go into gear until I gave it more than necessary forward throttle....and it would grind gear a bit before going to forward gear half the time....

took it to the mechanic and he said the motor needs to come out for tranny work (Velvet drive)

the mechanic said I might need a pump and a clutch kit as I recall....

can a mechanic identify all this without running the motor? perhaps he went to forward gear detent on the single cable morse throttle controlthe throttle forward and tried to turn the prop with out running the motor? To tell me that it just wouldn't go into gear when putting it in forward..that would be the only way right?

I pulled the engine cowling prior to delivering to mechanic and that entailed pulling the negative terminals off the dual battery setup...which were still unattached after mechanics assessment...

How should I proceed?

 

[Don S]

Re: major $ assessment without starting the boat? mercruiser 330 trs

Maybe he unhooked the battery cables when he was done. Had he left them hooked up you would complain about that as well. Can't win I guess.

I personally have no clue what he did or didn't do, and really don't find it of much help to second guess how he came to that conclusion. Did you ask him? Why not?

 

[blamtro]

Re: major $ assessment without starting the boat? mercruiser 330 trs

I'm with the OP on this. I would have a hard time beliving the mechanics prognosis knowing the battery cables were untouched. Get a second opnion from another source and if it doesn't jive, you know not to go back to the original one.

 

[Bounce19712]

Re: major $ assessment without starting the boat? mercruiser 330 trs

Maybe he unhooked the battery cables when he was done. Had he left them hooked up you would complain about that as well. Can't win I guess.

I personally have no clue what he did or didn't do, and really don't find it of much help to second guess how he came to that conclusion. Did you ask him? Why not?

no I did not ask him... I need to for sure...I came here for help...not old salt bitter brown shoe treatment.

I've seen a little trouble shooting on the water recently where we shifted into forward and spun the prop manually in forward, neutral, and reverse to see if propeller indicated any type of gear status (neutral or not) But it was by a guy who has a later model mercruiser...no velvet drive.

I took this issue to a mechanic who may have done the same thing with the motor off...that's my question in my original post....because if you don't run the motor and shift while running what else can you do?

my main negative terminals for both batteries were not reconnected after I removed them because they pass through my engine cowling.. I removed that and cover for the mechanic prior to delivery.....accessory negative terminal wires were placed back on the battery - terminals and the nut was turned until all threads of the nut were filled ; no more. (leaving more a lot of tightening left to do) I'm fairly certain the motor was not run because of this....no main negative terminals connected and left in same position I placed both of them in aside the motor mounts

If this is an agreeable technique to identify if a velvet drive not going into forward is having tranny R&R problem I'd greatly appreciate someone else in saying "yeah"

otherwise alarm bells, warning lights and bull**** meters are flickering.... thanks for any constructive input.

I'm not a doosh bag customer as you've pretty much implied from the get go... thanks guy! sorry you have to deal with such ilk...you sure put me in my place though. makes me want to hang here more often!

 

[86 century]

Re: major $ assessment without starting the boat? mercruiser 330 trs

I am not sure how a velvet drive can grind they are not much different than an automotive automatic transmission.

Check you fluid its condition will tell you a lot.

I think you can find a micro fish of your trany may give you a better idea of what you are looking at.

 

[Bounce19712]

Re: major $ assessment without starting the boat? mercruiser 330 trs

Thanks! Ill take a look, And oh yes, on the grinding...... Whenever it did finally shift into forward gear, half the time it would grind a bit ......Fluid looked normal, Clean, clear red, and smelling new.

 

[emoney]

Re: major $ assessment without starting the boat? mercruiser 330 trs

Don't know your mechanic, nor will I, however, I do know that the field does consist of quite a few qualified and skilled individuals that more than likely, have experience working on set-ups just like yours. If that's the case, then he's probably seen it all, heard it all before and these trannys have certain tendencies, if you will. More than likely, there's no way to really diagnose the issue without pulling it and having a look in there, which means the same results. Of course, the alternative could also be true, and it's becoming quite the norm to assume the worst, so-to-speak, but I'd tend to lean on the man's reputation before speculation. We are to quick to judge negatively, not just in all things boating, but in all things. All that to both defend Don S. and to say I hope you find your issue and it's minor. (Wow, that was a very long-winded way to arrive at that, huh?)

 

[Don S]

Re: major $ assessment without starting the boat? mercruiser 330 trs

I took this issue to a mechanic who may have done the same thing with the motor off...that's my question in my original post....because if you don't run the motor and shift while running what else can you do?

There is only one way of finding a noise inside a transmission, and that is to take it apart and see what's in there. Why waste time running it. He already knows it's grinding, that's why you took it to him.
He probably checked the oil, didn't see anything, turned the prop shaft, may or may not have felt anything, seen that the engine would have to come out to check it and fix it.

Had you ask him, he may have said exactly what I just said.

 

[Bounce19712]

Re: major $ assessment without starting the boat? mercruiser 330 trs

There is only one way of finding a noise inside a transmission, and that is to take it apart and see what's in there. Why waste time running it. He already knows it's grinding, that's why you took it to him.
He probably checked the oil, didn't see anything, turned the prop shaft, may or may not have felt anything, seen that the engine would have to come out to check it and fix it.

Had you ask him, he may have said exactly what I just said.

thank you SIr! salute! ps. I wouldn't have complained if the terminals were left on...lol..that one hurt....

 

[Don S]

Re: major $ assessment without starting the boat? mercruiser 330 trs

thank you SIr! salute! ps. I wouldn't have complained if the terminals were left on...lol..that one hurt....

You wouldn't believe the number of people that come to these forums and do complain about things just like that.