Misalignment, then disaster

[littlebookworm]

I'm almost finished refurbishing my 1986 Sunrunner, Mercruiser 5.0, Alpha I drive. I had a slight leak at the power steering hydraulic actuator fitting, so I removed the actuator to tighten the fitting. When reinstalling the actuator, I misaligned the upper bolt and "missed" getting the pin end into the receptacle hole on the actuator. As I tightened the bolt down, the mounting boss broke off the inner transom cover. A local welder said there's nothing he can do. Questions: Has this happened to anyone out there? Where you able to have it repaired, or did you have to pull everything apart and replace the inner transom cover? If replacement was the only option, could you run through the sequence. I have the factory manuals and it seems straight forward, though a real PITA. Is there anything to watch out for? Any tricks in re-assembly? Thanks for any help. Hy

 

[Fishermark]

Re: Misalignment, then disaster

I can't really answer whether or not you need to replace your inner transom plate, but I have replaced a few of them.... and it's not a bad job.

Obviously EVERYTHING has to come out - engine, etc. So the job can be a bit involved, but since you know it has to come out you don't have to worry and working around anything. If in doubt, remove it.

Then when you get everything out it is a good time to clean, protect, and evaluate everything that you put back in. For instance:
- Bilge pump(s) and hoses -- Time for new?

- If you boat in salt water - a good cleaning and spraying down with a corrosion inhibitor is a good idea, including the oil pan.

- Coupler - is it in good shape? Never be an easier time to replace it than now if it is questionable.

Things like that.

So far as the inner transom plate it is as easy as removing the nuts and bolts and taking it off. Don't forget to inspect and replace the lower two aluminum bolts as well.

 

[littlebookworm]

Re: Misalignment, then disaster

Thanks fopr the reply. The engine was just dropped in three weeks ago. Everything inside is clean and checked. I could probably disconnect everything related to the engine with my eyes closed. I've never done a transom plate, so that's new to me. I'm still kind of hoping that I can find someone who can weld the mounting boss onto the plate so that I don't have to pull everything out again. Well, what must be, must be. Hy

 

[Fishermark]

Re: Misalignment, then disaster

Since you've already had the engine out, the transom plate is a piece of cake. The good news is you can also evaluate the transom while you are at it. (The bad news - finding out it is soft! Not saying yours is bad, just that with the plate off you can really look at it).

I would also replace the transom seal under the outer transom assembly. Again - nothing to fear there... the whole transom assembly will simply pull off. You replace the seal, push the assembly back in place and start reassembling things.

 

[littlebookworm]

Re: Misalignment, then disaster

Fishermark: Thanks for your advice. The mounting boss, and transom plate, appear to be cast aluminum. I'm still trying to find someone who can weld it simply because the amount of time and physical work involved in pulling everything out is a PITA. I'm basically doing this alone, except for having the marina crew use their forklift to pull, and later reinstall, the engine. My estimated cost for that and the transom plate and gaskets is about $350, so the cost isn't exhorbitant. i did have someone recommend using JD Weld to put the mounting lug back on, but I have serious doubts as to whether it can handle the force of the power steering. Any further advice? Hy

 

[Fishermark]

Re: Misalignment, then disaster

Any further advice? Hy

Yep - don't use JB Weld.

 

[Maclin]

Re: Misalignment, then disaster

Fishermark: Thanks for your advice. The mounting boss, and transom plate, appear to be cast aluminum. I'm still trying to find someone who can weld it simply because the amount of time and physical work involved in pulling everything out is a PITA. I'm basically doing this alone, except for having the marina crew use their forklift to pull, and later reinstall, the engine. My estimated cost for that and the transom plate and gaskets is about $350, so the cost isn't exhorbitant. i did have someone recommend using JD Weld to put the mounting lug back on, but I have serious doubts as to whether it can handle the force of the power steering. Any further advice? Hy

Do you mean that you are pulling the engine again and that you want to fix the plate instead of buying a replacement? I think a good welding shop can probably do that in their shop on their bench.

But if you are wanting someone to crawl into the boat and weld it then that is a pretty bold thing to ask someone to do and I figure most welders would not do that even if the engine was out. Heat is the enemy and it will most certainly cook the gaskets and maybe even the transom as it would be very difficult in my opinion to heat-sink that plate good enough to keep it from cooking something. Not to mention how volatile the situation is with the fuel tank fittings and lines right there.

The best thing to do is get the drive off and engine out and get the plate off and get it fixed or find another one and go at it all again.

 

[littlebookworm]

Re: Misalignment, then disaster

Thanks, all. I'm going to pull it apart and replace the transom plate. The engine bay is fairly open with reasonable access to everything I need to reach. The drive is off; the engine will take about an hour or two to disconnect and pull. The transom plate itself shouldn't take more than a couple of hours to pull, unless something unforseeable develops. Everything is clean and open; there's no fuel in the boat; and the swim platform is off. I'll just have to rig up a stand/brace for the outer transom assembly to support it once I remove the bolts. As soon as I pick up the replacement inner plate, I'll get to work. Hy

 

[Maclin]

Re: Misalignment, then disaster

Good luck....