Omc stringer vertical drive gets jammed in down position

[Mark B.]

Greetings All!
I got a free 1977 Seaswirl about a month ago and have been going through it to get it "sea-worthy" One of the issues I had was the tilt not lifting the drive. I pulled the tilt motor and it was fried so I put in a new one. The new motor seems to work fine, it will lift and drop the motor. The problem is that when I bring the motor down, it comes down hard and seems to jam up on the quadrant gear. I will hit "up" and I can hear the solenoid click but the outdrive wont budge (not even if I lift while someone else hits the switch). If I remove the quadrant and manually lift the drive a little and re-install the quadrant, it lifts right up. Has anyone else had this issue? Is it just a matter of lowering the drive in small increments so that it doesn't hit so hard? Perhaps a clutch adjustment? Another gasket on the clutch cover? Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks! Mark

 

[southkogs]

Welcome aboard Mark:

Are you hitting the "down" switch on the tilt and just lettin' it drop with the motor? As a rule with the Stringer tilts, you want to kinda' "bump" the switch and ease the drive down. It's very possible that you're jamming at the bottom just 'cuz it's hitting too hard.

 

[Mark B.]

Welcome aboard Mark:

Are you hitting the "down" switch on the tilt and just lettin' it drop with the motor? As a rule with the Stringer tilts, you want to kinda' "bump" the switch and ease the drive down. It's very possible that you're jamming at the bottom just 'cuz it's hitting too hard.

Yea, I would just press the switch down and let go when the drive hit bottom. It does come down fast and hard!

 

[Boomyal]

If you do not bump the drive down, you will eventually spit the guts out thru the end cap on the OD. You do this in the water and you will loose your sector shaft and housing cap into the briney deep. I do not know why it binds when you let it slam down but try it by just bumping it down and see if it will not come back up.

 

[Mark B.]

If you do not bump the drive down, you will eventually spit the guts out thru the end cap on the OD. You do this in the water and you will loose your sector shaft and housing cap into the briney deep. I do not know why it binds when you let it slam down but try it by just bumping it down and see if it will not come back up.

Thanks for the input guys. I will make an effort to just tap the switch when I use it. Also, I will not let it go all the way down in the driveway again (just underwater) I guess there is no reason to bring it all the way up til it hits the rubber bumper either? I can bring it up 75%-80% and it will still lock in place?
Mark

 

[Boomyal]

Thanks for the input guys. I will make an effort to just tap the switch when I use it. Also, I will not let it go all the way down in the driveway again (just underwater) I guess there is no reason to bring it all the way up til it hits the rubber bumper either? I can bring it up 75%-80% and it will still lock in place?
Mark

Yes, there would be no difference in holding power between full up and 75-80% up. There is no other mechanism to hold the drive up, other than the clutch itself. I wouldn't be so concerned with your up position. It sounds like your real issue is when it slams all the way down. You do want to have the drive all the way down, you just do not want to slam it to get it there.

 

[Mark B.]

Yes, there would be no difference in holding power between full up and 75-80% up. There is no other mechanism to hold the drive up, other than the clutch itself. I wouldn't be so concerned with your up position. It sounds like your real issue is when it slams all the way down. You do want to have the drive all the way down, you just do not want to slam it to get it there.

Got it - Thank You! Mark
I guess I should carry my 9/16" socket with me at all times to remove the quadrant if needed.

 

[Boomyal]

Got it - Thank You! Mark
I guess I should carry my 9/16" socket with me at all times to remove the quadrant if needed.

I would experiment in the drive with lowering the unit using the bump method. You should be able to hear/feel it bottom out but gently. Maybe it will not get stuck, using that fine touch. If it still does get stuck, I would closely examine the sector shaft for any abnormalities and make sure that the access tunnel cap and circlip are firmly in place. If that cap has moved out past the circlip groove, that could cause it to lock up. Also, if that were the case, you would soon be spitting out the sector shaft into a place where you probably could not retrieve it.

Some later models actually had a bracket made to hold that cap in place. That bracket was also available as an add-on for earlier drives. It would be interesting to know, over the life of these drives, how many people did damage by repeatedly letting the drive slam down.

 

[Mark B.]

I will try and be gentle. Also, a day of boating may vibrate the drive loose? I think that when the drive got jammed, the end of the quadrant might have jammed on the intermediate? But I am going to baby it like a new girlfriend - a new HOT girlfriend

 

[southkogs]

You might want to check your trunions if the quadrant went that far to the intermediate. Make sure everything is nice and tight with plenty of grease. I've NEVER had an issue with a day on the lake ... heck, a summer on the lake for that matter ... jarring the drive loose. But a visual inspection here and there is good for it.

Having the wrench on hand with you isn't a bad thing, but I'm not religious about having a toolbox with me at all.

 

[Mark B.]

Trunions are good! I had the drive off too replace the impeller and I cleaned/lubed them. Also when I remove the quadrant, I can easily lift the drive and it is smooooth. My main concern was that maybe the clutch was too tight from previous owner.
Cheers! Mark

 

[Mark B.]

Worked a bit on the boat today (relocated the battery away from the gas fill and vent lines) and eased the drive all the way down, ran it a bit and it went right back up when I was done. Thanks for the help!

 

[boobie]

There is a nylon washer in front of the worm gear that drives the main tilt gear. If that is missing , it will also lock up

 

[Mark B.]

I will keep that in mind if I have future problems. It currently works so I will address other issues. I picked up the boat about a month ago for $40 from a guy that had it for sale for $500. He could not get it to run and I figured out that he had wired the coil wrong (one hot on either lug and the neg. from the distributor sistered up with one of the "hot" wires. He could not get it running so he pulled the spark plugs and never put them back in. What he did put in was the plug for the bilge area and then left the boat uncovered. What a mess! The waterline was 8 inches above the floor. Rotted seats and floor. The motor was partially submerged and 2 of the spark plug holes filled with water. There is not one thing one this boat that worked when I got it. I have been working on this "mess" just about every day since I got it and I am real close to taking it out for its first water test (this Saturday) If it passes, I will begin to go through things a little more thoroughly.
Cheers! Mark

 

[southkogs]

With that much water sittin' in it ... how are the deck and stringers? Any ideas? Transom is a little less of a concern in this boat, but Stringers are always a concern.

 

[Mark B.]

The transom looks sound as does the stringer area around the v8 motor. The decking was soft in a couple of spots (mainly around the circle cut-outs) so I pulled off the carpet and it has a fiberglass deck with plywood under that is rotted in a couple of areas. I don't know the condition of the stringers (I have been told that Bramco used fiberglass stringers). I am planning on cutting the decking open for inspection and doing the needed repairs but before I do that, I wanted to see how the motor runs for a couple hours. My concern is that the water in the two cylinder bores may have come from a cracked head/blown gasket, although I don't see and white smoke when it runs-yet. I am also concerned that the water may have left a ridge in the cylinder bores and I want to run it a while to make sure it doesn't chew through the rings and need a total rebuild. So for now I did a quick re-sheeting of the entire deck with some crappy exterior OSB. Not a long term fix, but I was worried I was going to put my foot through the deck in one spot.
Deck before and after:




The boat:

 

[Boomyal]

I hope it is very temporary, Mark. That OSB will soak up water like a sponge.

 

[Mark B.]

Yes, very temporary. Even if it soaks up some water, There is still a full layer of fiberglass under it so it wont add to any rot issue.