started with drive up....

[boattoy]

Well I did it. Forgot to trim the drive down when I started it at the ramp. It wasn't at full lock .I bumped the trim down for a sec( usually do it just to make sure trim works before I launch). I ran it for prob 30 sec at less then 1500 rpm before I noticed. Think I damaged somthing? The u joints and gimbal bearing have about 2 hours on em. Does the bellows rub u joints with drive up? I ran the boat the whole afternoon with no issues or abnormal vibrations.

Its an alpha one gen one.

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: started with drive up....

Howdy,

If it didn't make any funny noises, it probably didn't hurt a thing.

You can pretty much put as much of a bend UP as you do when turning without hurting anything unless you hear (bad) noises. Just keep it near idle so you don't put undue forces on the gimbal mount and transom.

I know someone that used to troll for hours.....with the drive up. It even didn't get hot as long as the water pickup was covered.

 

[45Auto]

Re: started with drive up....

My neighbor has been flushing his 2003 Alpha for 5-10 minutes with the drive up several times a week since it was new. I talked to him about it a couple of times when he first got the boat, he would put it down to flush for a day or 2, then go back to his normal full-up routine.

It has probably been run a half hour a week in full-up position for the past 8 years, still runs like new.

The reason you're not supposed to run it in the up position is because the drive has no side support in that position. The bellhousng rotates past the "ears" on the gimbal ring that provide side support. If you were running the boat like that and bumped something it would break the bellhousing.

 

[Don S]

Re: started with drive up....

An $8 gasket kit, and a spare 20-30 minutes and you can pull the outdrive and have a look at the transom shield, bellows, ujoints and the nose of the drive to be sure nothing is wrong. Works better than a bunch of people guessing if it's hurt or not.
You could have damaged the bellows, or gimbal housing and it won't make any noise until the gimbal bearing gets noisy from being rusty.

 

[telstar1]

Re: started with drive up....

It is extremely unlikely you damaged anything.Yes you could dissassemble and check things I guess. If Id done that every time I started or ran in shallow water with drive right up over last 39 yrs I guess Id be about $1000 poorer from gasket purchases.Try not to do it esp at high rpm! but it generally doesnt hurt a thing.Like never in my experience.

 

[QC]

Re: started with drive up....

30 seconds? Mercruiser allows it in the Op guide up to 1200 RPM in gear. I just don't understand the NEVER, NEVER on this one. We always recommend following the manual. Why is this issue different?

From the Merc manual:

Power Trim allows the operator to adjust the drive angle, while underway, to provide the ideal boat angle for varying load and water conditions. Also, the Power Trim system Trailering feature allows the operator to raise and lower the drive unit for trailering, beaching, launching and low speed (below 1200 rpm engine speed), shallow water operation.

So idling for 30 seconds is gonna do what? Ticking time bomb? I don't think so.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: started with drive up....

Well I did it. Forgot to trim the drive down when I started it at the ramp. It wasn't at full lock .I bumped the trim down for a sec( usually do it just to make sure trim works before I launch). I ran it for prob 30 sec at less then 1500 rpm before I noticed. Think I damaged somthing? The u joints and gimbal bearing have about 2 hours on em. Does the bellows rub u joints with drive up? I ran the boat the whole afternoon with no issues or abnormal vibrations.

Its an alpha one gen one.

The thing is trashed, get a new boat. (kidding)

Yes, it is desirable to put the outdrive down, but it can handle some low rpm in the full up position. I usually forget to put it down about 1/2 of the time. The outdrive will let you know if it is getting pissed off by 'growling' at you.

 

[45Auto]

Re: started with drive up....

If everybody around here that ran their boats for 30 seconds with the drive all the way up pulled it to check for damage each time, Mercruiser could single-handedly erase the national deficit through gasket sales ......

 

[mercs4mark]

Re: started with drive up....

I think everyone has done that a time or two....I know I have....I did damage my impeller so I would watch your temp. for a while and might think of replacing it for good measure.

 

[skargo]

Re: started with drive up....

I think everyone has done that a time or two....I know I have....I did damage my impeller so I would watch your temp. for a while and might think of replacing it for good measure.

How does an impeller get damaged from starting the boat with the drive up?

 

[mercs4mark]

Re: started with drive up....

How does an impeller get damaged from starting the boat with the drive up?

Well in my case the water pick up was not in the water far enough to get water to the impeller causing it to burn up

 

[boattoy]

Re: started with drive up....

the drive was still in the water. like i said, it wasn't full lock. I bumped it down from full lock a little. I might pull the drive. im going to start it on muffs and listen for anything abnormal. bellows looks fine. i inspected it pretty closely and its also fairly new.