Well, Lake Erie really got me this time... Screw up my SS Prop and lower end...

[blue89turbo]

Hey Guys,

So I was at least 1km offshore in my 89 Scarab and managed to find a reef... The water is roughly 2 feet lower than last year so this could explain why I managed to hit something so far from shore.

My prop is mangled I get nothing in forward and reverse. The boat has a 350 Magnum with an Alpha outdrive. I am thinking it has a 2nd generation outdrive but will need to confirm when I get home.

My question is can someone guess at what broke? What is the weakest link?

Is there anything to check before I pull of the drive?

 

[Don S]

Re: Well, Lake Erie really got me this time... Screw up my SS Prop and lower end...

Could be anything, coupler, prop hub, vertical shaft broke, gears gone in the upper, gears gone in the lower. Does the prop turn at all when you put it in gear?


The Gen II drives didn't come out till 91 so it's an Alpha I.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Well, Lake Erie really got me this time... Screw up my SS Prop and lower end...

Hey Guys,

So I was at least 1km offshore in my 89 Scarab and managed to find a reef... The water is roughly 2 feet lower than last year so this could explain why I managed to hit something so far from shore.

My prop is mangled I get nothing in forward and reverse. The boat has a 350 Magnum with an Alpha outdrive. I am thinking it has a 2nd generation outdrive but will need to confirm when I get home.

My question is can someone guess at what broke? What is the weakest link?

Is there anything to check before I pull of the drive?

Ayuh,... Welcome Aboard,.... Til ya pull the drive, 'n Look,...

Just count on replacin' the Whole drive,....

That way, no matter how Bad it is, it might get better....

 

[blue89turbo]

Re: Well, Lake Erie really got me this time... Screw up my SS Prop and lower end...

Could be anything, coupler, prop hub, vertical shaft broke, gears gone in the upper, gears gone in the lower. Does the prop turn at all when you put it in gear?


The Gen II drives didn't come out till 91 so it's an Alpha I.

Thanks Don,

I need to take a closer look But I think it is a second gen (not the original unit)

When I put it in forward or reverse I dont feel any engagment of anything where before I could feel the meshing in the lever as it went into F or R. I can spin the prop and already noticed that the output shaft has a wobble...

 

[blue89turbo]

Re: Well, Lake Erie really got me this time... Screw up my SS Prop and lower end...

Ayuh,... Welcome Aboard,.... Til ya pull the drive, 'n Look,...

Just count on replacin' the Whole drive,....

That way, no matter how Bad it is, it might get better....

Yup was kind of counting on swapping out the whole drive already...
I assume that the engine should be ok from something like this? Is seems to run fine. I want to fire her up and make sure the cooling is still normal.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Well, Lake Erie really got me this time... Screw up my SS Prop and lower end...

Yup was kind of counting on swapping out the whole drive already...
I assume that the engine should be ok from something like this? Is seems to run fine. I want to fire her up and make sure the cooling is still normal.

Ayuh,.... If the drive don't turn, neither does the impeller...

I'd pull the drive,... 1st, 'n look around....

I doubt the motor was hurt by the prop strike, even if it stalled the motor,...

The SBC has a pretty stout bottom end,...

 

[blue89turbo]

Re: Well, Lake Erie really got me this time... Screw up my SS Prop and lower end...

Ayuh,.... If the drive don't turn, neither does the impeller...

I'd pull the drive,... 1st, 'n look around....

I doubt the motor was hurt by the prop strike, even if it stalled the motor,...

The SBC has a pretty stout bottom end,...

Ok, she didnt even stall when she struck...I killed the engine as soon as I figured out what the heck happened...a few seconds i guess....

 

[blue89turbo]

Re: Well, Lake Erie really got me this time... Screw up my SS Prop and lower end...

Could be anything, coupler, prop hub, vertical shaft broke, gears gone in the upper, gears gone in the lower. Does the prop turn at all when you put it in gear?


The Gen II drives didn't come out till 91 so it's an Alpha I.

Hey Don,

Looks like you were right. It looks like I have the Alpha Gen 1 drive.

I just fired it up on the driveway and it looks like the impeller is toast too as there is no water coming out of the exhaust. Does that narrow down what may be wrong?

Also I put it in F and R without the engine running and there was resistance in F and R.
When I ran the engine and went to F and R then no movement at all?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Well, Lake Erie really got me this time... Screw up my SS Prop and lower end...

Hey Don,

Looks like you were right. It looks like I have the Alpha Gen 1 drive.

I just fired it up on the driveway and it looks like the impeller is toast too as there is no water coming out of the exhaust. Does that narrow down what may be wrong?

Also I put it in F and R without the engine running and there was resistance in F and R.
When I ran the engine and went to F and R then no movement at all?

Ayuh,.... It's Broken, 'tween the motor's crankshaft, 'n the impeller pump....

I'll Guess it snapped the vertical shaft of the lower unit, at the o-ring groove near the top...

 

[blue89turbo]

Re: Well, Lake Erie really got me this time... Screw up my SS Prop and lower end...

Ayuh,.... It's Broken, 'tween the motor's crankshaft, 'n the impeller pump....

I'll Guess it snapped the vertical shaft of the lower unit, at the o-ring groove near the top...

Is it usually worth repairing what broke in the existing drive or is it better to find another used unit? How about one of those SE1 aftermarket ones? Are they any good?

 

[Don S]

Re: Well, Lake Erie really got me this time... Screw up my SS Prop and lower end...

Why don't you find out what's wrong first, then ask questions. Instead of people trying to answer a lot of "What if " questions.

 

[blue89turbo]

Re: Well, Lake Erie really got me this time... Screw up my SS Prop and lower end...

Why don't you find out what's wrong first, then ask questions. Instead of people trying to answer a lot of "What if " questions.

ok, will do.

 

[blue89turbo]

Re: Well, Lake Erie really got me this time... Screw up my SS Prop and lower end...

Hey guys,

So I took the lower drive off first and i think it is seized because i cant turn it by hand at all. then I took the upper drive off and discovered that the drive shaft sheared right off. Please take a look at the pictures and let me know if I am missing anything...What is my best solution? I am thinking of just finding a used drive.

My big question is can I winterize my engine without a drive on the boat, because I am thinking of just leaving this till the spring. If so can someone tell me what to do?

Thanks

 

[dingdongs]

Re: Well, Lake Erie really got me this time... Screw up my SS Prop and lower end...

ouch.thats definitely a total drive.just put a hose directly up the hole on the drive with the o ring .follow the rest of the winterising sequence and if your lucky you may find a drive for the boat over the course of the winter and failing that the sei drive comes with a warranty of 3 years.suggest a chartplotter may well have saved this damage but its a learning curve.may as well change all the bellows too whilst the drive is broke down.prop looks as if it can be saved by a reputable company that is a prop rebuilder.

 

[achris]

Re: Well, Lake Erie really got me this time... Screw up my SS Prop and lower end...

If it's not going into gear when turning the prop by hand, I suggest you also have some damage inside the lower unit too. I would not muck around with a second hand (completely unknown history) drive. A complete new SEI, with 3 year warranty, is only $1300... If you have insurance you might find you're covered. It was a bottom strike, an accident. Most insurance will cover that.

Chris....

 

[blue89turbo]

Re: Well, Lake Erie really got me this time... Screw up my SS Prop and lower end...

ouch.thats definitely a total drive.just put a hose directly up the hole on the drive with the o ring .follow the rest of the winterising sequence and if your lucky you may find a drive for the boat over the course of the winter and failing that the sei drive comes with a warranty of 3 years.suggest a chartplotter may well have saved this damage but its a learning curve.may as well change all the bellows too whilst the drive is broke down.prop looks as if it can be saved by a reputable company that is a prop rebuilder.

Hi, thanks for the help, Very funny that you mention that, I am still kicking myself since I really wanted to have a GPS for this lake but didn't yet. I also wanted to use my crappy alum prop until I had the GPS but since I didn't have an adapter I ran the SS prop. I am sure that this would not have happened with a GPS and if I was running an Alum prop I dont think the damage would have been so severe...

Can't I just run the hose to the intake near the bellows without having to reinstall the drive?

 

[blue89turbo]

Re: Well, Lake Erie really got me this time... Screw up my SS Prop and lower end...

If it's not going into gear when turning the prop by hand, I suggest you also have some damage inside the lower unit too. I would not muck around with a second hand (completely unknown history) drive. A complete new SEI, with 3 year warranty, is only $1300... If you have insurance you might find you're covered. It was a bottom strike, an accident. Most insurance will cover that.

Chris....

Thanks Chris,

I know that the lower prop shaft has a wobble now, and I couldn't turn the lower by hand at either end, so I will definitely be looking for both the lower and upper.

Are these SEI drives proven now? After being on the SEI forums for a few minutes I didnt really like what I saw and almost would rather take my chances with a used Merc drive.

 

[achris]

Re: Well, Lake Erie really got me this time... Screw up my SS Prop and lower end...

Hi, thanks for the help, Very funny that you mention that, I am still kicking myself since I really wanted to have a GPS for this lake but didn't yet. I also wanted to use my crappy alum prop until I had the GPS but since I didn't have an adapter I ran the SS prop. I am sure that this would not have happened with a GPS and if I was running an Alum prop I dont think the damage would have been so severe...

Not necessarily. I've seen drives damaged a whole lot more than yours with an ali prop. Just luck of the day. A sounder might also have been a way of avoiding the shallows too.

Can't I just run the hose to the intake near the bellows without having to reinstall the drive?

Yep, just stuff the hose into the water hole and tape the hose in place. Works perfectly, I do it all the time when I need to run an engine without the drive on.

Thanks Chris,

I know that the lower prop shaft has a wobble now, and I couldn't turn the lower by hand at either end, so I will definitely be looking for both the lower and upper.

Are these SEI drives proven now? After being on the SEI forums for a few minutes I didnt really like what I saw and almost would rather take my chances with a used Merc drive.

We have seen many of the SEI drives purchased and used by members on iBoats, and they all seem very happy with them. I haven't actually seen any complaints... Just be aware that most people go on forums to express a problem with a product. I have a friend who has a Golf TDi, he joined a forum just for information about his car. He wasn't there long before he thought owning the car was a bad idea, despite having had his for 5 years without a hiccup. Then he did the logic and realized in the overall scheme he was doing ok..... It's a bit like this forum. If you never owned a Mercruiser before and read the problems on this forum, you'd never buy a boat! Yet there are hundreds of thousands of satisfied owners out there who don't even know these sorts of forums even exist. Just saying, keep it in perspective...

Chris...

 

[blue89turbo]

Re: Well, Lake Erie really got me this time... Screw up my SS Prop and lower end...

Not necessarily. I've seen drives damaged a whole lot more than yours with an ali prop. Just luck of the day. A sounder might also have been a way of avoiding the shallows too.



Yep, just stuff the hose into the water hole and tape the hose in place. Works perfectly, I do it all the time when I need to run an engine without the drive on.



We have seen many of the SEI drives purchased and used by members on iBoats, and they all seem very happy with them. I haven't actually seen any complaints... Just be aware that most people go on forums to express a problem with a product. I have a friend who has a Golf TDi, he joined a forum just for information about his car. He wasn't there long before he thought owning the car was a bad idea, despite having had his for 5 years without a hiccup. Then he did the logic and realized in the overall scheme he was doing ok..... It's a bit like this forum. If you never owned a Mercruiser before and read the problems on this forum, you'd never buy a boat! Yet there are hundreds of thousands of satisfied owners out there who don't even know these sorts of forums even exist. Just saying, keep it in perspective...

Chris...

Thanks Chris,

I guess you are right. I will do some more research and may end up with one of the SEI drives after all.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Well, Lake Erie really got me this time... Screw up my SS Prop and lower end...

blue, you know you don't have to run the engine to winterize, right? Just drain the water from the appropriate drains. Air doesn't freeze. And you can remove the spark plugs and spray fogging oil into them, if you want.

SEI drive is the way to go. Especially when you consider that their warranty covers this type of damage! So when the lake is down again next year or two years, and you do it again, you're good!