What is this part!?

[dn010]

Mercruiser 470 engine & 470 drive; 1978. I found this aluminum piece laying in the bilge area yesterday that has obvious crack marks on the ends showing that it cracked off of something. From pictures it looks like the bottom portion of my transom assembly; am I doomed if I don't fix it this season? Boat has been in the water plenty of times and doesn't seem to take on any water... Thanks for any advice

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: What is this part!?

Lol, holy crap. That has to be lower part of the inner transom plate. I wouldn't run it if I were you. That piece goes in between the the two lower bolts on the shield.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Re: What is this part!?

Dont know what it is, but dosent resemble a inner housing

 

[haulnazz15]

Re: What is this part!?

Dont know what it is, but dosent resemble a inner housing

I told him what it was. Look up a pic of the 470 inner transom plate on google, it's the piece at the bottom between the lower bolts. It's basically a cross-member between (actually just below) the bottom two thru-hull anode bolts.

Here is an ebay listing for it:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/MERC...ksidZm263QQcategoryZ124104QQitemZ110638769932

 

[dn010]

Re: What is this part!?

After looking at the pictures and then taking a look at the boat, it is definitely the lower portion of the transome - but It seems that there is a pretty good amount of aluminum left that the bolt is tightened to. I have no idea how long this has been broken but now I'm not sure if I should ride the rest of the season out or fix it which will take some time... I wonder how it broke in the first place!

 

[badkins50]

Re: What is this part!?

http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=468497

Could it have something to do with this? I don't know all that much but I just read your other thread and figured they might go hand in hand?

 

[cr2k]

Re: What is this part!?

I would now check your transom for rot. Thinking that maybe if your transom got water intrusion it may have swelled and caused the piece to break off. This would indicate possible transom rot.

 

[dn010]

Re: What is this part!?

There is no indication of rot and the wood seems pretty strong. I'm not sure what it looks like on the inside but I suppose I'll have to pull everything off to find that answer out. Nothing creeks or makes any noises when I stress the outdrive by hand and there are no water leaks. The wood behind this broken part looks fine - but I can't be 100% sure with hardly any light and no way to easily see it without using a mirror. I believe I'm going to take my chances and keep on going for the rest of the season as long as nothing changes. As soon as I see any trickles of water or hear any noises I don't like - I'll be tearing it down, which is good cause I'd like to replace the coupler of unknown age. Thanks for your responses guys. If anything else changes I'll be sure to post. Thanks again!