Whining Outdrive

[sgwill122]

Repowered a 2003 2359 from 5.0L to 5.7 MPI last year. Changed the Merc upper from 1.62 to 1.47 SEI. I kept the original lower. I expected whine during break in that disappeared around 20hours. Boat ran great for 60 hours. When coming in from last tuna trip the outdrive started sounding different. It was a high pitched whine which my dad thinks sounds like grinding. I changed the gear oil hoping it was low. The gear oil was really dark and had a lot of metal flakes. I took the boat back out for a 20 minute run to see if anything changed, which it did not. Came home and drained the gear oil, the magnetic drain screw had already grown a significant metal shavings beard. I pulled the upper and the lower. I checked the engine alignment, u-joint and gimbal bearing which all looked great. I turned the u-joint by hand and it seems the upper gears make more noise than I would expect but not sure what is normal. The lower unit gears are hard to turn by hand by are smooth. I cannot visually identify the source of the metal flakes which I assume is causing the noise. Any suggestions? I took a video of the boat running for the noise demo and of turning the upper and lower units by hand.

engine running(last 1/3rd is the best as the engine drowns out the noise in the beginning)
IMG 1752 - YouTube

upper
IMG 1756 - YouTube


lower
IMG 1757 - YouTube

 

[Fun Times]

Re: Whining Outdrive

Hi there sgwill122, Just want to let you know to make it a bit less confusing for everyone here, one of the proper names for that part is called an outdrive. Your original title had it as an outboard, so I went ahead and made the name change for you by editing the title so you won't get accidentally put in the wrong forum section. This next link should help clear up the names for you, http://forums.iboats.com/mercruiser...ts-only-no-exceptions-288430.html#post2437200

The resistance you feel turning the lower unit is going to be the sea water pump "rubber impeller" turning dry. So with that in place, it would be hard to get a feel for what is right vs wrong.

When you drained the oil, did you happen to save it in a clean oil catch can? Was there a lot of metal shavings on the bottom of the oil catch can? If so, maybe post a video of how much metal shavings are in there and the color of the metal shavings.

 

[Volphin]

Re: Whining Outdrive

Sounds bearing related to me... one or more is getting chewed up either by lack of lube or proper preload.

 

[matt167]

Re: Whining Outdrive

it's probably a pinion gear bearing allowing the gears to mesh a little harder than they should. That's what it sounds like to me

 

[sgwill122]

Re: Whining Outdrive

I am not sure if the gear oil was low prior to changing, I did not mark the oil level on my catch container prior to draining the first time for a comparison with this second drain. I did not see water in the oil(milky) and I do not see any gear oil in the drive bellows. Is there a way the oil could be leaking somewhere else without me seeing it?

Attaching a video of the gear oil with metal flakes at the bottom. The SEI has a 3 year no fault warranty, I just want to make sure it is the upper before sending back. Thanks.

(second half of video is better than first, bottom of container is covered in super small metal flakes)
metal - YouTube