wornout crankshaft splines

[dutt10]

In an attempt to change the waterpump on my 1985 200hp omc sea drive my driveshaft stayed with the crankshaft. I pulled the powerhead and hung it upside down by the driveshaft and sprayed it with WD-40. After a couple hours of tapping on the driveshaft with a hammer the motor finally slid off. The splines on the driveshaft looked good, but the splines on the crank were mostly eaten away. This is a rebuilt powerhead ordered through the local evenrude dealer in july of 2001, had a 180-day warranty. I fish in deep water, so the prop has never hit anything. My questions are:<br />1. What might cause a new/newly rebuilt engine to do this and how to prevent it once repaired?<br />2. Would the repair shop/manufacture have any responsibility for the repair since there is no obvious way to tell there was something wrong in the 180 day period.<br />3. If no to question 2, What is the best way to fix it? I had read one post about installing new splines. can this be done at home or is it machine shop work? If it is machine shop work only, can anyone recommend a reputable shop in the Florida panhandle?<br />I obviously have my own thoughts but I wanted to hear from you professionals. Any and all inputs will be greatly appriciated!

 

[radsrh]

Re: wornout crankshaft splines

You said the powerhead was ordered through a local dealer, who did the install of the powerhead? if it was you did you get a new driveshaft, and was it on the powerhead or did you install it?

 

[dutt10]

Re: wornout crankshaft splines

The powerhead was installed by the same people that ordered it, our area evenrude dealer.<br />They used the same driveshaft that was on the motor originally. <br />All I did was fork out the money!

 

[Dhadley]

Re: wornout crankshaft splines

When the p/h was installed they should have greased the splines either when they installed the water pump or when they dropped on the p/h. If they did grease the splines, the rebuilder may offer some help even though its way out of warranty. Since the d/s splines are still good (not worn) that leads one to think the c/s splines were worn to start with.<br /><br />The splines can be replaced or the crank can be replaced. <br /><br />Good luck!

 

[Waterbugtoo]

Re: wornout crankshaft splines

This sort of thing happens all the time. Seeing how its so long out of warranty, there is no obligation by the dealer to take care of you, although the chances are that they should. You would loose any legal attempts so dont waste the time. You may consider contacting the rebuilder for help if it was not actually done by the dealer. If its a case of you having asked them to take care of it and they wont, you really do not have any recourse other than to not use them again in the future. Choosing a repair shop is and can be a challenge if you want a secure feeling about the repairs. A good machine shop can probably fix your crank. Just make sure the splines are properly lubed before poking the drive shaft back in, and also each time the lower unit is removed and reinstalled in the future.<br /><br />

 

[Joe Reeves]

Re: wornout crankshaft splines

Sdutt.... When a powerhead is installed, or when a lower unit is installed, a new "O" Ring should be installed at the location just beneath the driveshaft splines, and those splines should be greased thoroughly as indicated by Dhadley.<br /><br />Even if the splines are greased, if the "O" Ring is overlooked, water will displace the grease and a situation will take place such as you've encountered.... rusted, frozen driveshaft splines, locked into the crankshaft splines.<br /><br />Only you would know if any grease or the required "O" Ring was present at the spline area, but I am inclined to think that neither were there.<br /><br />Although the dealership really has no obligation to honor any kind of warranty, it might be a good idea to have a level headed discussion with them about this problem. Possibly they might offer some kind of compromise.... worth a try.

 

[dutt10]

Re: wornout crankshaft splines

Bingo! Mr. Reeves, the o'ring you speak of was indeed installed, but it was about half way down the d/s in no mans land. There is a grove in the spline section for an o'ring but it is obvious by looking at it that this o'ring had not been in it. The d/s splines look as though they were greased, but what was left of the c/s splines was covered with rust <br /><br /> I have not cleaned either the c/s or the d/s splines because I want the mechanic to see it exactly the way it came out. I am not expecting any compensation from the shop, as I have had problems with them in the past, but as you guys have said, it’s worth a try.<br /><br />Thanks for the inputs. I’ve read posts from all of you on different topics, that’s why I turned to the forum for help.