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Carl C
06-12-2008, 07:19 PM
I was poking around in the engine compartment a couple days ago and discovered that all of my motor mounting bolts were loose. Some weren't too bad but the rear port bolt was really loose. I tightened all through stringer bolts and motor mount bolts. I can see where the motor mounts have moved so I need to check the drive alignment. How hard is it to remove the drive to the degree required to check this? What special tools will I need other than the aligning tool? :confused:

Mr X
06-12-2008, 08:11 PM
Its easy, pull the drive. Have you done that before?
I can walk you thru it if not.
Then just the alignment bar inserted in the gimble.
Do not run the boat at all untill you do it.

Carl C
06-12-2008, 08:39 PM
Its easy, pull the drive. Have you done that before?
I can walk you thru it if not.
Then just the alignment bar inserted in the gimble.
Do not run the boat at all untill you do it. No, I've never removed the drive and don't know how. I already ran the boat and hard too. Top end was down a little (2 mph) and I figured it was from a slight binding. I plan to change the drive oil and will look for bad stuff, did I probably screw something up?? Does anyone here sell the tool? I'll need one quick.

Mr X
06-12-2008, 09:11 PM
Carl,
you did not hurt the drive, but the engne coupler is likely damaged and will have to be replaced.
The drive has to come off and the engine has to come out to do that.

Carl C
06-12-2008, 09:17 PM
Carl,
you did not hurt the drive, but the engne coupler is likely damaged and will have to be replaced.
The drive has to come off and the engine has to come out to do that. Could you tell me how to remove the drive and Maybe I can check the coupler. I don't have any way to pull this motor and don't want to tie it up at a shop now.

Pismo
06-12-2008, 09:20 PM
Check the alignment first, if it is still in alignment then the coupler is fine. Changing the coupler is pulling the engine so do so last resort. Pull drive, stick in tool, hope it is still in alignment. The drive is undamaged, the engine is undamaged, the coupler is probably ok as well.

Mr X
06-12-2008, 09:30 PM
Check the alignment first, if it is still in alignment then the coupler is fine. Changing the coupler is pulling the engine so do so last resort. Pull drive, stick in tool, hope it is still in alignment.
Good point, but he is down 2 MPH...so I suspect it is out of alignment.

Carl,
pull the 6 nuts (3 on each side) that hold the drive to the gimbal.
Pull the drive back about 1". Look on the right side in the gap and see the shift cable connector. Take a small screw driver and open the connector
gently like an alligators mouth. Then you can pull the drive off all the way.

Jraysray
06-12-2008, 09:43 PM
Take a small screw driver and open the connector
gently like an alligators mouth.

Now thats a description. "I ain't goin' nowheres near an ole gators mouth. I can however pop the top off a beer from the armadillos front teeths"

Just funnin' ya. :smash::smash:

MOP
06-13-2008, 06:35 AM
A trick my local Merc dealer buddies taught me was to disconnect The drive cable at the converter, this allows the cable to slide freely. I asked the reasoning and was told that allow more room to get at the connector both coming and going, but far more important is when reinstalling the drive you can clip the connector over the cable end and push it into the drive cavity which holds it closed. The major point if left connected it can restrict the cables movement and cause a kink in the cable which is almost impossible to straighten usually resulting in having to change out the drive cable. Anyone that has done a cable change knows what a pain that job is. I follow there advice and it does make the job simpler.

RedDog
06-13-2008, 07:02 AM
Also, DO what I always forget. Disconnect the speedo tube from the drive. On mine, it is a plastic fitting that you rotate 90 (?) degrees to line the plastic fitting tabs up with the notches in the drive.

Pulling the drive is easy mechanically. It is just heavy and awkward to move.

It wasn't mentioned, but you need to pull the pin through the trim rams as well.

I have BlownCrewCab's alignment tool if you can't find one locally

ITTLFLI
06-13-2008, 08:14 AM
It is just heavy and awkward to move.



A trick I use is lower the tongue of the trailer to raise the back of the boat until you can put the drive all the way down. Rest the skeg on a piece of plywood or some sort of wood that won't mark up the skeg. The idea is to get it rested perfect so you don't have to lift the drive at all! :smash:

Carl C
06-13-2008, 08:15 AM
Thanks Mr. X and everybody. I work week-ends and will pull the drive Monday. I'll try to get the tool ordered today. Here's the whole story:

I was driving on little Lake Oakland when suddenly the accelleration became sluggish, then it hit OK for a couple seconds and went sluggish again. Top end was down about 4 mph. I drove it only about 3 miles like this. Since the sparks were a little old I decided to replace them even though the old ones looked normal. Compression was all between 135 and 155. No problem there. I checked the fuel filter, no water or debris. I poked around for anything loose and found the loose motor mounts. I put the mounts roughly back to their original position and tightened every thing up. I went out to Lake St. Clair and figured if it was still not running right I'd just go easy and not run much. Accelleration seemed OK but top end was down about 1 1/2 - 2 mph. I figured it would be safe to run so I ran her hard and put about 150 miles on it. Occasionally I'd switch exhaust to quiet to listen for noises. I never had any noise, vibration or harshness (NVH). Obviously I'll be praying to the boat Gods this week-end that the coupler survived.:crossfing:

BUIZILLA
06-13-2008, 08:21 AM
Thanks Mr. X and everybody. I work week-ends and will pull the drive Monday. I'll try to get the tool ordered today. Here's the whole story:

I was driving on little Lake Oakland when suddenly the accelleration became sluggish, then it hit OK for a couple seconds and went sluggish again. Top end was down about 4 mph. I drove it only about 3 miles like this. Since the sparks were a little old I decided to replace them even though the old ones looked normal. Compression was all between 135 and 155. No problem there. I checked the fuel filter, no water or debris. I poked around for anything loose and found the loose motor mounts. I put the mounts roughly back to their original position and tightened every thing up. I went out to Lake St. Clair and figured if it was still not running right I'd just go easy and not run much. Accelleration seemed OK but top end was down about 1 1/2 - 2 mph. I figured it would be safe to run so I ran her hard and put about 150 miles on it. Occasionally I'd switch exhaust to quiet to listen for noises. I never had any noise, vibration or harshness (NVH). Obviously I'll be praying to the boat Gods this week-end that the coupler survived.:crossfing: how hot was the ambient air temp?

Carl C
06-13-2008, 09:08 AM
how hot was the ambient air temp? Mid to upper 70's. High humidity. Top speed was 73.4 when I would expect to hit 75.

MOP
06-13-2008, 10:08 AM
Nothing like the smell of burning rubber in the bilge, sure can scare the krap out of you!

Rootsy
06-13-2008, 11:10 AM
check all of your battery cable connections while you are at it Carl.

smear some grease on the end of the alignment tool... insert it gently and straight. Do not twist it. push in until it seats and then pull straight back out. This will allow you to see where the splines are hitting heavily relative to the gimble bearing axis.

Carl C
06-13-2008, 11:12 AM
Nothing like the smell of burning rubber in the bilge, sure can scare the krap out of you! No smell here, I assume that's a good sign?

Carl C
06-13-2008, 11:36 AM
check all of your battery cable connections while you are at it Carl.

smear some grease on the end of the alignment tool... insert it gently and straight. Do not twist it. push in until it seats and then pull straight back out. This will allow you to see where the splines are hitting heavily relative to the gimble bearing axis. I have serviced the batteries. I'll do like you say with the tool. I was calling around to buy a tool when Mike at Colony Marine in Pontiac, Mi offered to let me use their's if I leave a deposit and buy him lunch. Very cool. I plan to do all this on Monday. Also, is it safe to assume that if the alignment is too bad that the drive will be hard to remove?

MOP
06-13-2008, 11:54 AM
If the drive is hard to come off take a piece of 2X2 pine lift the drive way up place the wood down low against the gimble then let the drive drop. I may take a bit of persuasion but it will come off. Obviously the rams must be dis connected!!

P.S. Leave about 1/4-1/2" clearance below the skeg don't put it down hard against the wood on the ground or you may scruff the bottom of the skeg up!

BlownCrewCab
06-13-2008, 12:52 PM
[. Also, is it safe to assume that if the alignment is too bad that the drive will be hard to remove?[/quote]



The Drive needs to be removed to use the Alignment tool. Getting the drive off isn't hard. a 5/8 socket with an extension and a good ratchet, a 5/8 wrench, a small piece of 2X4 or 4X4. Once started you should be checking alignment in 10-15 minutes.

Carl C
06-13-2008, 01:07 PM
Thanks for all the info. Just one more question. Should the drive be in neutral when removing?

VetteLT193
06-13-2008, 01:49 PM
Alpha's have to be shifted into Forward (reverse for counter rotation)
Bravo's do not have to be shifted into gear

BlownCrewCab
06-13-2008, 02:14 PM
[. Also, is it safe to assume that if the alignment is too bad that the drive will be hard to remove?[/quote]

Ahhhh, It just dawned on me what you meant by this, and in some cases of bad mis-alignment YES it would be hard to get the shaft to slide out..

gcarter
06-13-2008, 03:03 PM
If you plan on keeping your boat, a couple of things (make it three) ya need to consider to purchase;
1) A manual!!!!!! How can anyone own one of these boats w/o a manual????
2) An alignment tool. As cheap as they are ($50.00), everyone on the board should have one.
3) A drive stand....Ditto! It's a great $80.00 investment. You can use it to help remove the drive...just slide it off the studs and onto the stand. If you need to leave it off for awhile, it's easy to roll it out of the way and store it.

Pismo
06-13-2008, 03:50 PM
My big question is---What happened to the motor mounts??? This boat is only a few years old right? What's the story???

BUIZILLA
06-13-2008, 04:28 PM
High humidity. there's part of your problem right there

Cuda
06-13-2008, 07:22 PM
My big question is---What happened to the motor mounts??? This boat is only a few years old right? What's the story???
If I'm not mistaken, the motor mount bolts have tabs that bend over the nut, to keep them from coming loose. I don't think tightening them all the way down is the correct way to tighten them. If that were the case, there would be no alignment possible.

mjw930
06-13-2008, 08:52 PM
I hate to say this but rather than suggesting he do something he's never done to a system that if not worked on correctly can cost him THOUSANDS of dollars to repair why hasn't someone suggested a good sterndrive mechanic in his area?

Carl C
06-13-2008, 09:00 PM
If you plan on keeping your boat, a couple of things (make it three) ya need to consider to purchase;
1) A manual!!!!!! How can anyone own one of these boats w/o a manual????
2) An alignment tool. As cheap as they are ($50.00), everyone on the board should have one.
3) A drive rack....Ditto! It's a great $80.00 investment. You can use it to help remove the drive...just slide it off the studs and onto the rack. If you need to leave it off for awhile, it's easy to roll it out of the way and store it. At least the first two. Where can I get 'em??


My big question is---What happened to the motor mounts??? This boat is only a few years old right? What's the story??? The boat was rear-ended while towing and the motor was pulled to replace the transom assy. and other parts. Donzi's hull strengthening mod was done then also. The glass work was great but I was very unhappy with the mechanical work done by K&M Marine.


there's part of your problem right there Yup, but it still should have been a little bit faster.


If I'm not mistaken, the motor mount bolts have tabs that bend over the nut, to keep them from coming loose. I don't think tightening them all the way down is the correct way to tighten them. If that were the case, there would be no alignment possible. There is nothing like that on my boat and the mechanic apparently doesn't use loc-tite. Each side has a big upper and lower nut to raise/lower the engine, both upper nuts were loose about one turn. There are 2 nuts and bolts per side that let the motor move back & forth, they were all loose and the mounts had slid over. There are the four through stringer bolts per side for the motor mounts. They had those off for the glass work and all were loose. The two bolts at the back were also loose with the left one about 4 turns out. The motor was sagging and had slid over. Now I wonder how fast she'll go when it's right. I'll loc-tite all the bolts when I do this job.

gcarter
06-13-2008, 09:29 PM
At least the first two. Where can I get 'em??


I'll loc-tite all the bolts when I do this job.

eBay, all the time from multiple sellers. Just do a search on Mercruiser, there's always a bunch of them.
A drive stand is as welcome as indoor plumbing, HVAC, and sliced bread.
Of course, I didn't know that until I bought one. eBay item also. The ones for sale on eBay will fit an Alpha, Bravo, or Volvo. They're very well built, light weight, and come w/great castors. It beats the heck out of leaning your drive up in a corner and watching it fall over.

At my local Ace Hardware Store, I found some very nice SST very thin jam nuts. IMO, these are better than Loctite if your front mounts adjusts to a heighth that allows room for them.

MOP
06-13-2008, 10:29 PM
How many hours do you have on it since the rear end work?

Cuda
06-13-2008, 11:41 PM
At least the first two. Where can I get 'em??

The boat was rear-ended while towing and the motor was pulled to replace the transom assy. and other parts. Donzi's hull strengthening mod was done then also. The glass work was great but I was very unhappy with the mechanical work done by K&M Marine.

Yup, but it still should have been a little bit faster.

There is nothing like that on my boat and the mechanic apparently doesn't use loc-tite. Each side has a big upper and lower nut to raise/lower the engine, both upper nuts were loose about one turn. There are 2 nuts and bolts per side that let the motor move back & forth, they were all loose and the mounts had slid over. There are the four through stringer bolts per side for the motor mounts. They had those off for the glass work and all were loose. The two bolts at the back were also loose with the left one about 4 turns out. The motor was sagging and had slid over. Now I wonder how fast she'll go when it's right. I'll loc-tite all the bolts when I do this job.

There should be some sort of mechnical means to keep the nut from turning Have you ever found a nut you couldn't break loose that had loctite on it? I imagine, the 496, is developing more torque, than I can with a socket.

BUIZILLA
06-14-2008, 06:18 AM
I think Mr X can confirm, but it's been my thinking that every new boat had lock tabs that needed to be folded over after the factory setup.... that being said, if everything was loose like that, I wouldn't touch it, and I would get it back to whomever did the glasswork PRONTO... then get the correct locktabs installed, re-align everything, and gently water test as needed.... if it's as loose as you say, it wouldn't hurt to remove the engine and inspect/replace the drive coupler, as has been previously cautiously suggested.

Carl C
06-14-2008, 06:49 AM
Mop, quite a few hours and Donzi's hull mod has held up well.

K&M Marine in Redford Twp will never touch my boat again.:doh::shocking:

Which bolts/nuts had lock tabs? Just the two big nuts on top?

Madcow
06-14-2008, 07:15 AM
If I'm not mistaken, the motor mount bolts have tabs that bend over the nut, to keep them from coming loose. I don't think tightening them all the way down is the correct way to tighten them. If that were the case, there would be no alignment possible.
My nuts have small holes drilled in them (on the horizintal plane from one cheek to the next) and when it's all aligned, you simply wire the top nut to the bottom nut. Not going anywhere, and easy to remove.

Trueser
06-14-2008, 07:48 AM
At least the first two. Where can I get 'em??

The boat was rear-ended while towing and the motor was pulled to replace the transom assy. and other parts. Donzi's hull strengthening mod was done then also. The glass work was great but I was very unhappy with the mechanical work done by K&M Marine.

Yup, but it still should have been a little bit faster.

There is nothing like that on my boat and the mechanic apparently doesn't use loc-tite. Each side has a big upper and lower nut to raise/lower the engine, both upper nuts were loose about one turn. There are 2 nuts and bolts per side that let the motor move back & forth, they were all loose and the mounts had slid over. There are the four through stringer bolts per side for the motor mounts. They had those off for the glass work and all were loose. The two bolts at the back were also loose with the left one about 4 turns out. The motor was sagging and had slid over. Now I wonder how fast she'll go when it's right. I'll loc-tite all the bolts when I do this job.


Carl,
You possibly may be tearing up the Gimbal and coupler; I would not run it until repaired. I would pull the motor and double check everything. Inspect the coupler and the transom assembly. The mounts on the stringers should have thread lockers. I would also check all the bolts on the transom assembly.

I also double up the top nut for more security.As long as you have room.

Carl C
06-14-2008, 08:10 AM
Carl,
You possibly may be tearing up the Gimbal and coupler; I would not run it until repaired. I would pull the motor and double check everything. Inspect the coupler and the transom assembly. The mounts on the stringers should have thread lockers. I would also check all the bolts on the transom assembly.

I also double up the top nut for more security.As long as you have room. I won't drive it untill I align it. I don't have the means to pull this motor. My cherry picker isn't high enough and I don't want to hang that much weight from my garage trusses. After I pull the drive, if there is obvious damage I will rethink this. Double nutting the uppers may be doable. At minimum I'll put red loc-tite on every bolt. I have never seen a red loc-tited bolt vibrate loose. It will not be going to a shop. K&M had it for about 8 or 9 months and it still wasn't right. I'm not throwing away this boating season. Maybe this board has forgotten the dozen or more threads I started to help me through that fiasco but I never will.

gcarter
06-14-2008, 09:47 AM
Carl, you can remove the rear wheels from your trailer, jack up the tongue, block the rear of the trailer to keep the keel just clear of the floor and probably gain a foot on your hoist.

Cuda
06-14-2008, 10:08 AM
I won't drive it untill I align it. I don't have the means to pull this motor. My cherry picker isn't high enough and I don't want to hang that much weight from my garage trusses. After I pull the drive, if there is obvious damage I will rethink this. Double nutting the uppers may be doable. At minimum I'll put red loc-tite on every bolt. I have never seen a red loc-tited bolt vibrate loose. It will not be going to a shop. K&M had it for about 8 or 9 months and it still wasn't right. I'm not throwing away this boating season. Maybe this board has forgotten the dozen or more threads I started to help me through that fiasco but I never will.
Doubling up the nuts won't do much, unless youre able to put a lock washer between them. You don't see motor mount bolts in car with loctite. They always have lock washers on them.

DonziJon
06-14-2008, 12:34 PM
If you "Double Nut", you don't use, or need lock washers. :bonk:

Cuda
06-14-2008, 12:59 PM
If you "Double Nut", you don't use, or need lock washers. :bonk:
Double nuts will still come loose without a lock washer between them, if they are in a place that vibrates at all.

Trueser
06-14-2008, 02:01 PM
Twice the amount of thread surface. And ever since I installed on my 22 and the Z29 they never came loose.

The torque of the motor is what loosens it up.

Why dont they use thread lock from the factory?

mjw930
06-14-2008, 02:06 PM
Wouldn't the simplest solution be to get the Mercruiser tabbed washer and lock washer as seen below rather than trying to rig something?

DonziJon
06-14-2008, 03:12 PM
Wouldn't the simplest solution be to get the Mercruiser tabbed washer and lock washer as seen below rather than trying to rig something?

We only do SIMPLE as a last resort on this board. :doh: John

MOP
06-14-2008, 03:31 PM
mjw930 thanks to the diagram better then my picture, I did not read your post to well after I wrote the stuff below which I started at about 2:30 and sneaked back in every so often to finish.

Forget all the fixes!!!! The factory lock tab setup is EXCELLENT! Apparently it was not done correctly, call the glass guys they should do something! The lock tab that everyone is speaking of mounts under the main part of the mount securing the BOTTOM nut, the top nut is secured with a lock washer. This done so the engine cannot drop out of alignment, yes the top nuts can and do come loose at times the bottom nuts stay put which means the alignment is rarely affected. Now this does not mean there is -0- coupler or other damage, now if the lock tab washers are missing that is another story then who fixed the boat needs to fix it again.

Check the picture in post #9 in this link ( http://www.donzi.net/forums/showthread.php?t=39332 ) link you can see the lock tab protruding from under the mount! First you do the alignment get it spot on, lock tab the lower nut and torque the upper nut to 120lbs, the bottom nut can not move and change the adjustment and the top one locks it all togther. I have done that more then a few times in the last 40+ and never had an engine get its self loose.

Carl look to see where and if the lock tab washers are in place!

A hot afternoon RANT but correct!

Cuda
06-14-2008, 04:27 PM
Wouldn't the simplest solution be to get the Mercruiser tabbed washer and lock washer as seen below rather than trying to rig something?
That's exactly what I was talking about. A picture is worth a thousand words. Thanks Mark.

Carl C
06-14-2008, 05:37 PM
My nuts have small holes drilled in them Ouch!:eek:


Carl, you can remove the rear wheels from your trailer, jack up the tongue, block the rear of the trailer to keep the keel just clear of the floor and probably gain a foot on your hoist. Good idea, I didn't think about that although I have thought about blocking up the whole cherry picker and rolling the boat out from under the engine but I'm really hoping I don't need to pull the motor. I want to be on the water Tuesday.:crossfing::crossfing::crossfing:


Wouldn't the simplest solution be to get the Mercruiser tabbed washer and lock washer as seen below rather than trying to rig something? I may have those. It was the upper nuts that were loose, along with all the other nuts and bolts.

Cuda
06-14-2008, 11:43 PM
Ouch!:eek:

Good idea, I didn't think about that although I have thought about blocking up the whole cherry picker and rolling the boat out from under the engine but I'm really hoping I don't need to pull the motor. I want to be on the water Tuesday.:crossfing::crossfing::crossfing:

I may have those. It was the upper nuts that were loose, along with all the other nuts and bolts.
Were the tabs bent over the nuts??

Trueser
06-15-2008, 12:00 AM
Mop, quite a few hours and Donzi's hull mod has held up well.

K&M Marine in Redford Twp will never touch my boat again.:doh::shocking:

Which bolts/nuts had lock tabs? Just the two big nuts on top?

CarL,
What does quite a few hours mean? 20-30-40-50. 100-200 I think the Merc specs is to check the alignment after 40 Hours or first year. The second nut on top is adding to the original setup not a shortcut. The port side will always be the first side to loosen up. mostly just the TOP nut.

Once you have this happen you will always check your MOUNTS.

Drive it over to Chicago will set it up at my house.

Carl C
06-15-2008, 05:55 PM
CarL,
What does quite a few hours mean? 20-30-40-50. 100-200 I think the Merc specs is to check the alignment after 40 Hours or first year. The second nut on top is adding to the original setup not a shortcut. The port side will always be the first side to loosen up. mostly just the TOP nut.

Once you have this happen you will always check your MOUNTS.

Drive it over to Chicago will set it up at my house. About 60 hours. Total hours on the boat are 160. The manual says to check the drive alignment every three years. It should have been done in late '06/early '07 when K&M finished it.....but they didn't loc-tite the bolts. I will do the double nut thing and remove all the smaller nuts and loc-tite them. Chicago's not far and I appreciate that offer but it sounds pretty simple and I'm going to do it tomorrow. I have a feeling the coupler is OK. Is there something I should look for? I have no idea what a coupler looks like or does because I've always had outboards. If it fails completely does it do other damage? I have unlimited towing coverage if it does go. I just call TowBoatUS and wait for my free tow.:propeller:

gcarter
06-15-2008, 06:19 PM
Carl it looks like a rubber doughnut bonded to a round steel plate that bolts to the flywheel. In the middle is a steel tube w/a splined hole that mates up to your drive shaft. When it fails, the rubber doughnut comes unbonded from the surrounding housing and it will transmit only very limited torque. When it happened to my Minx I could only maintain about 2000 RPM w/o it slipping.

One thing to remember after removing the drive and inserting the tool for the first time, the tool goes through a seal in the gimbal that causes some resistance. You will have to learn to judge the drag on the seal as opposed to the drag on the splines. The grease and spline tooth reading is critical. also don't forget there will be some sag in the tool (it's pretty heavy) so you have to keep it centered. If it does sag (droop), you'll get an incorrect spline reading.
One more thing....the coupler is BEHIND the rear mounts. So if the tooth pattern says the coupler needs to go down, the front of the engine needs to be raised, and vice versa.

Carl C
06-15-2008, 07:01 PM
Carl it looks like a rubber doughnut bonded to a round steel plate that bolts to the flywheel. In the middle is a steel tube w/a splined hole that mates up to your drive shaft. When it fails, the rubber doughnut comes unbonded from the surrounding housing and it will transmit only very limited torque. When it happened to my Minx I could only maintain about 2000 RPM w/o it slipping.

One thing to remember after removing the drive and inserting the tool for the first time, the tool goes through a seal in the gimbal that causes some resistance. You will have to learn to judge the drag on the seal as opposed to the drag on the splines. The grease and spline tooth reading is critical. also don't forget there will be some sag in the tool (it's pretty heavy) so you have to keep it centered. If it does sag (droop), you'll get an incorrect spline reading.
One more thing....the coupler is BEHIND the rear mounts. So if the tooth pattern says the coupler needs to go down, the front of the engine nedds to be raised, and vice versa.OK, that's just what I needed to know. Mine wasn't slipping at all, in fact the rpms are a little low with the 28p Bravo 1 but nothing a shorty wouldn't cure:cool:. Thanks for the tips, I see what you mean about raising and lowering the engine and I probably would have done it back-ward:doh:. Wish me luck and hopefully I won't have to post any questions tomorrow: Just good news.:crossfing:

Rootsy
06-16-2008, 10:04 AM
Carl it looks like a rubber doughnut bonded to a round steel plate that bolts to the flywheel. In the middle is a steel tube w/a splined hole that mates up to your drive shaft. When it fails, the rubber doughnut comes unbonded from the surrounding housing and it will transmit only very limited torque. When it happened to my Minx I could only maintain about 2000 RPM w/o it slipping.
One thing to remember after removing the drive and inserting the tool for the first time, the tool goes through a seal in the gimbal that causes some resistance. You will have to learn to judge the drag on the seal as opposed to the drag on the splines. The grease and spline tooth reading is critical. also don't forget there will be some sag in the tool (it's pretty heavy) so you have to keep it centered. If it does sag (droop), you'll get an incorrect spline reading.
One more thing....the coupler is BEHIND the rear mounts. So if the tooth pattern says the coupler needs to go down, the front of the engine nedds to be raised, and vice versa.


That's why I turn mine out of aluminum :)

BlownCrewCab
06-16-2008, 12:35 PM
I Think he was refering to the Alignment tool, Not the Coupler....(I Hope) Forget it, I'm too slow...

cutwater
06-16-2008, 12:43 PM
Forget it, I'm too slow...

... or too quick! I saw it too... :wink: It's funny how easy it is to misunderstand what is being said when it's written not spoken. The curse of online forums!

Trueser
06-16-2008, 01:15 PM
That's why I turn mine out of aluminum :)


Are you selling any?

Carl C
06-16-2008, 02:00 PM
I just came in for a little break and to get my mouse and keyboard greasy. I installed SS lockwashers and red loc-tite on all 8 through stringer bolts. I loosened up all the other bolts but not the big lower nuts which do have the fold down lock washers in place. The alignment seems to be OK. The tool slides in and out pretty easily with the lube on it (Oh, the sexual innuendos:wink:). I removed the rear shift mechanism cover and the parts in there look good and the oil looks clean and good. I think I'm good to tighten all the motor mount bolts with loc-tite and re-check the alignment. I'll be changing the gear oil too. Yup, the tool is heavy but I think I can live with that seeing it'll only be used every 2 or 3 years. Now I'm using the one I borrowed from Colony Marine but I will buy one. Just curious though, Jamie, are you selling your aluminum ones?

dsparis
06-16-2008, 02:43 PM
I purchased an alignment tool off ebay. After struggling with it for half an hour I miked it and found the spline portion to be 30 thou off.

MOP
06-16-2008, 03:01 PM
The tool its self is a few thousands larger then the spline shaft, when you put a new bearing in most all of the time you need to whack the tool fairly hard with your hand to line up the center part of the bearing. they come out of the box straight but all I/O transoms have several degrees tumble out and the bearing must be aligned to what ever degree the transom has, they very rarely slide in out of the box!

Phil

Carl C
06-16-2008, 06:30 PM
All done. Thanks for all of the info and tips, they made the job go pretty smooth. I did some extra stuff like loc-titing other bolts and wiping down the whole bilge with mineral spirits. Should be able to water test it tomorrow on Lake Oakland. My anonymous nemesis will probably call the cops but some top speed passes will be required. Right now a shower is required. For me, not the drive! Thanks again.