Swap 888 lower with an 898 lower?

[Facu.villa]

Hey everyone need some help as a new boat owner.

Recently bought a 1973 Cruiser in good condition, took it out to the lake a couple of times and it ran great this last time we took it out I got a bit to close to the shore line (actually about 35 yds away) and I felt my prop hit something and quit on me. We ended up sitting out for about an hour until we managed to flag someone down for a tow.:facepalm:

When I got it back home I checked it out and the engine still starts up fine but prop wont spin. It actually moves about 1/4 turn and stops then again like it wants to but cant. It will spin by hand and I can see the shaft coming from the inboard engine spinning. Took it to a local mechanic who said that the gearcase must be shot or shaft broke...said we are looking at starting at about $1000+ to get fixed. Turned around and took it home, I have rebuilt old cars and think I will go ahead and take this on myself. I pulled off the lower and shaft is not broke but did find two little O rings that look kind of like a spring...one was in pieces the other fine.

Spoke with my wifes uncle who has grown up around boats and he said I should look around for a gearcase or outdrive on the internet which would be cheaper. My outdrive is a Mercruiser 888, yesterday I found a Mercruiser 898 outdrive for $150 (I know cheap but guy said time over and over that it will run fine and for $150 I think its worth the try). I would like to know if I can swap the lower of my 888 for the lower on the 898. They are both for V8's (one Ford the other Chevy) and from what I found online the same gear ratio.

Should this fix the problem? or could it be something in the upper and in that case can I just swap out the entire outdrive and have it link up fine?

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Bondo]

Re: Swap 888 lower with an 898 lower?

Should this fix the problem? or could it be something in the upper and in that case can I just swap out the entire outdrive and have it link up fine?

Ayuh,.... Welcome Aboard,.... swap the Whole drive,....

They're both MC-1 drives, with different badges,... same ratios....

Did ya drain the oil,..?? any water,..?? metal,..??

 

[ktbarrentine]

Re: Swap 888 lower with an 898 lower?

Hey everyone need some help as a new boat owner.

Recently bought a 1973 Cruiser in good condition, took it out to the lake a couple of times and it ran great this last time we took it out I got a bit to close to the shore line (actually about 35 yds away) and I felt my prop hit something and quit on me. We ended up sitting out for about an hour until we managed to flag someone down for a tow.:facepalm:

When I got it back home I checked it out and the engine still starts up fine but prop wont spin. It actually moves about 1/4 turn and stops then again like it wants to but cant. It will spin by hand and I can see the shaft coming from the inboard engine spinning. Took it to a local mechanic who said that the gearcase must be shot or shaft broke...said we are looking at starting at about $1000+ to get fixed. Turned around and took it home, I have rebuilt old cars and think I will go ahead and take this on myself. I pulled off the lower and shaft is not broke but did find two little O rings that look kind of like a spring...one was in pieces the other fine.

Spoke with my wifes uncle who has grown up around boats and he said I should look around for a gearcase or outdrive on the internet which would be cheaper. My outdrive is a Mercruiser 888, yesterday I found a Mercruiser 898 outdrive for $150 (I know cheap but guy said time over and over that it will run fine and for $150 I think its worth the try). I would like to know if I can swap the lower of my 888 for the lower on the 898. They are both for V8's (one Ford the other Chevy) and from what I found online the same gear ratio.

Should this fix the problem? or could it be something in the upper and in that case can I just swap out the entire outdrive and have it link up fine?

Any info would be greatly appreciated!

This is a bit nebulous... can you provide more details. When you spin the prop by hand, is it in gear (i.e, in fwd, you can "ratchet" the prop CW, but it will "lock" if you try CCW if it is still connected to the engine coupler and if the upper gearing/u-joints are ok.
If the prop is able to "spin" by hand CCW when in gear, then it is "disconnected" from the engine.
When you say you see the "shaft coming from the inboard spinning" is this with the engine running? If not, then your coupler is in trouble.
Did you pull the top cap off the upper to see what the gears look like?
What did your oil look like when you drained it?
The two o-rings that looked like springs sound like they are the internal sealing springs in two of your seals in the upper part of the drive.
Can you upload photos?
You probably should pull the upper off the boat and at least see what is going on with the upper and with the u-joints and engine coupler.
KTB

 

[Facu.villa]

Re: Swap 888 lower with an 898 lower?

@Bond-o: I did drain the oil and I beleive there may be metal shavings in there. I shined my flashlight in the bucket and can see little shiny specs. I did not see any water at all.

I think I will go ahead and swap the entire outdrive, it may save me some work if I end up swaping only the bottom and finding out the gears up top are bad as well.

@ktbarrentine: Sorry for the lack in detail. When I did spin the prop by hand it was in frw gear and engine off. With the engine on the prop would moves about 1/4 turn and stop, then again like it wants to but cant.
The shaft I saw coming from the engine was spinning when engine is on. I will go ahead and remove the upper tonight and take a look at it.

I did forget to mention but dont know if it helps...with the lower off I can spin the prop shaft but not get any movement in the shaft that goes into the upper. Same thing if I try to move the shaft that goes into the upper, I gwet no movement at the prop end.

 

[ktbarrentine]

Re: Swap 888 lower with an 898 lower?

@Bond-o: I did drain the oil and I beleive there may be metal shavings in there. I shined my flashlight in the bucket and can see little shiny specs. I did not see any water at all.

I think I will go ahead and swap the entire outdrive, it may save me some work if I end up swaping only the bottom and finding out the gears up top are bad as well.

@ktbarrentine: Sorry for the lack in detail. When I did spin the prop by hand it was in frw gear and engine off. With the engine on the prop would moves about 1/4 turn and stop, then again like it wants to but cant.
The shaft I saw coming from the engine was spinning when engine is on. I will go ahead and remove the upper tonight and take a look at it.

I did forget to mention but dont know if it helps...with the lower off I can spin the prop shaft but not get any movement in the shaft that goes into the upper. Same thing if I try to move the shaft that goes into the upper, I gwet no movement at the prop end.

Hmmm... what position was your shift shaft in when you did this prop rotation? Position the "shoe" on the top of the shift shaft to the 12 oclock position (straight foward) and then try the prop... it should "lock" CCW (and if you turn if harder, it will cause the vertical shaft to rotate CCW). It should "ratchet" turning the prop CW, and the vert shaft will not turn (you are ratcheting on the clutch dogs in the lower gears).
If you've got metal in the oil.....you got problems. Did you pull the top cap off the upper part of the drive? I am betting your upper gears are shot.... but will wait to see what you find.

Here is a similar recent (active) thread for reference purposes.
http://forums.iboats.com/showthread.php?t=577263&p=3968050#post3968050

 

[Facu.villa]

Re: Swap 888 lower with an 898 lower?

what position was your shift shaft in when you did this prop rotation? Position the "shoe" on the top of the shift shaft to the 12 oclock position (straight foward) and then try the prop...

Not sure what the "shoe" is or where it is located the vertical shaft just has grooves on the top and a stem on the end that does not move. That is all I can see I will try to post some pictures tonigh of what all is there.

 

[Bondo]

Re: Swap 888 lower with an 898 lower?

Not sure what the "shoe" is or where it is located the vertical shaft just has grooves on the top and a stem on the end that does not move. That is all I can see I will try to post some pictures tonigh of what all is there.

Ayuh,.... The shift shaft is the little shaft, a couple inches forward of the drive shaft...

 

[Facu.villa]

Re: Swap 888 lower with an 898 lower?

Hey guys,

I apologize for the gap in comunication but I ended up buying the 898 from the guy on craigslist and it looks and turns like it should. I took my 888 outdrive off, replaced some gaskets, and O-ring that I picked up a the shop down the street (plus some good mechanical tips). We mounted the 898 outdrive and she fit in like a glove.

Tonight I will replace oil and see how we start up. I did have a question though... My outdrive ( the 888 ) had a resevoir with oil that had a hose going through the transom and connected into the top oil vent hole, is this always the case, also there was a bottle of synthetic gear oil tucked away in the well and I was wondering if this is the right type of oil to pump into the outdrive or do I use "outdrive oil" I have seen at wallmart/shops?

Sorry,
KTB did not figure out a way to post the pictures from my phone until now and they seem a bit pointless to post now with the new outdrive mounted.

Thanks for all your help guys from a newbie!

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: Swap 888 lower with an 898 lower?

My outdrive ( the 888 ) had a resevoir with oil that had a hose going through the transom and connected into the top oil vent hole, is this always the case,

that's a Rube Goldberg addition.
Maybe ahead of its' time as Mercruiser had that on TR/TRS drives and added a system like that in 1992 with the 2nd generation Alphas.

But MC1 drives never had that.

 

[Facu.villa]

Re: Swap 888 lower with an 898 lower?

that's a Rube Goldberg addition.
Maybe ahead of its' time as Mercruiser had that on TR/TRS drives and added a system like that in 1992 with the 2nd generation Alphas.

But MC1 drives never had that.

Is there a point for it then?, well I guess if it has been running with it up until now..and "if it aint broke", but is it gear oil or outdrive oil or are they the same thing???

 

[achris]

Re: Swap 888 lower with an 898 lower?

The only oil you should be running in any Mercruiser drive is Quicksilver High Performance Gear Lube. The drive oil reservoir bottle was an optional extra on MC1 drives, and was supplied, by Mercruiser, in exactly the configuration you describe. Go ahead and connect it up. They are a nice option...

Chris.........

 

[Bondo]

Re: Swap 888 lower with an 898 lower?

I apologize for the gap in comunication but I ended up buying the 898 from the guy on craigslist and it looks and turns like it should. I took my 888 outdrive off, replaced some gaskets, and O-ring that I picked up a the shop down the street (plus some good mechanical tips). We mounted the 898 outdrive and she fit in like a glove.

Ayuh,..... Sounds Good,... Did ya change the Impeller while ya had it apart,..?? I would, bein' an unknown...

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: Swap 888 lower with an 898 lower?

The drive oil reservoir bottle was an optional extra on MC1 drives, and was supplied, by Mercruiser, in exactly the configuration you describe. Go ahead and connect it up. They are a nice option...

Chris.........

and I learn something new again....
cool