WorldOfJohnboy
Seaman Apprentice
- Joined
- Aug 4, 2009
- Messages
- 36
OK, so I am sure that I am not alone in this type of post, but I purchased an '88 Raven Cuddy. The previous owner didn't use it a ton, but took pretty good care of it. He showed me the faults and ran the engine for me and even took me on a test drive.
So, I get it home, register the thing and purchase the necessary items that I need to go on a local lake (flares, etc.). On the lake for about 2 hours at various speeds and no audible or visual issues... then about 2 miles from any land, we are going at about 25 MPH and the engine revs really high and the prop stopped doing its job. I quickly put the throttle to neutral/idle, then shut the engine off. I was in 25' waters, so I didn't bottom out. Go back and look at the prop, etc. and don't see anything wrong. Check the engine (4cyl. 3.0L) and nothing visible, no water, smoke, etc. Check oil and level is fine.
Started the engine again, and it fired off right away. Let it idle for a while while I looked at the motor. No problems. I told my wife to watch the prop and I would put it in gear. No prop movement, just high reving. Turned it off, called the authorities and got a tow back to shore.
I took it to a marina mechanic. At first they thought it was a spun prop hub... I told them I removed the prop and tried to put the boat in gear, but the prop shaft didn't even spin with no prop on. So, they agreed to look at it to see what the issue was. He calls me the next day and says "Good news and bad news... Good: Prop not spun, U-joint are fine. Bad: Your upper gears are completely shredded and metal flakes all over both the upper and lower units. "We suggest you get a new aftermarked outdrive unit... installed = $2100."
I went out and got another outdrive from a parts boat. When I took the outdrive off, I popped cap on the upper unit and there was still oil in the chamber and the gears/bearings looked new. Drained the oil and it was clean as a whistle, no white streaks or water. Everything works well, I even manually spun the upper drive shaft and the prop shaft spun freely.
Now, I bought new gaskets and seals for the gimble & outdrive mount. 2 Quarts of gear oil, shaft grease and a pump for the gear oil. I have a repair manual and will follow it to a "T," but I just don't want the same thing to happen to this drive unit.
My questions:
The only thing that I can think of is that I didn't bother to check the oil level in the drive chambers before I took it out, and doubt that the previous owner did anything to check it or even change it before me. My thought is that for some reason, one of the oil valve screws or gaskets came loose and the oil leaked, eventually causing the gears to heat up and all but melt. Any suggestions would be helpful, I want to be certain that this doesn't happen again!
So, I get it home, register the thing and purchase the necessary items that I need to go on a local lake (flares, etc.). On the lake for about 2 hours at various speeds and no audible or visual issues... then about 2 miles from any land, we are going at about 25 MPH and the engine revs really high and the prop stopped doing its job. I quickly put the throttle to neutral/idle, then shut the engine off. I was in 25' waters, so I didn't bottom out. Go back and look at the prop, etc. and don't see anything wrong. Check the engine (4cyl. 3.0L) and nothing visible, no water, smoke, etc. Check oil and level is fine.
Started the engine again, and it fired off right away. Let it idle for a while while I looked at the motor. No problems. I told my wife to watch the prop and I would put it in gear. No prop movement, just high reving. Turned it off, called the authorities and got a tow back to shore.
I took it to a marina mechanic. At first they thought it was a spun prop hub... I told them I removed the prop and tried to put the boat in gear, but the prop shaft didn't even spin with no prop on. So, they agreed to look at it to see what the issue was. He calls me the next day and says "Good news and bad news... Good: Prop not spun, U-joint are fine. Bad: Your upper gears are completely shredded and metal flakes all over both the upper and lower units. "We suggest you get a new aftermarked outdrive unit... installed = $2100."
I went out and got another outdrive from a parts boat. When I took the outdrive off, I popped cap on the upper unit and there was still oil in the chamber and the gears/bearings looked new. Drained the oil and it was clean as a whistle, no white streaks or water. Everything works well, I even manually spun the upper drive shaft and the prop shaft spun freely.
Now, I bought new gaskets and seals for the gimble & outdrive mount. 2 Quarts of gear oil, shaft grease and a pump for the gear oil. I have a repair manual and will follow it to a "T," but I just don't want the same thing to happen to this drive unit.
My questions:
- Is there anything I should look for in my old drive unit specifically that may tell me what happened?
- What should I look at in the new unit to ensure that the same thing doesn't happen?
- Any clue as to what may have happened, just from my description?
The only thing that I can think of is that I didn't bother to check the oil level in the drive chambers before I took it out, and doubt that the previous owner did anything to check it or even change it before me. My thought is that for some reason, one of the oil valve screws or gaskets came loose and the oil leaked, eventually causing the gears to heat up and all but melt. Any suggestions would be helpful, I want to be certain that this doesn't happen again!
