Noise in lower unit

Hey guys I am new to this site and thought maybe someone could help me out with my motor.

I recently bought a 2001 Tracker boat. It has a 40hp 2-stroke motor on it. The motor is a Tracker by Mercury. Well we were took the prop off yesterday because it was a little loose and everything was good and just need tightened up a bit. When we would turn the prop by hand though it made a clicking noise in the lower unit about every either turn. The noise reminded me of when you are driving the boat and the motor dies while it is still in gear. I am planning on putting muffs on it this week and running it to see what it does out of the water.

I was thinking about it today and wonder if it might not be totally disengaged and the linkage might need adjusting. Do you guys think that could be what is going on or does it sound like I might have something out in the lower unit.

Thanks for any input.

Re: Noise in lower unit

Sounds like cables need adjustment for true neutral or shift was not fully in neutral.

Re: Noise in lower unit

In N gear, engine off, you should hear nothing and the prop will turn freely in both directions.

In F when you turn the prop in one direction you get resistance and if you keep up the pressure you will rotate the prop shaft, driveshaft, and crankshaft; all normal with no noise. In the opposite direction (I forget which direction cw or ccw is which and it doesn't really matter for the purpose of this explanation), you will hear a click, click, click......that is the overrun clutch on F gear that allows your prop to free wheel when decelerating.....like when the engine was at full rpm, the boat is blasting across the water and you immediately cut the throttle to idle. If it weren't for that overrun clutch, when you cut the throttle to idle, you would wind up in the front seat or over the bow of the boat in the water; the boat would attempt to stop dead in the water with the drag caused by a non-rotating prop. You can possibly hear it during deceleration if things are quiet enough...all normal.

In R gear, you have to be careful moving the shifter to R when the engine is off as you can damage the shifter if you try to force it. There is no overrun clutch, just a slot for cw or ccw prop rotation; same in both directions. So when shifting to R when the engine is NOT running only, grasp the prop with one hand and as you move the shift lever rotate the prop and in time the shifter will move on over to R and the prop will lock. It will not turn in either direction unless you force it and then you move all the same stuff you moved in F.....all this is normal with no noise. When the engine is running, it is rotating the shafts and it is easy for the slots to line up and engage....obviously you don't want your hand in there then.

HTH

Mark

Re: Noise in lower unit

Thanks for all the help!!!