Mercury IO lower unit damage?

S

skrahimi

Recruit
Joined
Oct 18, 2011
Messages
4
Hello,
I had a mishap today with my boat and I am wondering if I damaged anything. Here is what happened.
Pull my boat (2002 Sea Ray 185 4.3 L I/O) out of the lake, winterized it, push it back into my garage. I made a mistake before disconnecting the trailer tong from the SUV, lowered the stern drive (as recommended by the manufacturer) for winter storage. Then I proceeded to raise the trailer tong and as a result pressed the lower unit on the garage floor. After I disengaged the ball and moved the SUV, I realized what I had done. I immediately lowered the trailer tong, removing the pressure from the drive.
To make sure the power trim works, I did raise the lower the lower unit up and down a couple of times and things seem to be working OK. I did not see anything bent or cracked from the outside.
Could this accident have caused some damage to the alpha one lower/out drive unit that I could not see? I do not want to put the boat back in the water to test everything out now. I have to wait until next spring and I am worried.
Any thought? I appreciate that.
Sam
 
Summer Fun

Summer Fun

Banned
Joined
Mar 2, 2002
Messages
2,251
Re: Mercury IO lower unit damage?

I wouldn't worry about it & Welcome to iboats. :)
 
oops!

oops!

Supreme Mariner
Joined
Oct 18, 2007
Messages
12,932
Re: Mercury IO lower unit damage?

welcome to iboats!

every day at the boat launch.....dozens of boats get dragged up the ramp with the drive down...and the boats stern lifting off the trailer.......no damage.

sleep well.......

but on the other hand.......your boat may break in half and sink the next time you use it.
 
F

Fordiesel69

Lieutenant Junior Grade
Joined
Sep 18, 2009
Messages
1,146
Re: Mercury IO lower unit damage?

The only time this would be a problem is if your transom is rotted. But in your case being a 2002, you will be just fine. I watched a guy do this at a ramp and the boat lifted right off the back of the bunks. I saw him again at the ramps with no damage heading back out.
 
achris

achris

More fish than mountain goat
Joined
May 19, 2004
Messages
27,468
Re: Mercury IO lower unit damage?

If you had done any damage (unlikely) it would be very obvious, like broken gimbal ring or hinge pins or skeg... You didn't see anything obvious, then you can sleep well for the winter..... :D :D :D
 
paultjohnson

paultjohnson

Lieutenant Commander
Joined
Jul 29, 2010
Messages
1,560
Re: Mercury IO lower unit damage?

The real damage comes from BACKING your drive into something. The drive has protection in a FWD impact. Its a safety feature, so if you hit a log or something while underway, the drive absorbs the impact and you dont lose steering. But in REV, you are SOL... From what I have read anyhow...
 
Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1

Eric 3.7LX Alpha 1

Captain
Joined
Mar 27, 2010
Messages
3,008
Re: Mercury IO lower unit damage?

Better doing that at home in the driveway than at the ramp with a line waiting, and everyone watching. :D

You should be ok without any problems as mentioned above.
 
D

dollarten

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 28, 2011
Messages
136
Re: Mercury IO lower unit damage?

skrahimi said:
Hello,
I had a mishap today with my boat and I am wondering if I damaged anything. Here is what happened.
Pull my boat (2002 Sea Ray 185 4.3 L I/O) out of the lake, winterized it, push it back into my garage. I made a mistake before disconnecting the trailer tong from the SUV, lowered the stern drive (as recommended by the manufacturer) for winter storage. Then I proceeded to raise the trailer tong and as a result pressed the lower unit on the garage floor. After I disengaged the ball and moved the SUV, I realized what I had done. I immediately lowered the trailer tong, removing the pressure from the drive.
To make sure the power trim works, I did raise the lower the lower unit up and down a couple of times and things seem to be working OK. I did not see anything bent or cracked from the outside.
Could this accident have caused some damage to the alpha one lower/out drive unit that I could not see? I do not want to put the boat back in the water to test everything out now. I have to wait until next spring and I am worried.
Any thought? I appreciate that.
Sam
Click to expand...
I have a boat just like yours but, it's one year older and I know how low to the ground the drive unit sits . I had close calls myself I cannot get my drive unit all the way down , even with the front dolley wheel cranked all the way down I am going to raise the axel up a bit an put some jackstands under it for the winter so the drive unit is all the way down so the belows fully contracted . Might want to check yours to and see if your drive unit is still up somewhat
 
Scott Danforth

Scott Danforth

Grumpy Vintage Moderator still playing with boats
Staff member
Joined
Jul 23, 2011
Messages
47,551
Re: Mercury IO lower unit damage?

the only thing you may have done was scuff the paint. I have a long aluminum line in my driveway from my 2002 when I forgot to put the drive up after pulling the boat out of the garage.
 
achris

achris

More fish than mountain goat
Joined
May 19, 2004
Messages
27,468
Re: Mercury IO lower unit damage?

Scott Danforth said:
the only thing you may have done was scuff the paint. I have a long aluminum line in my driveway from my 2002 when I forgot to put the drive up after pulling the boat out of the garage.
Click to expand...

Ditto..... (but mine's a 2006:D)
 
L

littlebookworm

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Nov 30, 2007
Messages
574
Re: Mercury IO lower unit damage?

Welcome to the forum. You and your boat are both fine. Many of us have done similar things over the years. Relax and think spring. Hy
 
D

dollarten

Petty Officer 2nd Class
Joined
Jul 28, 2011
Messages
136
Re: Mercury IO lower unit damage?

Scott Danforth said:
the only thing you may have done was scuff the paint. I have a long aluminum line in my driveway from my 2002 when I forgot to put the drive up after pulling the boat out of the garage.
Click to expand...
I put a sticker from a label maker by the trailer coupler to remind me to " Raise Drive unit "
 
S

skrahimi

Recruit
Joined
Oct 18, 2011
Messages
4
Re: Mercury IO lower unit damage?

Hello,
Thanks to everyone who replied and the information that was provided. It does make me feel better that I am not the only one who forgets the sequence of steps storing the boat. It is also good to know that the probability of having damaged my lower unit would be very small if nothing.

As dollarten mentioned in his post, my boat lower unit sits very close to the ground (may be it is the trailer being low). In order to fully retract the bellows, I had to put a jack stand under each axle.
Regards
 
B

BobMaio

Seaman
Joined
Jan 6, 2011
Messages
54
Re: Mercury IO lower unit damage?

Frankly, I would suggest taking the drive unit off for the winter and storing it in the garage. Less chance of theft and no worries over where it sits relative to the ground. There are only 6 bolts and 15 minutes work to pull. There are a number of simple ideas on this site for a stand to hold the unit for storage.
 
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