This is long...sorry
470 ?..I screwed something up
The story goes like this: to install a low mount alternator kit, I needed to cut out a little bit of the floorboard near where the alternator would sit. I couldn?t get a saw into the area I needed to cut because the engine was in the way. I took the 4 front motor mount bolts out and raised the front of the engine up a few inches with a chain hoist. After alt. kit installation, engine lowered back down and the front mount bolted down. I have not received my engine alignment tool yet, so no alignment was performed. I didn?t loosen the front mount adjustment locking nuts so I didn?t think it would be a big deal to run the engine for a short time. I ran engine with Muffs hooked up for about 10 minutes while I tested the new charging system.
Last week, I was cleaning the outdrive and manually moved it to the side and heard what I would describe as a popping noise as if something were binding, then letting go. The noise shows itself almost at end of travel both starboard and port movement directions. Moving about center makes no noise. Raising the drive with the hydraulics and not moving the steering also makes the same noise. Engine is not running when these noises are present.
Unfortunately the stern drive and steering were never moved during the alternator checkout.
I cannot seem to exactly locate where the noise is coming from, but it is present at the transom. I cannot feel anything out of the ordinary when I reached down behind the engine and put my fingers on the u-joint output shaft(the shaft going to the engine coupler) while the noise is present.
I?m thinking when I raised the engine front up, I may had gone too far and managed to bend something.
Thinking the noise may have something to do with the steering, my thoughts were to isolate the steering from the outdrive, then see if the noise is still there.
I thought I could remove the steering pivot bolts & the steering lever clevis pin to make this isolation happen, but the clevis pin won?t budge!! Could I have bent the lever? It looks like a pretty robust lever.
Is the steering lever clevis pin clocked so it won't turn, or should I be able to rotate it to gain access to the cotter pin?
I thought about removing the outdrive for further troubleshooting, but was afraid without the extra weight of the outdrive on the bell housing, the noise may not show up.
Few days later my alignment tool still has not been delivered, so I went ahead and pulled the drive.
Gimbal bearing looks and feels real good , u-joints also feel good, bellows reasonably clean except for some grease splatter from u-joints, no sign of water intrusion anywhere. The U-joint shaft is really hard to rotate (the impellor only has 10 minutes run time on it). After putting a soap/water mixture in the water tube the shaft turned easily..Thanks for the tip iBoats!!
Now when moving the bell housing port/starboard, up/down, there is no noise at all.
Cleaned all the old grease from the u-joint shaft splines so I could get a better look at the shaft.
Don?t see any wear or problems with the splines.
One thing I did notice was an un-even wear pattern on the shaft just below the second o?ring from the yoke.
I don?t think it?s a wear pattern, but the coloring of the shaft is different. Doesn?t the gimbal bearing contact the shaft where the o?rings are located?
Any ideas or suggestions how to go about identifying the problem? Thanks
video link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB-8KNgezzQ
U-Joint shaft wear?
470 ?..I screwed something up
The story goes like this: to install a low mount alternator kit, I needed to cut out a little bit of the floorboard near where the alternator would sit. I couldn?t get a saw into the area I needed to cut because the engine was in the way. I took the 4 front motor mount bolts out and raised the front of the engine up a few inches with a chain hoist. After alt. kit installation, engine lowered back down and the front mount bolted down. I have not received my engine alignment tool yet, so no alignment was performed. I didn?t loosen the front mount adjustment locking nuts so I didn?t think it would be a big deal to run the engine for a short time. I ran engine with Muffs hooked up for about 10 minutes while I tested the new charging system.
Last week, I was cleaning the outdrive and manually moved it to the side and heard what I would describe as a popping noise as if something were binding, then letting go. The noise shows itself almost at end of travel both starboard and port movement directions. Moving about center makes no noise. Raising the drive with the hydraulics and not moving the steering also makes the same noise. Engine is not running when these noises are present.
Unfortunately the stern drive and steering were never moved during the alternator checkout.
I cannot seem to exactly locate where the noise is coming from, but it is present at the transom. I cannot feel anything out of the ordinary when I reached down behind the engine and put my fingers on the u-joint output shaft(the shaft going to the engine coupler) while the noise is present.
I?m thinking when I raised the engine front up, I may had gone too far and managed to bend something.
Thinking the noise may have something to do with the steering, my thoughts were to isolate the steering from the outdrive, then see if the noise is still there.
I thought I could remove the steering pivot bolts & the steering lever clevis pin to make this isolation happen, but the clevis pin won?t budge!! Could I have bent the lever? It looks like a pretty robust lever.
Is the steering lever clevis pin clocked so it won't turn, or should I be able to rotate it to gain access to the cotter pin?
I thought about removing the outdrive for further troubleshooting, but was afraid without the extra weight of the outdrive on the bell housing, the noise may not show up.
Few days later my alignment tool still has not been delivered, so I went ahead and pulled the drive.
Gimbal bearing looks and feels real good , u-joints also feel good, bellows reasonably clean except for some grease splatter from u-joints, no sign of water intrusion anywhere. The U-joint shaft is really hard to rotate (the impellor only has 10 minutes run time on it). After putting a soap/water mixture in the water tube the shaft turned easily..Thanks for the tip iBoats!!
Now when moving the bell housing port/starboard, up/down, there is no noise at all.
Cleaned all the old grease from the u-joint shaft splines so I could get a better look at the shaft.
Don?t see any wear or problems with the splines.
One thing I did notice was an un-even wear pattern on the shaft just below the second o?ring from the yoke.
I don?t think it?s a wear pattern, but the coloring of the shaft is different. Doesn?t the gimbal bearing contact the shaft where the o?rings are located?
Any ideas or suggestions how to go about identifying the problem? Thanks
video link http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UB-8KNgezzQ
U-Joint shaft wear?
