Stringer - Questions, Questions and More Questions

[tazman85305]

Well, I finally put the boat in the water and the hull is water tight!!! Puttered around the no wake zone while my son parked the trailer, everything worked great. Went to the dock and picked him up and we headed out. Just as we got up on plane, the engine died, abruptly. Tried to start it and the starting solenoid failed and the engine kept cranking, even with the key off!! Pulled the negative cable on the battery. The starting solenoid just crumbled when I touched it. Cut the cable to the starter and hooked the battery back up so I still had battery power, but the starter had killed the battery for the most part. Storm started coming our way, so we started paddling. 20 mins later, boaters saw us paddling and came over and offered a tow. Got the boat back to the dock and onto the trailer. Looks like my new target launch date is April-May of next year......

 

[southkogs]

RATS!!!!! :mad2:

But, thank the Good Lord for help getting back in. Good news that she's water tight.

 

[tazman85305]

Southkogs, I read in a post from 4 years ago that you were having problems with your electric Stringer. Last post was that you were putting it in the shop. What was the outcome? Your description matches what happened to my boat when it died.

 

[southkogs]

Shop made a bigger mess of it than when I put it in. The tech cut my shift cables, and then let me know he wasn't really that familiar with the drive. I wound up buying another drive that I found - by the sheer good grace of God Almighty - that was about the same price as I would pay someone to rebuild what I had.

The lower unit in my original drive wasn't shifting properly, and I didn't (still don't really) have the skill to crack into the gear case.

What beside the solenoid is going on with yours?

 

[tazman85305]

I was just putting power to it when I heard a thunk and the engine shut down. When I tried to restart the engine, it wouldn't turn over, like trying to start a truck that is in gear without pushing in the clutch. Before I could troubleshoot it further, the starting solenoid fried and I had to remove the negative cable to keep the starting cables from melting.

 

[southkogs]

Ah! I musta' missed the "thunk" part earlier. Sorry about that - Fast suspect (in my experience) is your upper gear case on the stern drive. Whether at idle outta' gear or running WOT across the water, the upper gear case is always spinning with the engine.

Disconnect your stern drive from the engine, and remove the upper gear case from the lower. You should be able to turn the upper gear case using the ball gears. It may not turn easily, but you should be able to turn it using hand strength. If you want to replace the solenoid and try starting the engine with the stern drive off you can see if it works.

If you can't turn the upper gear case, then it is most likely locked up. If that upper gear case is locked up, it'll stop the whole works up - and I have had that happen.

The way I fixed that was to buy a used gear case: did that last December.

If it were your lower gear case, the "thunk" would have happened when you pushed the throttle forward ... but when it all konked out, it shoulda' freed up for you to start it again. Or at least that would be what I would expect out of it. The shift system in the ES Stringer doesn't stay engaged when the power goes off.

 

[tazman85305]

What is the easiest way to disconnect the stern drive? Does the boot have to be removed? The engine sits pretty far back in the hull, under the lip of the stern, so getting at the mounting hardware will not be an easy feat.

 

[southkogs]

Stern drive on your Electric Shift is pretty easy actually - I can pull mine in about 15 minutes. Disconnect the shift wires (knife connectors on the port side of the engine toward the back). If the steering is external, you'll need to disconnect that arm. Then remove the pivot caps, and support the drive. Remove the four bolts holding the drive on the intermediate, and it'll come right off the boat.

Make sure you support the drive, because once it's loose it'll be fairly heavy.

This would be better done with a manual to walk you through it, if you don't already have one.

 

[tazman85305]

I found this and was curious how many parts are interchangeable between different HP outdrives?
https://tucson.craigslist.org/bpo/5262001673.html

 

[southkogs]

The one you linked to is the wrong shift for the lower unit, and the upper is going to be the wrong gearing for your V8. Intermediate would be fine, I think. You can do a little bit of "Frankenstein" work with Stringers, but you have to know what you've got and what you're gettin'.

 

[southkogs]

Did you determine your upper gear case was locked up?

 

[tazman85305]

I have not even looked at it yet. Was just looking at Craigslist for an easy swap. I would like to get an extra drive so I can tear into one and rebuild it so I always have a good spare.
Too bad about the one I found. Looked like a smoking deal.

 

[southkogs]

That's a good plan - I did that with mine. Get familiar with what you have, look at the gear ratios and then start the hunting. I was fortunate, I kept running across stuff specifically for the 165HP.

 

[tazman85305]

Did you determine your upper gear case was locked up?

It turns out, the starter solenoid disintegrated and was stuck in the start position, causing the starter to lock up the motor. I replaced the solenoid and everything seems to be working correctly again. Waiting to find someone with a boat and some spare time to follow me out to the lake for a few hours of testing.

 

[southkogs]

Well, that was simple enough. Got a local tow-boat service you can have on stand by?

 

[jimmbo]

Looking at your drawing, the water pump only works when the prop is turning, is that correct? How does the motor stay cool at idle?

No that is not correct. The water pump turns whenever the engine is turning. It is located before the shift mechanism