1978 Chieftain

[spegtoast]

Ooops double posts and getting errors..

 

[spegtoast]

Thanks WW! Here a just a couple pics I am proud of...This is the Veterans skyway heading into Toledo:

And a good sunset pic.. I wont bore you with the rest!


Now back to business. Here is the pic of the transom cap, and how it peeled up out of the way giving room to slide the transom plate up out of the boat.


And the new transom setting up:





I used this to spread the glue evenly.

 

[spegtoast]

Changing the water pump impeller and found some grooves on the shaft. I have seen on some you tube vids that it may be a concern but they said if they are not too deep don't worry about it. What do you think?

 

[Watermann]

Taking a break from my Chief and I see your doing some work I just finished (water pump). My driveshaft didn't have any grooves in it but I can offer my opinion on what I would do if mine looked similar. I would for sure replace that seal in the upper and then decide if I wanted to try a repair on the shaft. You could get some liquid metal to make the repair, fill the grooves and then with some emery cloth sand it smooth finishing off with very fine grit to polish the surface. I've repaired grooves in trailer spindles this way and it's held up very well. Just be sure to prep the grooves first by scuffing and then cleaning with acetone or rubbing alcohol before applying the metal repair.

Oh yeah and I hope your up on your tetanus shot when using that trowel. :lol:

 

[spegtoast]

No Title

I filled the grooves in with epoxy on the pump shaft as advised, and got the water pump kit installed. The transom got epoxied, and spar, and installed!! I read somewhere that 2- 3/4" ply laminated would be just a shade too thick to install without a little grief. This is true for my install as well, but it got done! This is one of the milestones completed. Now just a matter of bolting it all back together replacing the parts I find that need it. Got a fresh coat of paint on the sterndrive. Now I am looking at the shifter and can't remember where to index it so the shift cable will fit correctly. When I get a little time I can do some research here. It's likely in one of the downloadable manuals. In the meantime, if anyone has a link, or advise that would be great!
And yes, I prolly should have taken note of this before I took it apart. :violin:

 

[dozerII]

The shift foot has to be facing straight forward with the drive locked in forward, it will ratchet in one direction and lock in the other, I use a bungee cord to keep pressure on the prop so it doesn't slip out of gear while installing it. There is a good video in the "Adults Only" section in the Mercruiser froum by Achris.

 

[Watermann]

The OD looks great, you going to put on some repop decals too?

Dozer is right, turn prop counter clockwise while moving the shift foot until it locks into gear. I use the bungee cord wrap to hold the prop too.

 

[GA_Boater]

Some repop decals and the drive will look brand new. :thumb: The thicker transom limits seating of the driveshaft in the coupling. At 2 3/4", the splines are about a 1/2" short in the seating. Will it cause trouble, honestly I have no idea. But the coupler might have a shorter life.

On the pic, you might have had two of the pic attaching thingies open at the same time. And the one not used was asking for a pic. BTW - Good choice. :smile:

 

[Watermann]

Some repop decals and the drive will look brand new. :thumb: The thicker transom limits seating of the driveshaft in the coupling. At 2 3/4", the splines are about a 1/2" short in the seating. Will it cause trouble, honestly I have no idea. But the coupler might have a shorter life.

On the pic, you might have had two of the pic attaching thingies open at the same time. And the one not used was asking for a pic. BTW - Good choice. :smile:

I think Speg was referring to the 2 x 3/4" (1.5") ply sliding down into the transom slot he had to cut out. He'll also need to glue and clamp the horse collar on the inside to get up to 2" thickness for the MC transom assembly.

 

[dozerII]

Some repop decals and the drive will look brand new. :thumb: The thicker transom limits seating of the driveshaft in the coupling. At 2 3/4", the splines are about a 1/2" short in the seating. Will it cause trouble, honestly I have no idea. But the coupler might have a shorter life.

On the pic, you might have had two of the pic attaching thingies open at the same time. And the one not used was asking for a pic. BTW - Good choice. :smile:

I think you missed something there GA he used 2 X 3/4" plys laminated together for the transom. The total thickness of the transom with the inside piece is not to exceed 2.25"s

 

[GA_Boater]

I think you missed something there GA he used 2 X 3/4" plys laminated together for the transom. The total thickness of the transom with the inside piece is not to exceed 2.25"s

Ooops - I saw 2-3/4" and read 2.75" It was early in the morning. :doh:

 

[spegtoast]

I guess I am shooting for 2.25 total thickness. I have the transom plate at 1.5" then the 3/4" horse collar.

Thanks for the heads up in the shifter, I try and find that video too. I'll need it because I have never done it before.

I'm definatly going with some decals. Anyone have a good source on them?

 

[dozerII]

I got a nice selection off Ebay, just do a search. Your overall transom thickness will be a little too thick with the 3/4 horse collar because you have to add the transom skin, better choice would be 1/2

 

[GA_Boater]

I got a nice selection off Ebay, just do a search. Your overall transom thickness will be a little too thick with the 3/4 horse collar because you have to add the transom skin, better choice would be 1/2

That's what I tried to say two days ago. I shoulda had one more cup of coffee before being too "smart" in the morning. :blue:

Plenty of decals in a Google search, but Ebay is probably the best place to look. https://www.google.com/search?q=mer...&oe=utf-8&client=ubuntu&channel=fs&gws_rd=ssl has Ebay and the rest.

 

[Watermann]

Ebay is where I got my repop Alpha One decals.