Alpha One Gen II stripped upper gears.

[Loozerdk]

Hi.

I am trying to help a friend diagnosing his Alpha one outdrive, boat lost all propulsion on the last trip out.

Took it apart today, and found both upper gears to be totally destroyed, and the bellow was full of a mix of water and gear oil, what can have caused this failure ? Bad seals on the Alpha one, leaking bellow ?

Here is a few pictures of the damage:

 

[harringtondav]

To shell out that gear set: Lack of lube, previous incorrect shimming,, bad yoke shaft bearings, incorrect preload on those bearings, incorrect preload on the upper driveshaft ( driven gear) shaft, or incorrect preload on those bearings.

 

[Loozerdk]

To shell out that gear set: Lack of lube, previous incorrect shimming,, bad yoke shaft bearings, incorrect preload on those bearings, incorrect preload on the upper driveshaft ( driven gear) shaft, or incorrect preload on those bearings.

So plenty of possibilities.

I don't think it was a lack of lube, it does have bad bearings however, boat had no maintenance for the last 6 years, and got left standing for 3 years, so it sounds like a bigger repair bill for fixing up that outdrive.

 

[harringtondav]

To do it right: a manual, Merc shimming tools, and a inch/ lb dial torque wrench.

 

[nola mike]

Bad input shaft seal, leaking into bellows --> insufficient gear oil --> boom

 

[achris]

Bad input shaft seal, leaking into bellows --> insufficient gear oil --> boom

This...

A mix of water and oil tells me water got in. That corroded the yoke surface, which chewed up the seal. Then the above description is about the best way to put it....

Chris....

 

[Rick Stephens]

Don't bother fixing the drive. Cost more than it is worth, even if you do the work yourself. Just get an SEI drive to replace it.

 

[achris]

Don't bother fixing the drive. Cost more than it is worth, even if you do the work yourself. Just get an SEI drive to replace it.

I'm all for fixing things. I despise the 'it's broken, throw it away and buy a new one' mentality. But in this case, I tend to agree, sadly...

Chris.......

 

[Loozerdk]

A new drive is not an option, owner of the boat is very low on cash, and just needs it fixed as cheaply as possible, so corners will be cut.

Yoke surface is fine, no corrosion, spring on the seal failed however, its properly going to end up with a used set of upper gears, a new seal, and a few new bearings, time will tell how long it will last, a new drive in this country is very expensive.

 

[achris]

If you go the rebuild route, just make 100% sure you get all the fine metal filings out of BOTH housings. I would be flushing and flushing that lower. Use diesel and just keep flushing...

Good luck.

Chris......
(P.S. I love Copenhagen and Esberg. )

 

[Rick Stephens]

A new drive is not an option, owner of the boat is very low on cash, and just needs it fixed as cheaply as possible, so corners will be cut.

Yoke surface is fine, no corrosion, spring on the seal failed however, its properly going to end up with a used set of upper gears, a new seal, and a few new bearings, time will tell how long it will last, a new drive in this country is very expensive.

I think you'll find the tooling to get it right, along with the parts, cost a bunch. And as Chris stated, the lower is full of metal that will have stuck to bearings and gear faces. Do take the time to check out Craigslist and see if there is a good deal on a used outdrive close by. I can't see a rebuild of the upper by itself being reliable enough to justify the costs. The tooling to do the lower costs thousands, . The upper is a lot less for tools but still hard or impossible to justify for one build.