Alpha1 G2 whine in gear (video attached)

[Rpblanchette87]

Hi all I recently did a lube job on my lower unit about a month ago. I have it out on a lake trip with family and noticed a whine in only in gear. Most noticeable around 1k rpm. It doesn’t change when I turn the wheel.

https://youtu.be/lb_xhJPESIY

i pulled the boat out and drained the lube and noticed it was pretty burnt for having it in for such a short time and it may have had a slight bit of water in it but not very much. I noticed the upper drain plug oring/gasket came off in bad shape and replaced it. This leads me to believe I had a bit of water intrusion which is never good. I put in new lube and ensured both plugs were pretty damn tight however the noise remains which leads me to believe I may have done some damage. Sound in video starts around 10 seconds in.

my question is twofold:
1: Any idea what could be causing the whine?

2: I am nowhere near a marina that can service this, so what would you think my odds are of making it through a day and a half out on the lake with it the way it is? I’ve already spent enough just getting here and would hate to ruin everybody’s holiday weekend.

 

[Scott Danforth]

welcome aboard

make sure the wine is coming from the gear box. pull the boat and run on muffs.

to answer your questions if the wine is from the upper gears:

1 - burned bearings and bad gears from low fluid or water in fluid
2 - it may last years, it may last seconds

 

[alldodge]

No way right now of where the whine is coming from, may be the drive, and may be something else. If you only get the while in gear and not in neutral, then it could get closer to the drive being the issue.

As Scott said, no way of knowing if or when something would happen, need more info. Open the hatch and get a bit closer to determine where the noise is

 

[tpenfield]

I really didn't hear a whine, nor see any wine. Although I prefer beer.

Maybe the noise will be more prominent when running on the muffs. I would run it and see if it gets worse . . . no need to change vacation plans, etc.

 

[Scott06]

I didn’t really hear much either but what little wine there is may be a gimbal bearing starting to go

 

[harringtondav]

"When in gear" makes me suspect the FWD gear bearing. Everything in the Alpha, except the prop shaft, is spinning when the engine is running and in neutral. The FWD gear takes the prop thrust when engaged. It could also be that Torrington needle in the prop shaft seal carrier acting up when the prop gives the shaft some side load. Any debris on the magnetic drain plug? If not, I doubt any serious gear problems. Water in the lube can make it stinky black, and also pit bearings. I doubt burnt oil since that normally occurs in a clutch drive. None in the Alpha. I'm not there, but I say drive the boat and see if it gets worse. Bearings will get very loud before a catastrophic failure.