Bravo 3 outer prop is gone along with the shaft. How can this happen?

[DeepBlue2010]

When I was checking the engine this morning in preparation to head out for kings, I noticed the outdrive oil reservoir is bloated. I unscrewed the cap and pressurized oil hissed out. I did not take this lightly and decided to cancel the trip and head back to my home marina 20 miles away. Midway, the engine reved up suddenly and I lost power. Turned of the engine, checked belts and everything I can check in the engine, I found an oil leak. A lot of oil in the bilge most likely coming from a busted high pressure oil hose connected to the remote oil filter and oil cooler. Added oil, restarted the engine and got to 3500 but cant exceed 9 knots. Normally I am at 22 knots at this rpm. Had a bad feeling so started to change course and head to shallow water just in case. All if the sudden I hear crunshing noise and the engine dies.

I am now dead in the water drifting to shore wating for a tow. While I am waiting, I had a feeling I need to check yhe out drive and I was in shock when I did not see the outter prop nor the inner shaft. My gut feel is I am in for a major, major and expensive repair but while I can come up with a good explanation for the oil leak, I just can't wrap my head around loosing the shaft with the prop still connected to it. How can this happen. What possibly can cause it?

I am still dead in the watet waiting for the useless BoatUS vessel assist to give me a quote. By the time they come hear if they show up, it will be dark alreay. Oh man!!

 

[Bt Doctur]

Only was was to lose the carrier first from a hard strike or corrosion http://www.boatfix.com/merc/Servmanl/11/11d3r5x.pdf

 

[tpenfield]

Bummer . . .

Hopefully, you will know more when the boat is out of the water and looked at. It sounds like you had no gear lube and the friction created a lot of heat and finally broke something. It will be interesting to know if the inner shaft (outer prop) snapped or came out completely. Per the diagram that Bt Doc posted, the inner shaft (Outer prop) is held in by the outer shaft, So there must have been a lot of metal-to-metal action going on.

My guess is $3K for a rebuild of the outdrive.

 

[DeepBlue2010]

Thanks for the responses guys.

Your line of thinking makes sense to me but I remember vividly that my gear oil reservoir was full in that morning. The sides of it was bloated and it had pressurized air in it but it was full.

I will be lucky if I am in the hole for only 3K. I am on my way to the boat now to take the outdrive out and see what kind of damage I got.

 

[spoilsofwar]

Brutal man. Hopefully you have insurance and it covers it.

 

[alldodge]

The snap ring on the inner prop shaft came off. Look at page 3D-6 in the link BT supplied. The inner shaft is slide in from the inside out. For the shaft and prop to be missing, the shaft snapped in half. To remove the shaft the carrier is removed then the retainer nut, then both shafts are removed as one unit. Once removed the inner shaft can be slid out.

Here is both shafts. The inner has a needle bearing and is slid into the out shaft. Note the collar on the shaft, this is inside the housing facing forward. I do think you need a new drive, it will cost more IMO to get yours fixed

 

[DeepBlue2010]

AllDodge, in your opinion what might have caused this? For example, is it more likely to be a hit (submerged log for instance) or just a metal fatigue took over and cause a failure or no gear oil?

I will start by draining the oil from the drive and see what I get before disconnecting it.

When you say new drive, do you mean lower unit only or a complete outdrive?

Thanks in advance

 

[alldodge]

Just guessing right now, but you mentioned that the lube bottle was bloated and under pressure. The bottle is designed with a one way check valve, it lets pressure in but not out. The lube bottle being bloated leads me to think water has gotten in and steam was building.

Your drive right now I would say is full of seawater and very little lube is left. The bottom half is toast, and I'm also thinking the upper is to. The water gets in and the needle bearings are the first things to go. So you will need a complete tear down, top and bottom to see what can be used to rebuild. You may want to look for another drive, will probably be cheaper.

 

[DeepBlue2010]

Yep, the drive is toast. Time to order a new one. Any advice on a good source to order a new Bravo 3 drive? I will also be considering the new Bravo 3 XR as well if it makes any difference in recommending a good source(s)

 

[tpenfield]

Can we see a few pictures? That may help to better understand what happened.

 

[alldodge]

I bought my XR from Gavin Marine in Fairbank IA. Note remember the Bravo standard, X and XR is all done in the upper section. The B3 XR means it has an XR upper and a standard lower.

 

[cdiamond]

might want check ebay

for another drive

 

[tpenfield]

Just for further understanding, and using AD's picture . . .

The two arrows point to the bearing and the shaft flange that hold the inner shaft within the outer shaft. For the inner shaft (outer prop) to come out intact, the flange would have to be worn away.

 

[DeepBlue2010]

Or the shaft itself broke. I am always listening to my power train while underway and did not hear any grinding or unusual noise before the bang. Also as I stated before, the gear oil reservoir was full couple of hours earlier. I must have hit a submerged log or something for this to happen. I will know more when I start the disassembly. I will post picture as soon as I take them. Thanks everyone for your input