Hi all,
I have just acquired a Bravo II which is great cosmetically from all sides including shaft entries' areas, and shafts themselves. No signs of corrosion. The drive was stored in a heated garage for at least six years latched to the wall at about 45 degree from vertical position with propeller shaft pointing up also at about 45 degree angle. When it was still attached to the wall, the gear shaft was turning smoothly and easily in neutral, but in the same neutral gear I could not turn the prop shaft by hand (no prop was on it). Unlatched from the wall, the drive showed a ton of dust on the hidden side, which somewhat proves the long storage story from the owner. After it was layed down on the floor, I tried to turn the prop shaft again in a better position, and after several tries it turned, but what a sound it made... as if I am turning the giant coffee grinder, or some dry sandstones turning against each other in some ancient mill. With each turn it got better untill it settled at a pretty smooth rotation, same as any other working drive I've seen.The drive was ful of oil, it probably had spread around when the drive was laying down.
So... should I be worried? Worst case scenario is that there was some water in the drive that settled down in the cone when the drive got immobilized for years, and rusted the bearings. But I drained the oil, and did not notice any light streaks, all was dark green (but not new, the oil obviously had not been changed before storage).
I will pressure/vacuum test the drive now with no oil in it. Should I still pull the carrier to look at the bearings, or is it normal for the prop shaft to dry, lock up, them make a grinding sound after long storage?
Any shared experience will be greatly appreciated.
Alex
I have just acquired a Bravo II which is great cosmetically from all sides including shaft entries' areas, and shafts themselves. No signs of corrosion. The drive was stored in a heated garage for at least six years latched to the wall at about 45 degree from vertical position with propeller shaft pointing up also at about 45 degree angle. When it was still attached to the wall, the gear shaft was turning smoothly and easily in neutral, but in the same neutral gear I could not turn the prop shaft by hand (no prop was on it). Unlatched from the wall, the drive showed a ton of dust on the hidden side, which somewhat proves the long storage story from the owner. After it was layed down on the floor, I tried to turn the prop shaft again in a better position, and after several tries it turned, but what a sound it made... as if I am turning the giant coffee grinder, or some dry sandstones turning against each other in some ancient mill. With each turn it got better untill it settled at a pretty smooth rotation, same as any other working drive I've seen.The drive was ful of oil, it probably had spread around when the drive was laying down.
So... should I be worried? Worst case scenario is that there was some water in the drive that settled down in the cone when the drive got immobilized for years, and rusted the bearings. But I drained the oil, and did not notice any light streaks, all was dark green (but not new, the oil obviously had not been changed before storage).
I will pressure/vacuum test the drive now with no oil in it. Should I still pull the carrier to look at the bearings, or is it normal for the prop shaft to dry, lock up, them make a grinding sound after long storage?
Any shared experience will be greatly appreciated.
Alex
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