Grinding noise while in gear

[dawson515]

89 2.3 OMC Cobra

I made a mistake and let my brother borrow my boat, while on the the lake he decided to try to go up a creek, to make a long story short, he returned the boat with a the prop all mangled. I replaced the prop and took the boat back out. I noticed a few things right off the bat:

1. The boat had a small rattle sound and was vibrating.

2. The boat ran quite a bit louder.

After driving the boat for a few hours I noticed what seemed to be the gear slipping a little and then all of the sudden it made a terrible grinding sound, so I shut her down and was towed back to the dock.

Any suggestions what this may be?

 

[sea wolf]

Re: Grinding noise while in gear

Well, it could be a number of things. Pull the drive & inspect the u-joints & gimbal bearing. The vibration & rattle may have been from the u-joints, & it may sound louder beacause the gimbal bearing was damaged. How fast was he going when he wrecked the prop? That grinding does not sound good. A seized gimbal bearing or a u-joint failing can cause all kinds of damage. Drain the gear oil & look for metal. Hope I'm wrong & good luck.

 

[dawson515]

Re: Grinding noise while in gear

I am not sure how fast he was going, but I bet around 25 mph. I did drain the gear oil and found a lot of metal shavings. I have not pulled the outdrive off yet. Do I need a new upper unit or can this be repaired? Thanks

 

[Haut Medoc]

Re: Grinding noise while in gear

I am not sure how fast he was going, but I bet around 25 mph. I did drain the gear oil and found a lot of metal shavings. I have not pulled the outdrive off yet. Do I need a new upper unit or can this be repaired? Thanks

The upper & lower are connected, you need to replace them both.......
If you have shavings in one, you have them in both.......

 

[dawson515]

Re: Grinding noise while in gear

I think I am not even going to mess with it and just sell it the way it is, unless someone has a used outdrive that they need to get rid of for a decent price.

 

[dawson515]

Re: Grinding noise while in gear

I was told that most likely this was from the gimble bearing going out. Does this sound right?

 

[iop]

Re: Grinding noise while in gear

I would not worry about any of it... just have your bro taking to a good mechanic.
And dont let him borrow it again.

 

[libellav15]

Re: Grinding noise while in gear

TOO RIGHT Iop!!

If it were me I would be sleeping soundly at night looking forward to a recon drive unit - paid for by the yobbo who abused my boat!

family or not - i can't believe he hasn't offered to weigh you in

 

[dawson515]

Re: Grinding noise while in gear

I agree with you on the fact that my brother should be responsible to fix it, but he does not have the money. One other question......... now, when I try to start the boat, it will not turn over, but the steering wheel will turn, does this mean anything????

 

[dawson515]

Re: Grinding noise while in gear

Pulled the outdrive and the upper unit looks good, ujoints look good, gimble bearing looks good, the gears all look good, looks like my problems is in the lower unit.