Hydrolocked in the parkinglot

[gica]

Anybody?

 

[alldodge]

The pic is where the quad ring goes

 

[Scott06]

Just a wild guess, but it may be there to seal off a passage that was required during the manufacturing process but no longer needed for the part to function. I've seen this on throttle bodies before, where they fill a drilled hole with a steel ball and "stake" the aluminum around it to seal it in place. Again...purely a guess on my part.

This is the correct answer i wouldn’t go hammering it as mentioned by OP. Like in a carb there are passages that are drilled after casting that have welch plugs in them to block them off where needed.

 

[gica]

This is the correct answer i wouldn’t go hammering it as mentioned by OP. Like in a carb there are passages that are drilled after casting that have welch plugs in them to block them off where needed.

So if I did hammer it and it went down a bit could it affect anything. Worried about the spaces around the ball. They happened after the hammering

 

[Grub54891]

Don't know why you would hammer in anything without knowing what it does.... Regardless, make sure the area is clean and jb weld it. Don't know if it goes to the oil side of the unit but at least make sure its sealed. I'd do a pressure check once assembled.

 

[Scott06]

So if I did hammer it and it went down a bit could it affect anything. Worried about the spaces around the ball. They happened after the hammeringView attachment 337021

Yes you likely broke the seal on the plug. i believe there are two set of passages in that part of the drive. One is cooling water through the drive and into the bellhousing and then up to the engine. The other one is the gear lube up from the lower half. Normally these passages are made by drilling in from two different angles and the plug blocks off one of the drill holes. Hard to say what it is without the drive in front of me, but best to hide the hammers from your self until you get it back together...

 

[gica]

You're right I actually thought it was a check ball valve that was stuck in the white calcium build up.
But the JB-weld idea sounds great. I do need to hide the damn hammer.
The passage for the gear lube is fine I blew some air and it goes to the gear chamber. This particular ball doesn't seem to allow anything to go through.
Also going from the flip side gear lube hole(picture below) with a thin long screw driver doesn't reach the ball itself, it's all flat in there as far as I can tell. Long way down though.

 

[gica]

Ok I jb welded it.

 

[gica]

Doing the pressure test. Did it at 20psi for a bit but read that 15psi is better so I don't force the seals.
Lowered it to 10-12psi. No leak after 1 hour.

 

[Grub54891]

Do you have a shut off valve in the air line? With a regulater like that it will hold the pressure as thats what regulaters do.

 

[gica]

The valve in the picture has control over flow and it shuts flow off, forward on , reverse air release by turning the knob.

 

[gica]

Question the u-joint grease valve, one per joint, do they need caps or they're supposed to stay opened?
How about all the other grease points?

 

[Grub54891]

Question the u-joint grease valve, one per joint, do they need caps or they're supposed to stay opened?
How about all the other grease points?
View attachment 337198

They stay open. Most grease zerks are open, wouldn't hurt to put caps on them. I'd think the caps would fall off on the u-joints from spinning around that fast.

 

[gica]

Makes sense thanks. All the ones I saw were opened.
Anyhow I got the drive back up, I didn't see anywhere if I should use red or blue Loctite on the 6 nuts???
Tomorrow I will spend the time connecting and adjusting the shift cable at the engine, the trim switches and putting the propeller back on. And then if all goes well I can start it and see if the water start circulating through the engine which was the original reason I took the drive out, replaced the circulating water pump, raw one and many other things in the upper drive.
If the water doesn't circulate than I have no clue what it could be. Be hoping for the best.

 

[Grub54891]

No, don't use locktite on the drive nuts. If they are worn, you replace them.

 

[gica]

Ok got the trim switches adjusted. Took me a bit to understand the trim stop one, the sender was easy. I am almost done with the shift cable. Watched 2 videos on it and got the 6 inch and also the part where you check excess slop. And then the adjustment of remote cable is brilliant. The other video didn't do all this.
Mercruiser Alpha Shift cable adjustment - YouTube

I also wanted to ask, I have a fin stabilizer installed. I have read about the flat anode vs anode fin. So it is said that even though boat has power steering it can still benefit from a fin. But I also read about these fins sometimes not having enough clearance with the prop. My prop is stock nothin big. So any advice on this fin anode? Thanks in advance.
Amazon.com : Quicksilver 822777Q1 Aluminum Trim Tab Anode - Mercury or Mariner Outboards and MerCruiser Stern Drives Using High Rake Propellers : Boat Propellers : Sports & Outdoors

 

[alldodge]

The fin is all opinion: Mine, if its not needed I wouldn't use it

 

[Scott06]

If you have the fin and it is not in need of replacement leave it. Having had both on PS equiped boats over the years I wouldnt swap out one for the other. If you later put a different prop on you can easily trim it to fit. Almost any higher perfromance prop than a black max will require tweaking to clear it

 

[gica]

One thing is for certain at slow no wake speeds my 97 Maxum is all over the place, have to constantly steer it left right and center.

 

[gica]

Ok put it all back together and there is a problem I cannot engage reverse. Everything was set up by the book. So I removed the shift cable
and had it marked with a sharpie on neutral and forward, and somebody was shifting at idle and I filmed underneath to show what it does. Again this is just shift cable loose and manually shifted. It does the same with everything attached.

https://www.dropbox.com/sh/s7em1u8hb...r72s4lIUa?dl=0
I wonder if the shift shaft got bent on removal and reinstall enough to cause it to not go all the way to the wall of the drive? Just read about that.

The water circulation problem has been resolved by changing the 2 water pumps. So the reverse is the new and pressing problem.