omc stringer issues

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dieselboy86

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Oct 27, 2009
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45
ON the last boating trip, my OMC stringer drive tried to fall of tha back of my boat. Upon getting towed to the dock and getting all 22ft of her out of the water i got to see what actually happened. On the starboard side (funny that i said starboard instead of passenger or right) of the out drive the two bolts pulled out of the trunnion cap. Does anyone have one of these caps or is it something im going to have to make?



Thanks Gary D
Allegan MI
 
KRH1326

KRH1326

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 22, 2007
Messages
491
Re: omc stringer issues

WOW!! I can't believe you didn't lose the whole thing.

They are available new at most sites. Check the Iboat sales, Crowley Marine ETC.

I just did a fast look at CM, and they have mine for about $70.

You will need to know your year, HP and model to navigate through the online catalogs. I really do believe that they are all the same for most models, but make sure.

Check both sides while you are at it. There is a pretty involved setup going on there. Those caps have to hold your horse power, while the outer parts must make a seal that conduct your raw water up to the t-stat housing. Make sure that you didn't trash any of these surfaces.
 
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dieselboy86

Seaman Apprentice
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Oct 27, 2009
Messages
45
Re: omc stringer issues

thanks for the help. The small electrical wire is the only thing that held the drive. Now im new to the pleasure of having a stringer drive and the model # plate is f-up so im out of luck their. On the pics i have seen all the 400's and 800's have a small window on the side of the leg down by the prop. mine doesnt have that. Were does the fresh water go in right above the prop into that metal tube? sorry i have no help when it comes to anything this out of date.
 
KRH1326

KRH1326

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 22, 2007
Messages
491
Re: omc stringer issues

Do you have a cable that shifts the outdrive or is it electric shift?

Can you post a pic?
 
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WizeOne

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Mar 23, 2008
Messages
2,097
Re: omc stringer issues

dieselboy86 said:
ON the last boating trip, my OMC stringer drive tried to fall of tha back of my boat. Upon getting towed to the dock and getting all 22ft of her out of the water i got to see what actually happened. On the starboard side (funny that i said starboard instead of passenger or right) of the out drive the two bolts pulled out of the trunnion cap. Does anyone have one of these caps or is it something im going to have to make?



Thanks Gary D
Allegan MI
Click to expand...

That's pretty dumb! Wha? did someone forget to tighten them or did the bolts strip out?

You can probably find the caps on ebay, however it is said that they are not interchangable; that kinda like a crankshaft cradle, the caps are torqued down to the trunions and then the whole shooting match is linebored. It is important that the outdrive sits square to the intermediate housing for proper ball gear meshing.

I'd still give it a go, though. Just be sure that the leg moves freely, once you install it, and that it does not bind thru the whole range, nor that it has any slop in it. I believe there is also a bearing of sorts that slides onto the outdrive journal. Don't forget that.
 
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dieselboy86

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Oct 27, 2009
Messages
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Re: omc stringer issues

the threads pulled out but when i removed the other side the threads came out with the bolts.:confused:
 
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WizeOne

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Re: omc stringer issues

dieselboy86 said:
the threads pulled out but when i removed the other side the threads came out with the bolts.:confused:
Click to expand...

Your going to need to find some non corrosive threaded inserts. I wouldn't use standard helicoils. Do they look like someone had tried some form of that before. I don't quite understand exactly what you mean when you say the 'threads came out with the bolts'. Was it like the aluminum threads were just wrapped around the bolt or did it seem there was more to it than thin thread cuttings?
 
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dieselboy86

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Oct 27, 2009
Messages
45
Re: omc stringer issues

Just like you said it was just small threads here and their on the bolt as it came out. IM thinking of going two ways helicoil or punch it out and rethread. helicoils are stainless steel but how will they hold in a aluminum housing? Good news is i have all winter to ponder that thought.
 
KRH1326

KRH1326

Chief Petty Officer
Joined
Sep 22, 2007
Messages
491
Re: omc stringer issues

When I started my restore on this boat, I too had that type of issue, with all of the side plates that "cap off" the trunions. That is the part that seals the water passage. They were , I believe off the top of my head, 1/4" - 20. I drilled them out and tapped 5/16" s.

I would retap your trunion caps with the correct size tap, and really check them out with a flashlight before over tapping and/or helicoil fix. Post what you find, and get a couple opinions on fix.

Like WizeOne said, the helicoils might not be the way to go.

I have heard of some repairs on older, semi corroded aluminum using "Lab Metal" but I don't know myself how good it works or if it would stand up in that trunion location.
 
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WizeOne

Commander
Joined
Mar 23, 2008
Messages
2,097
Re: omc stringer issues

This is the kind of thing that you want to use.

http://fulltorque.com/fft.htm

That outdrive puts a tremendous stress on those trunion caps as the leg is being lifted. Just thinking about it makes me want to go out and retorque mine. I'll bet yours were never tightened properly so they just hammered away at the threads until the bolts pulled them.
 
cr2k

cr2k

Captain
Joined
Mar 19, 2009
Messages
3,730
Re: omc stringer issues

The proper way to tighten them is to snug them then torque the side plates (don't forget the o rings and lube them up) to center the drive, then torque the trunions. there is a bearing in there that looks like plumbers tape ( a metal strip with holes in it).

So the bonding cable held the whole thing on huh?
Lucky you!
 
zbnutcase

zbnutcase

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Sep 19, 2009
Messages
2,055
Re: omc stringer issues

I have Heli-Coiled several of those back in the day and they work fine. 'nutcase
 
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dieselboy86

Seaman Apprentice
Joined
Oct 27, 2009
Messages
45
Re: omc stringer issues

thanks for the help fellas im really ready for warm weather so i can start working on da boat.
 
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