U-joints gone bad?

[zoom50]

I have a 1990 Mach I with 4.3 liter Mercruiser. My boat partialy sank at a marina due to rain several months ago (another long story) and my insurance purchased a remanufactured motor, u-joint, and accessories. The day I got my boat back, I heard a slight clank that was louder when I turned and had the prop raised. That clank is much louder now (after 3 days of boating) and I have water coming in from the back near where the engine connects with outdrive. After reading the posts, it looks like I have a bad u-joint and seals. My questions are:<br /><br />1. Could this be caused by the boat being partially submerged (insurance may cover)?<br /><br />2. What can I look for if the mechanic did something wrong when putting the new engine in and replacing u-joint? <br /><br />3. With prop up higher, my boat stalls when shifting in reverse...Is this related to the u-joint possibly being bad?<br /><br />4. If prop still turns, can I assume i did not cause too much outdrive damage?<br /><br />5. Cost range for new u-joint and seals?<br /><br />Thanks!

 

[Wellcraft 89]

Re: U-joints gone bad?

Explain how high your raising the drive while in forward or reverse.<br />If your raising it to high they all make the noise you describe,your not suppose to do that.<br />you will destroy the u-joints and gimble <br /><br />If your leaking water you have a bellows leak or water intake hose leak.the mech.didn't do his job right.Take it back to them or find another mech. <br />Sounds like you need a manual for boat so you can at least chk that the mech are doing things right for you.<br /><br />They might have not align the drive and motor properly also causing a bind in the drive.<br /><br />Rich

 

[zoom50]

Re: U-joints gone bad?

I only raised prop so that it was about 1 foot in water. I only kept it this high so I can drift a few yards away from the dock during low tide (never taking intake out of water).<br /><br />I had no noise before the new motor was installed, and the first day out with new motor, I heard a slight clank/tapping. Therefor, the damage was caused by boat sinking or sloppy mechanic work. Mechanic should call this week with a diagnoses and I don't want to jump to conclusions. I would like some ammo in case he lacks honesty.