The Price Beyond Prop Damage

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EMitch
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2017/07/15 20:51:01 (permalink)

The Price Beyond Prop Damage

When my oldest son got his newer Lund 2 years ago, he gave his old 14' Sylvan to my youngest son, along with the 15 HP Merc. He'd hit the prop and bent it up pretty good, (this one is stainless steel, as he'd already wrecked the original aluminum prop), but he used it a time or two after. So last year, my youngest wanted to fish the Musky tournament on Lake Arthur, and since I'm overpowered for Arthur, we thought we'd just put the 15 on the back of mine along side the Classic 50. The night before the tournament, I thought I'd better check that lower end for gear oil and water, as my oldest never does squat for maintenance. I got about a teaspoon of rusty gear oil out of it! So I pumped it full of Mopar 80W-90, and we trolled with it the next day for about 6 hours, but by the end of the day, I could discern a tiny bit of bearing noise from the lower end. So two months ago, I yanked the lower end and took it apart, bought all new seals and bushings, a new forward gear, (pretty costly for such a tiny piece), and the $80 I spent for the special spanner socket to remove the carrier. As an automotive technician, I had the tools to pull the bushings, and I made the tool to re-install the lower shaft bearing, and re-assembled the unit, along with new top seals and water pump impeller. I filled it up and brought it home but left it in the truck overnight. When I got it out, I flipped it prop side down and gear oil ran out all over the floor of my truck. WTF!! Back up to work on Monday and took the prop off, (which I had straightened and touched up with the die grinder to the best I could get it), and cleaned it thoroughly with brake cleaner, then held it prop side down and the oil was coming out of the carrier, not past it. I pulled the carrier again, cleaned it, and I checked it over and over until  (AHA!!), I found the hair line crack right at the edge of the threads and the body of the carrier. When torqued in place to the 85 lb.ft spec, the crack was opening a bit more than a hair line! That crack was most likely the original loss of fluid. The seals and bushing in the old carrier can't be recovered without damaging the seals, but as it turns out, the new carrier is coming with the internal shaft bushing, both of the end seals, and the large O-ring that seals the case housing. $84.14 for that; it was shipped Thursday, so I should have it Monday. Then before I install that, I'll put that output shaft through the old carrier, which has a new bushing in it, mount it in my vise, and put the dial indicator on both sides of the shaft, from in front of the carrier, and then on the prop side. I'm hopin' that shaft ain't bent, as it's really expensive, but I think the aluminum carrier took the brunt of the hit. All together, including the $80 tool and the $28 service manual, I'll have $500 in it and the labor is free.  If I recall, that shaft alone is around $275. What I'm sayin' here is if you have maps and a good depth/fish finder, ya better use them! Take good care of your motors, guys, and your motor will take care of you.

Never try to argue with an idiot. They'll bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.
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3 Replies Related Threads

    Fisherlady2
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    Re: The Price Beyond Prop Damage 2017/07/15 22:55:53 (permalink)
    Glad you had the technical know how to do the work! Hope it all goes back together without further problems. 
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    Trout About
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    Re: The Price Beyond Prop Damage 2017/08/03 08:15:00 (permalink)
    Without your ability, that repair costs more than the motor is worth!
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    EMitch
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    Re: The Price Beyond Prop Damage 2017/08/03 19:15:46 (permalink)
    True, but a new 4 stroke would set us back $2500 or better, and this motor probably don't have 150 hours on it. And yeah, it's a two stroke, but they run forever with proper care.

    Never try to argue with an idiot. They'll bring you down to their level and beat you with experience.
    #4
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