Stellings Box on 25 OL.....issues...
 

Ok, after all winter of getting the box installed and issues with the mechanic I finally get the boat back today (hoping and crossing my fingers there would be no issue) wrong. I put the boat in water and check the bilge for leaks....problem 1.....water flowing in at an alarming rate so I assume it is a very bad seal around box and transom. I still wanted to take it out to see if there were any other issues and just keep the bilge pump on. I get engine up to temp and take off....it does fine till about 2700-3000 RPM's and feels like it is starving for fuel...sputters a bit and almost wants to stall. I did this several times and varied the rpm's, slow take off, fast take off, mixture of both with same results. I then put the boat in neutral and no issues at any RPM all the way to 4500. So........I have heard the stellings shaft can set off the knock sensor? Would an alarm sound if this was true as no alarm sounded. Anything else I can check for?
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Carrier Bearing?

Sorry about your problems. I have heard good things about the stellings boxes. Maybe post in the Drives section and get better replies. Let us know your outcome.

I agree, pics would be very helpfull.

I had stellings and friends of mine did as well,,NO PROBLEMS...wonder what he did ?!

pics....

http://i803.photobucket.com/albums/y...ennell/050.jpg

http://i803.photobucket.com/albums/y...ennell/053.jpg

http://i803.photobucket.com/albums/y...ennell/054.jpg

There are several things that could cause water intrusion. Where the ears are attached, your water intake hose to your sea pump could be loose, your inspection covers could be loose or not sealed, you could have a bad transom asym, or you could have a bad seal around the box. You could eliminate around the box by running a bead of 4200 around the outside of the box and make and external seal.

What ever it is u do, do NOT use 4200 or 5200 ,,just use clear marine silicon...it will seal and hold up just as good...but come off flawless if needet !!!!!!
Any pics from the inside of the box maybe and of the transom inside the boat ???

If your driveshaft is knukeling due to a to high instalation ..that can cause the engine to not give power and other things..like u said , check the bearing carrier and make shure greased well,,and such .

The angle of the drive shaft should not be less then 2 degree and not more then the u joints allow ( at the most u want to get a pencil in between the knuckles ) ~ 1/4 " at the absolute min, if the knuckles are facing each other !!!

Hope that helps.

PS. the way it looks on the pictures he did not seal between the transom and the box, i just had this on a costumers boat with 2 boxes..lol
Did u get it done in texas ???

Wayne looking at these pics now I'm guessing your leak is where the notch is in the transom...That box is hanging down and depending on where the seal on the box is which I disagree about putting 4200 on the box unless you plan on playing with adjustment you want a seal. I put 4200 on mine and then the seal between the transom assembly and the box I used black silicone as well as a "new" Mercury gasket. The engine issue you'll have to get someone that has experience with the 496 and the Stelling box with the shaft. Mine is direct replacement for the factory shaft so I can't help you there. Other thing you should look for is a possible loose wire on a plug all that moving around pulling the engine as well as putting in could've knocked one loose. Hope you figure it out and if you want to boat this weekend just go to Walmart and buy you come silicone and put a bead around the outside of the transom assembly as well as the bolts...You can clean it off as obviously he'll have to pull the box off to seal it...

So, I will take the access plates off in the morning and check for leaks there first and silicone around the entire box to transom to try to stop the leak.

While you have the plates off make sure the shaft is clocked in other words all the U joints are in line and the angle is not extreme.

Thread worth reading...

http://www.offshoreonly.com/forums/g...ive-shaft.html

I guess my next question is IF it is the knock sensor......what in the box would cause it to trip and what damage could occur if it were disabled?

hope you find the problem and get on the water. im excited to see what kind of gains you see. ive been thinking of putting a box on mine and a shorty put wanted to see if anyone has done it on a 25 before. please let us know how you make out. good luck with it!!!

My understanding is the driveline harmonics are what trigger the knock sensor. It is possible to have the sensitivity of the sensor altered, although it has to be done in the ECM.

Sooo.have it sent for a stage 1 ???? I really dont need the extra RPM's but to solve issue I will....

Which set of holes is it installed on ?
( top, middle, bottom)

I'm assuming the U-joints in the box are in phase ?

This spring when I installed the drives, I even phased
the outdrive u-joints with the u-joints in the box.

I use to have a small vibration that you could feel in the floor of the boat at certain speeds, since I phased them, I cant feel it.

It's not that big of a deal to do.

Merc recommends doing it on their jackshaft ( forward
stagger) models.

The box is in the middle position. As far as the shafts being in phase....unsure....but I doubt this guy did it. I also an usure about the carrier bearing and alignment now.

It is dropped off again at the mechanic and hopefully it can be a quick fix for him. I hope buy scanning it is something small like the IAC or something.

I should of done the boat for you!! I could use the help with set up. I would love to try that lower.

Looking back..me too!!

So the engine was scanned and nothing come up. Still unsure of what the issue is. Due to rain he has been unable to water test yet. Could it be something as simple as the engine having been fogged too much during winterization? I filled the tank with 93 Octane to bring up the octane rating of the old fuel but the old fuel had been stabilized. I am going to change plugs, anyone know which ones work best off the top of there head?



As far as the water leak, he said there was a clamp loose on a water line in box so he seems to think that was it but still, no water test yet.

good luck!!! waiting to hear some results.

Go with the NGK Iridium plugs for a HO
http://bajaboatowners.com/threads/75...gines-they-fit

I had read the NGK did not hold up somewhere so I got some AC Delco's........still waiting for Andy to water test, called him twice yesterday

I ran NGK for years, like 15 + years and never once had a problem, with AC delco's i did, they tent to break off !

I'd love to try that on my H2X.........hold on!!!!!!

Thats all I ran in my Mag's and Ho's along with the 502 and 500's. I've only heard of one issue.

On Sat morning at the launch while I was pulling out of the channel there was an H2X backing in with a satin shorty and box of some sort. I never could find him the rest of day to get some info out of him about it.

I'd really like to talk to someone that has tried it. I'd hate to spend the $$ to gain 2mph. As shallow as the boat already is, lifting the prop would have to be of some benefit.... ??

That would be very interesting. Adding some length to the H2X probably wouldnt hurt the handling in the rough either.

Word on the street was the H2X really likes the -2" lower. Not sure about the box though.

FWIW - I think that is sort of true. The NGK's were really good but for a shorter peroid. The Delco's were almost as good but lasted longer.

But I also drive around on one engine!:lolhit:

Well, I think we are making progress.....the boat was water tested on sat and the leak seems to be fixed....I guess it was some kind of gasket that had to be made on a water inlet line that goes through the box....I didn't see it but he says it is fixed now.



Problem #2....I guess the boost pump was bad....the fuel pump can keep up under 3000 RPM but needs the boost pump after that to help supply fuel? I am not an expert on these things but that is what the mechanic is telling me. No power to the boost pump so he is going to change it....$250 for the pump...ouch..but at least we are making progress he said it should be done tue or wed as he had to order the part.

Glad to hear you are moving forward...best of luck!

250.00 is a cheap fix on a boat any day. Boating season is too shot to not be on the water.

there was a guy on here from overseas germany that had the 25ol that ran nice with a imco 3'' raised box and 525 went from 74 to 81, then he added a merc 600 sold the 525 and ended up with 4'' altogether 3'' raised box 2'' shortie with a 1'' spacer at final test of 87 or 89gps. good luck

any new progress???

I am going to pick it up in an hour.......we'll see.

All fixed !! It ended up being the boost pump that was bad. Also the leak in the ext box is fixed.

I took it out for a test run today and noticed the speedo was not working and had no GPS with me so no numbers for you. I measured the distance from bottom of pad to prop centerline.....3"......I had a M+ 23P on boat and zero issues getting on plane. Before the box, it would take a little distance to get the boat to 5000RPM where it would max out, now it gets there quick with a little blow out around 4000-4500 RPM's. I am now on the rev limiter quick with this prop.

Next time out (Thursday) I will have the GPS and a 24P B1 Labbed. Any guess on what to expect? It was 63 MPH at 4600-4700 RPM and took a bit to get the 4700 and maybe 64 MPH. I suspect I will be close to 5000 RPM's or over now.

Very glad to hear you have it sorted out! Keep us posted!

24p at 5000 rpm I'd say 68 gps to 70 gps, good luck.