Drive coupler question
 

Drive coupler question


After dealing with my overheat problem by boring out the raw water tube back to a normal size. (The end was mangled. I don't know how or why.) On my test run something started slipping. At idle the boat would move at normal speed. If you pushed the power up something would let go and the engine would spool up. I drove 8 miles at 800 RPM. I hoped the prop had spun (a shop just had it off.) I took the prop off and took it to the prop shop that just over hauled it and asked if they saw anything wrong. They though it looked perfect. I put it back on the boat. I assumed the drive coupler had failed. I had splashed it BIG time with salt water while boring out the water tube and then again with fresh water while cleaning up.

Today I had someone come to give me a quote on changing the drive coupler. For 30 or 40 Minutes of stop and starts, drive up full throttle cruising nothing slipped at all.

Right now the coupler shows no sign of damage. Can getting this thing wet make a difference? Is my problem somewhere else? When the boat had something slipping it felt like you were driving your car with the clutch 1/2 way in. Right now at a stop, fire walling it gets 3200 RPM and no slip. The mechanic that was here today told me that it might just get loose when it gets hot.

As a side note. Where can I get good work done on this thing in Fort Lauderdale?

Thanks

Gene Bopp

Getting water on it wont do anything. Is it possible that the prop shop just didn't tell you the truth and repaired it without you knowing it??
A coupler wont blow and then work the next time out.
If they blow it is very obvious. The smell of burnt rubber and balls of rubber near the output shaft.

I guess that is good news.

When I took the prop off the locking ring wasn't bent down and I just took the nut off without unbending the tabs.

The prop was on the counter in front of me so they didn't do anything I didn't know about. The prop comes apart really easy. The guy looked at it and said there was nothing wrong. The plastic didn't look like it had been spun. The center part (brass?) looked old. The guy said that he had a better looking one to give me. So he traded me. I bought a new plastic lock nut and locking ring and put it back on the boat.

Yesterday I couldn't repeat the slipping issue. I never smelled rubber and there are no balls of rubber. If the coupler is good or bad, no in-between, I am wondering if the prop nut had become loose. A shop just had it off.

Gene

You did not mention the type of prop. If it was a Mirage Plus and the vent plugs were removed, with some hulls it will not come on plane. The vent plugs are three black plastic plugs located at the forward portion of the prop.
Tim T.

I am not being sarcastic, but is there any chance your drive was not trimmed all the way down? Sometimes what you describe can be something that simple.

It is a mirage plus. I dont think there anytype of plugs in it. But I have not had a problem like that before with the same prop.

Yea, the drive was all the way down. But it felt like it wasn't.

Thanks

Gene

sounds like removing and reinstalling the prop might have taken care of your problem, make sure the prop nut is torqued and the lock tabs are in place, like the above post said, the coupler will not fix itself
Mark

Is it possible you caught some
semi- floating debris (sea weed, ice bags)
around the drive ?

I've caught sh*t around the drive before,
and had this type of symptom before,
couplers and prop hubs don't
"grow back" after failure.

jt

Coupler
 

I had one go away just as I was heading to the OSO party in Miami. I hit the throttles and the left coupler let loose. When it's gone... it's gone. I guess it's a good thing I have two motors...
The good people at Pantera have my motor out and are changing the coupler as we speak...

Did the drive shift OK? If not you may have a bad coupler- because the drive shaft isn't turning.

Simply fire it up, and look behinf the motor. The shaft has to be turning all the time. Your coupler is gone if the motor runs, but the shaft doesn't turn. it's that simple.

I think your prop hub was no good. Then you took it back, and the fixed their mistake..

I really don't know what the problem was/is. I am going to find out if is still there tomorrow. It ran fine yesterday. When I took the prop off there was a I little bit of something that slid out from behind the prop. I had the prop in my hands so I just held on to it and let the stuff float away. The drive was just overhauled. I though the stuff was a few inches of paint that fell off the inside of the lower unit. I didn't think much about it. My drive is under a swim platform and I really couldn't see much while it was doing the bad thing. Just lots of bubbles.

Thanks for your help

Gene

Look
 

No no. Look behind the engine, in front of the transom plate, inside the boat. You can see that shaft coming off the back of the motor... It best be turning while the engine is running.
FYI, you don't have to be in gear. The "transmission" is in the drive, so that shaft has to be turning all the time.

I still think you have a prop issue.
A friend had this prop thing happen on his Formula. It would slip after a little running, but tighten up when it had a chance to cool.
Swap props with an unsuspecting buddy. Then your boat will be fixed..

Yea, I get ya. The shaft spins just fine. The day it happened I talked to a few people that said it was going to be the drive coupler if it wasn't the prop. The prop looked good so must be the coupler. I could always make the boat move. After 1000-1200 RPM the RPM would spin way up. Like you were driving your car with the clutch 1/2 way in. I have since ran the boat for 1/2 and hour and had no problem. I think your right. I had/Have some type of prop issue. Thanks for your help.

Gene Bopp

I'd say there was something on your prop like a plastic bag. Once I had a boat do that and when I lifted the drive, there was a 5 gallon bucket that was completely around the drive as if I were flushing it in the bucket.

A coupler will hold more after it cools off and the rubber solidifies again, but I don't think that is your problem.

Thank Jesus
 

Props are easy to take care of. Be glad you don't have to pull the motor to repair the coupler...

Psst... don't tell anyone, but one time I launched the boat forgetting to remove the muffs from the drive. .:o Acted just like spun prop or coupler. Boy was I happy when I saw what I had done.

BT :cool:

I don't know what my problem was. I ran the engine for 6 hours without turning it off. The last hour in the ocean at 35 mph the whole time. The advise I got here fixed my temperature problem and helped relive my worries about the coupler. Thanks guys.........!!

Gene

Next
 

Good to hear that you feel that your boat is OK.
Now..
We have to help you do a bit better than 35MPH in the Ocean...
Let's hear what kind of boat you have, and how it's set up...:fish:

Or...
 

Or you can just do like others... and strech it a bit.
So you were running 55 in the ocean...

See, that sounds better.

Not to put words in Tim's mouth, but I think he meant to say 55mph at cruise speed. :D :D

BT :cool:

55 huh? I think it will go that fast. But today it would have been a little uncomfortable. Today was the first time this thing really behaved itself. I had it up to 50 for a while. The ride sucked. I have a 1990 Baja 250 ES, 7.4, bravo 1 and a 23 prop. The fastest I have ever seen it go was 52 (GPS) at 3800 RPM. I didn't really have time to trim it out before slowing down. I have been doing stuff to it that makes it run. Like you said maybe now it is time to make it run better.

Gene