Alpha 2 Upper gear failures

[pwbre]

I have twin 92' Alpha 2 out drives (one is counter rotation). In 2004 I lost both uppers within 2 running hours of each other. This was after 25 hours run time for the season and a total of appx. 600 hours on the drives. I did the lubrication on the drives so I know they were full at the begining of the season. I did not do a pressure test at the begining of 2004. So after $8k I replaced both drives by a certified merc dealer (both entire units). So at this point I thought I was good for another 7-8 years. There was no determination on exactly what caused the uppers to sieze. No fishing line in the props, no apparent oil leaks. (By the way this boat has no remote monitors and is in the water for the season).<br /><br />Now comes 2005 on the family trip (125nm miles from home dock) and after appx 35 hours of run time on the new drives the counter rotation drive siezes again, and again lack of lubrication on the upper half of the drive, the lower was fine. There was no hint of oil in the bilge, witch would be the sign of a drive shaft leak. Again I personally did the lubrication for the season and tripled checked the levels and put in exactly the amount the manual suggests. I took it to another Merc dealer where I broke down and after another 2.5K he replaced the upper half of the drive and flush the bottom and reused it. He did a pressure test and all looked good. So I drove the boat across the lake appx 130NM and all was fine. The very next trip I took, 6 days later after 5 hours run time, it happens again. I took the top plate off and it was metal soup, the bearings looked intact but the gears were a mess. At the time of failure i was cruising at appx 3400 rpm (same as the second time the counter failed) then the engined raced to 6000 rpm at time of failure. Once again no apparent oil leaks, gaskets good on the fill/vent holes, no oil in the bilge, no oil around the drive housing.<br /><br />Is there anyone out there that has had a similar situation or has any suggestions I would greatly appreciate your input. <br /><br />Thanks in advance. <br /><br />Sincerely,<br />Mad Boater

 

[tommays]

Re: Alpha 2 Upper gear failures

you would have to leak enough oil to fill the bellows before it ever got into the bilge<br /><br />flushing a lower with out takeing it apart is bound to leave metal in there and unseen dammage which will travel to the new upper<br /><br />there has to be a leak which should be able to be found with a pressure\vacume test which should be done every year<br /><br />i would get the drive lube monitors and have them wired into the alarm system so if you have a problem in the future you have a chance at shutting down before you melt<br /><br />doesent anybody who has done these repiars stand behind them at all ?<br /><br />tommays

 

[Don S]

Re: Alpha 2 Upper gear failures

A few questions,<br />1. What engines do you have?<br />2. What size boat is this in?<br />3. Do you run very long trips constantly?<br />4. What rpm range do you run in when cruiseing.<br />5. Is the water temp warm?<br />6. What type gear lube are you using?

 

[pwbre]

Re: Alpha 2 Upper gear failures

Don,<br />Here are my stats:<br />1.(2) 4.3LX 190HP V6<br />2. 27 Foot Appx 9000 lbs.<br />3. I rarely do long trips<br />4. Cruising is 3800 to 4200 RPM @ 28 to 33MPH (Full trottle RPM on this boat is 5200 RPM, seems a little high)<br />5. According to gauge I constantly run at 150, I have never seen anything higher.<br />6. Merc high performance gear lube

 

[Don S]

Re: Alpha 2 Upper gear failures

You mentioned twice, that after you changed the lube yourself, you had the problem.<br />Could you explain HOW you refilled the drives? In detail.

 

[pwbre]

Re: Alpha 2 Upper gear failures

Don,<br />At the end of last season at boat pull out I drained oil trough lower drain plug at the bottom of the drive and removed the vent hole plug. Let drain for 2 hours. Filled through the bottom plug hole until oil was coming out vent hole, added a couple extra squirts for safe keeping. Drive was in verticle position or full in the water position. Replugged the drive both top and bottom, checked gaskets thoroughly.<br /><br />Unless I'm completely missing something there isn't much that could go wrong here.<br /><br />Plus the counter rotation drive has gone 3 times, the last time the merc mechanic did the filling, plus he did a pressure and vacuum test.<br /><br />I'm baffeld, I just removed the drive this morning, I noticed the gears where smoked but the bearings appeared ok. Not sure if this is a clue the problem. If this happens again I will cry, plus start asking you guys to borrow some money.

 

[pwbre]

Re: Alpha 2 Upper gear failures

One more thing I failed to mention is the second time the counter rotation failed the mechanic notice there was no oil present between the upper gear assebly and the lower unit, it appeared dry for some time. Is it possible to miss match and older alpha drive such as a generation 1 lower with a generation 2 upper or vise versa and would this create and issue if you could?