DPS-A worn cone clutch, any tips on replacement?

[Tristador]

Hello all,
My 2011 Stingray CS250 cruiser has a delayed shift going into forward gear, and it's getting progressively worse.
Reverse gear and Neutral are spot on.
I hauled the boat home today and checked the prop resistance in forward gear and reverse gear.
Reverse gear works fine when driving and locks up immediately when I tested the prop resistance by hand in the driveawy.
Engine off, of course..
With the drive in forward gear, i only got slight resistance and could not get the gear to engage rotating the props by hand.
I have done a lot of reading of previous posts here, and I have located the cone clutch I need, 3807613. I have all the neccesary o-rings/ gaskets for the mating surfaces in my shopping cart. I am a bit fuzzy on any special tools I may need and what lapping compound I should use
.I have the VP manual for my outdrive. I am mechanically inclined, and I have rebuilt an AQ131 outdrive about 18 years ago on my last boat.
So, foolish or not, I am going to repair this myself, as the last time my boat was at the dealer, they set it on fire .

I have yet to botch a repair in that fashion
.
The drive is DPS-A 1.95
Product number 3883609
Serial Number A150058

Any tips and advice are welcomed.
Thanks much.

Tristador

 

[Senior B]

Have you checked the adjustment of the shift cable at the drive? It's very easy to do on a Volvo and if it's out will cause the issue you have.

 

[Thalasso]

As said above if the cable is out of adjustment that will happen
2011? Shouldn't have cone clutc issues

If that is the issue you will have to buy a special tool and also make one to get it apart


Just happened to look at this for someone else last night. Might give you a little insight on what is involved

https://youtu.be/ev60BYaX5C0

 

[Tristador]

Yessir, I disconnected the shift cable and moved the mechanism as far as it would go in each gear, it locked up the propshaft nicely in reverse gear, and only gave a slight bit of drag in Forward gear. Never locked it up.
Two things that may have caused this, I removed the outdrive this spring and changed replaced the drive and exhaust bellows. I did not change the shift cable andjustment, I replaced it as I found it.
The second, more likely reason, in my opinion, is the fact that I strayed from the usual NAPA 75W90 synthetic gear oil and used something compatible from my local auto parts store.
Thank you both for the helpful suggstions, and the link to the video. That is very informative.

 

[BRICH1260]

Before you tear into the drive, I would first test it by removing the shift cable at the drive and manually move the drive into forward gear. Then check for slippage, if you have none you know that the shift cable needs adjustment. Word of caution on the drive oil, you cannot use just any gear oil with a cone clutch, something about friction modifiyers. You do need to use only VP oil or a similar substitute such as Amsoil.

 

[Thalasso]

Your gear oil needs a GL-5 rating
Most gear oils have a modifier in them some more then others
I use Mobile 1 (last 18 years and no issues)


Thanks for writing to us. Yes, our Mobil 1 Synthetic Gear Lube LS 75W-90 will cover the GL-5 requirement safely.

If I can help further with this inquiry or with any other questions, please respond to this email or phone us 1-800-ASK-Mobil

 

[Tristador]

Brich1260,
Thanks for the tip. I disconnected the shift cable and moved the drive gear selector into forward and I still exprienced some slip. Only when I really pushed the lever to the extreme would it engage, it would not engage at it's normal shift position. Reverse engages just fine at it's normal shift position
I really wanted it to be a shift cable adjustment problem, but the sysptoms are pointing away from that.

 

[Tristador]

Thanks Thalasso,
I really can't be sure that the oil I used had that GL-5 rating.
After I tackle this problem, I will be using VP oil exclusively. It's worth the $75 price tag not to go thru this again.

 

[Thalasso]

Thanks Thalasso,
I really can't be sure that the oil I used had that GL-5 rating.
After I tackle this problem, I will be using VP oil exclusively. It's worth the $75 price tag not to go thru this again.

I don't know who makes it for them now but Mobile used to

 

[QBhoy]

Hi. You may have the reason for your issue already when blaming the cone clutch....but I’d urge you to be aware that 9/10 times the cone clutch is blamed for exactly your symptoms...when in actual fact, the reason is usually down to water in the gear oil or the wrong oil. A very obvious tell tale of this is if it only does what you are saying after it’s been ran a while then coming into the dock afterwards, it does this. Very common thing. I’d especially think it may be the case, given the fairly youthfulness of your boat perhaps. Worth a check if you haven’t already.

 

[bruceb58]

I used to use the Mobil 1 gear oil until they put the friction modifiers in it. I only use the Volvo gear oil now. DonS many years ago suggested not using the Mobil 1 gear oil.

Make sure the gear oil is not overfilled. That will also cause shifting issues.

 

[BRICH1260]

Amsoil marine gear lube is rated for use in VP drives, I`ve used it for several years. It can be ordered directly for about $15/qt.

 

[Tristador]

Ok, the boat is back together and performing great!
Thanks to all who offered tips and advice.

 

[BRICH1260]

Ok, the boat is back together and performing great!
Thanks to all who offered tips and advice.

So did you end up having to rebuild it or something much simpler?

 

[Tristador]

Yessir, I put a new cone clutch in it and also lapped the mating surface on the forward gear as it was glazed.
As I was disassembling the upper gearcase, I was surprised to find the nut on the top of the drive spindle was not torqued anywhere near the specified 100 ft/lb .
It came loose way too easy.
Also the bearing retaining ring that I had to buy the $pecial tool for, was almost finger tight.
I think that's very strange, as I am the original owner of the boat and no one has been inside this outdrive since I bought it.
Perhaps the improper torque of the spindle nut lead to the early failure of the cone clutch, or maybe it was a poor choice of gear oil. I don't know for sure.
The gear oil I used did have the GL-5 rating.
It's all put back together and properly torqued now.
It's got a gearcase full of overpriced VP gear oil, as well.
This was my third major repair on the boat this season.
I hoping I'm done wrenching on it for the rest of the summer.

 

[muc]

I’ve never found the retaining ring loose, but have found the top nut not as tight as it should be. When you find that nut loose, it is a very good idea to use a new one during reassembly.
The thickness of that nut is what sets the up and down play of the vertical shaft. This play is critical to get the clutch to last along time. It should always be set to the low side of the specification. I have found more then a few times that the thickest nut wasn’t enough to get that spec tight enough. What I think happens is that the drive gets shifted at too high RPMs and this causes the nut to loosen (notice that this nut tightens against a very small surface on the vertical shaft) and at the same time the special washer (that is held in place by the 2 half round keepers) at the bottom of the shaft gets deformed. This was a much bigger problem back when that washer was brass (and I have seen that washer fail completely and the shaft blow a hole through the top of the drive) but now that the washer is steel it isn’t as common. But it’s still a good idea to check it for flatness especially when you can’t get the play to the low end.