Alpha 1 wont fully engage

[Bondo]

Nope,... Never seen such a thing,...

ondarvr has been in the resin biz for a long, long time, 'n is My go to guy for such questions,...

 

[facelift]

isnt that the craziest thing ever! i'm not sure what the protocol or etiquette would be on this. i guess i'll figure out how to message him and just say it what mentioned that if anybody might have seen something like this before or know what it is, he might. and include the pics.

with regard to my drive.....i know yall are gonna call me a dreamer.....but i got it apart, and it might not be that bad. it may be my stupidity is the very thing that saves me (other than never screwing up my drive to begin with, of course). because i dont think much made its way down. the top was so completely bone dry and scorched that no oil made it up there to carry any metal down. i tell you, it was like a birds nest or steel wool. all above the driven gear. all swirled around like i was making cotton candy. the cylinder (housing) is pretty scored. i havent opened up lower part, and dont think im gonna. holding the two shafts and turning and listening and feeling, it seems to be rock solid. tight. no slop or grinding or hint of damage. i think im gonna figure out a way just to flush the snot out of it with oil. up top, my plan is clean it all up real good, polish the case, i found a couple decent looking used gears, and will get the seals. the shafts, look ok, as does the u-joint & coupler. in my mind it seems like theres no way them bearings could be ok, but in my hand looking at them, they seem to be. so thats my hail mary plan....clean, flush, polish, used gears, seals, hope & pray.

wish me luck. whats the worst that could happen. i end up dead in the water and i have to rig my bimini forward and sail her back home like i did two years ago the day this damage happened

 

[facelift]

let me tell you about that day....i really did use the bimini as a sail. because within 15-20 min of being dead in the water, an absolutely beautiful calm day turned to 40-50 mph wind and gray. it was about 5 pm. i was able to make landfall on an island 'sailing' her, because thats the direction wind was blowing. by now the wind is howling, its raining and the boat is getting battered on a beach. we're on an island off of a huge cove. so we're going for the real shore. only thing is, the point of that cove is just a couple degrees up of being perfectly downwind. and if we miss it, we're back out in open water. and its getting dark and it is nasty! for those that dont know, a broken down little ski boat with a bimini for a head sail doesnt have an awful lot of steerage. bout as much as a hot air balloon. so get on a vest, mask, snorkel, fins and lash myself to the stern. i was the rudder. we just barely caught the point. when my feet hit the ground i was almost arm-pit deep, but i dug in with everything i had and kept us from drifting right on by. after catching my breath and regrouping, i got all the rope i had, about 400 ft, and starting walking her along the beach. we crossed a couple coves by me swimming across with an end of the rope, then pulling boat to me. and walked along shore some more, probably 3 or 4 miles like that. until we were across from the marina. with bimini sail and jerry rudder, we managed to make the tire break water. the dock wasnt downwind and we didnt have nearly enough rope to leap frog it, so with my fins still on, i untied myself from the back and hooked on to the bow. i dont want to talk about my time on the tires, i just have to tell myself those little things with lots of legs that were EVERYWHERE I tried to step were just crabs. and then i take a shower.) off we go once more this time i was the tugboat. probably 3-400 yards. but i did it. i kicked till i could kick no more. then i floated. then side stroke. then breast stroke. then kicked some more. i was more exhausted than ive ever been. my limbs were rubber. but we made it. about 1 am we were tied up to the dock at the launch ramp at calville. only thing is we put in at hemenway. so my nephew came and got us. dropped me at my truck and took family on home. i went back and got the boat. didnt get home till almost 5am. and that day, at 7am, i was to report for the first day of my new job. my first 'job' in 15 years. as we had owned our own business. and thats how shes sat ever since. until now.....so i hope now you can understand my determination, despite complete absence of resources....

side note: for the brief moments we were able to get cell service, i managed to get ahold park service, they told me, they told a husband and wife with their 7 yr old son and 5 yr old daughter, on an 18' boat, at dusk, in a howling storm, bobbing in the swells, and i quote..."we're not a taxi service"...and hung up. yep. hung up. but thats ok because it only reinforced the point i had been teaching the kids about preparedness, self-reliance, and family. "you cant count on anybody but yourself and your family." we were in a real pickle. we called the equivellant of 9-1-1 and got hung up on. "are you getting daddy's point kids?"

 

[Rick Stephens]

Really nice to be alive after that.

 

[facelift]

update: to those that have been kind enough to share their time & expertise, i thought i should give a status update so as to not lose the support of those that may be following this. long story short is: i'm at a standstill. i buggered-up the big bearing on the drive shaft trying to get it off. so when i get some dollars together, i'll get it & some other odds & ends, greases, loc-tight, etc. i already have the gears, seals, orings and mounting gasket. i think i'll try to find a machine shop to remove and press on the new, as i'm just not set up for that. i've got the housing cleaned up real good, polished out the burs, etc. so i'm still hopeful i can sucessfully rebuild top half and the bottom was spared. it'll be a couple weeks until i have that answer. thanks again. will post update when i have one.

 

[Bt Doctur]

Given the amount of heat generated the bearing is most likely seized/welded to the input yoke. So get the new yoke, bearings and gearset. The small vert shaft can be pressed off if its not seized/welded to the gear. When you remove the bearings save the 2 steel spacer rings, you will reuse both of them.
Typically 2015 prices for a upper gearset kit SIE18-2256 is $639.00 , Just the gears and bearing 18 2201 is $496.
The bearing for the input yoke is SIE 18-1160 is $159.00
Add it all up and you will find the new upper from SEI for less and with a 3 year warranty too.

 

[facelift]

personally, i cant stand wasting my breath. and i know if i were to offer my time and experience to someone in the form of advice, and never hear anything about the outcome, i'd probably be less inclined to continue to bother. So to that end, out of appreciation & respect for those kind enough to help, and for the potential benefit to any future reader trying to solve their own problem, i'm finally doing what i've been telling myself i gotta do for a year now.

a little over a year ago, over a few weeks following my last post, i got the drive back together. with great apprehension, i took her to the lake for the real test. She did FANTASTIC!!!! because of the whole drive issue, it had been a few years, i think, since she was run. couple of squirts of go-go juice and she immediately fired up and purred like a kitten.

had a little problem with the shifting. she would go into & out of reverse no problem, but had a hard time going into forward. that was do to my haste and completely showing no care or concern with the adjustment of the linkage. Regretted that cuz i ended up having to pull it & split it again to get it dialed-in. But I did. And we enjoyed all of last summer out on the water again! thanks to yall. so thank you all for helping me. its interesting to see, now that i've seen it for myself, how you guys knew EXACTLY what you were talking about! especially the melting, not grinding part. I was in awe when i saw those gears. that is some crazy kind of hot!

and i know that the thinking behind the replacement was spot on as well. but i'm broke, broke, broker than broke. and this time, for once, i finally got lucky and caught a break. here's what i ended up doing:

super clean used upper gearset ($99), shaft bearing ($25), upper seal kit ($25), transom mounting kit ($25), other ($25)

i buggered up the shaft bearing, but got lucky on the yoke and was able to coax it off. working on it alone, without the greatest set-up, it just seemed a little sketchy the way the two halves came together. and even the way it went back on the boat. I was really scared it was going to leak. but i got. we are getting ready to go to havasu for a few days for the first trip of this year. So this morning i was changing the outdrive oil (BOTTOM UP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), and thats what inspired this post. That pretty blue/green oil came out, not a hint or sign of water. no smell of heat. all was just as it should be. and i was pretty full of myself, to be honest. then i remembered the sick feeling in my stomach i had looking at it when it was broke and i was broke and i didnt have a clue. guys like you helping guys like me is what saved the day! so seriously, sincerely......THANK YOU!

sorry it took me so long to say it.
JP

 

[Bondo]

Ayuh,..... Thank you, JP,.....

 

[facelift]

Hey I wanted to close this out with a synopsis.

For the benefit of anyone with similar problems, or someone who didn't know, like I didn't know. FILL YOUR ALPHA BOTTOM UP!!!!
Here's what could happen if you dont. And it happened in moments. That's the craziest part for me.....imagine the kind of heat it would take to do this: