cone clutch slipping ?

[_vn_]

Hi, just got this used boat, 2004 tahoe 254 with 6.2mpi and bravo one(1) leg
took it out three times. yesterday while having 7 people on board went out 3-4 miles (WOT) at around 40mph >5000rpm and then cruised around at below 10mph. on the way back went around 2 miles WOT at 40mph and had to slow down under bridge after which couldn't accelerate past 15mph, RPMs just went up any time tried to go past ~3000rpm.
gearlube looks fine (both level and color, no water), i was not one who winterized this boat therefor i am not sure whether proper gearlube was used, i'm reading about being very precise with type of it for B1.
i had similar problem with volvopenta 280 outdrive and temporarily resolved it with lapping paste, however from reading around i see that some people refer to engine coupling and spun hub and ventilation or even gears being pressed onto a driveshaft instead of being one piece . my guess is that if i can under load get up to at least 15mph spun hub would just spin. same thing would do the coupling since both are rubber and when it starts going it just gets weaker progressively.
the question is, if i am right and this is cone clutch - why would go so fast, boat only has under 50 hours on it. there is no water in outdrive (which caused slippage on my VP280). what should i start with? just replacing gearlube or go straight for the clutch replacement? btw, when this started happening we looked at gearlube indicator and level was all the way at the cap of the container.

thanks !

 

[dubs283]

Re: cone clutch slipping ?

what prop are you running??

did you check the gear lube in the drive for water or just the monitor bottle??

you can try changing the lube, merc high performance gear lube is spec for all mercruiser drives

 

[_vn_]

Re: cone clutch slipping ?

i don't know what size/pitch prop that is, i looked around it but couln't find markings
i checked gearlube when bought it and it was blue, before going out level was acceptable in reservoir and when problem happened level raised so i figured that milky gearlube would have showed up there
it almost seemed while rpms went up like trim was up because water was shooting up higher but trim level indicator was showing trim was all the way down

 

[dubs283]

Re: cone clutch slipping ?

milky gear lube will not show up in the monitor, at least not right away - you need to pull the boat and check the lube in the drive

have you verified the trim indicator is correct?? shows full down when the drive is full down?? - more often than not the sender is mis-adjusted or doesn't work at all

if the drive was too far up cavitation can cause the issue you were experiencing

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: cone clutch slipping ?

If it is the cone clutch, you can easily take the clutch and gears out, roughen the cup part of the worn forward gear with sand paper, and flip the clutch and gears over so the the worn gear is now reverse and the former reverse gear (with very little wear) is now the forward gear. You can get a few more years of life out of it this way.

 

[_vn_]

Re: cone clutch slipping ?

milky gear lube will not show up in the monitor, at least not right away - you need to pull the boat and check the lube in the drive

have you verified the trim indicator is correct?? shows full down when the drive is full down?? - more often than not the sender is mis-adjusted or doesn't work at all

if the drive was too far up cavitation can cause the issue you were experiencing

from what i saw while boat was on ground trim gauge worked OK, meaning it showed up and down position but nothing in the middle
will have to take a look at gearlube later tonight

 

[_vn_]

Re: cone clutch slipping ?

If it is the cone clutch, you can easily take the clutch and gears out, roughen the cup part of the worn forward gear with sand paper, and flip the clutch and gears over so the the worn gear is now reverse and the former reverse gear (with very little wear) is now the forward gear. You can get a few more years of life out of it this way.

interesting, i thought clutch has top and bottom and can't be installed either way.
like i said before i used lapping paste on my VP208, and it sorta helped, still slips but less. what grid of sandpaper would you recommend using ? thanks !

 

[thumpar]

Re: cone clutch slipping ?

Have you checked for a spun prop hub or tried a different prop? I would double check that before digging into the drive.

 

[_vn_]

Re: cone clutch slipping ?

Have you checked for a spun prop hub or tried a different prop? I would double check that before digging into the drive.

will check prop later tonight, don't have a spare prop for it yet :/

 

[thumpar]

Re: cone clutch slipping ?

To check the hub you need to mark the propshaft and prop and then run it in the water. If the markings move it is the hub.

 

[_vn_]

Re: cone clutch slipping ?

To check the hub you need to mark the propshaft and prop and then run it in the water. If the markings move it is the hub.

ah, i though this can be done out of water on land

 

[_vn_]

Re: cone clutch slipping ?

trying to order all lubes, my boat is 300 miles away in VT where everything is 20 miles away and operated in very relaxed manner, meaning that if you need something now - u're SOL :/

will it be ok to put in drive such gear lube by Mallory ?
1 Qt Synthetic Gear Lube for Mercury - Mallory 9-82801

 

[dubs283]

Re: cone clutch slipping ?

will it be ok to put in drive such gear lube by Mallory ?

i wouldn't use anything from mallory

 

[_vn_]

Re: cone clutch slipping ?

since boat is not near me i had my in-law check gearlube, he without having prop wrench could only get to top vent on outdrive said gearlube is same color as reservoir clear no emulsion.

 

[_vn_]

Re: cone clutch slipping ?

i wouldn't use anything from mallory

how about greases by quicksilver? or you just stay all OEM ?

 

[thumpar]

Re: cone clutch slipping ?

Quicksilver it OEM. Just make sure you use the high performance.

 

[thumpar]

Re: cone clutch slipping ?

since boat is not near me i had my in-law check gearlube, he without having prop wrench could only get to top vent on outdrive said gearlube is same color as reservoir clear no emulsion.

The water would be in the bottom since it is heavier than the lube. You can use a socket to remove the prop also.

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: cone clutch slipping ?

interesting, i thought clutch has top and bottom and can't be installed either way.
like i said before i used lapping paste on my VP208, and it sorta helped, still slips but less. what grid of sandpaper would you recommend using ? thanks !

The VP may be different, but the merc cone and gears are the same for forward and reverse. I'd go with 100 to 120 grit. Does not need much, just a little scuffing to let the clutch get a purchase. You can roughen the clutch too, if it looks really smooth. This is not the standard fix, it's just a known work-around that'll save you 1700 bucks in parts for a few more years.

 

[_vn_]

Re: cone clutch slipping ?

The VP may be different, but the merc cone and gears are the same for forward and reverse. I'd go with 100 to 120 grit. Does not need much, just a little scuffing to let the clutch get a purchase. You can roughen the clutch too, if it looks really smooth. This is not the standard fix, it's just a known work-around that'll save you 1700 bucks in parts for a few more years.

thanks ! 1700$ in parts? how u figure that ??)

 

[Mischief Managed]

Re: cone clutch slipping ?

thanks ! 1700$ in parts? how u figure that ??)

New cone clutch and driven gear kit costs $1700, if memory serves. That said, my memory sucks.