Did I Kill it??

[Lou C]

Re: Did I Kill it??

Great let us know what happens.....
Did you see any glitter in the gear oil?

 

[SHickey]

Re: Did I Kill it??

There was glitter in the oil and that would indicate gear or bearing deterioration.

Would it hurt to drain the oil again and add an automotive oil flush solution to the LU, run it, shift it and drain it to remove any suspended particals that may still be floating around in there??

The unit most likely was compromised and if I can remove any more glitter from the unit, maybe it has a little life left in it.

Any thoughts??

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: Did I Kill it??

Imagine running your engine at half throttle. Then jamming a prybar against the flywheel to stop it- that would give you an idea of how much mechanical energy it takes to stop a running engine. For a dry, seized upper to generate that much braking force there is a lot of damage.
Reread your first post about the noises and symptoms and I think it will bring you back to earth.
Any discolouration (straw brown or blue) of the bearings/gears means they have lost their heat treating and are no longer able to work at high load. The metal flakes are not unnecessary parts. That's the surface of bearing races and rollers.
Sorry to say, but it just won't last very long if you run it and the damage will get worse.
But ultimately, only the owner can make the call to run it or park it and maybe you'll get lucky. Hard to evaluate things like this over the web.

 

[LAC_STS]

Re: Did I Kill it??

I really dont know but I wonder if you do have to replace it if you can just replace the upper or if your gonna need a whole drive?

If you end up needing a new drive either try to find a used one or go the SEI route.

 

[Idlespeedonly]

Re: Did I Kill it??

The way is is right now, you may get by with a gear set and new bearings. If you keep pushing it you will need a new upper gear set, new bearings, a new upper housing, And a rebuilt lower. Why a rebuilt lower? Because when you drained it you may have filled the lower with metal shavings. Needle bearings dont like trash.
But I really hope it works out for you. Its one thing to have a failure, but its different when it was caused by operator error.

 

[SHickey]

Re: Did I Kill it??

Thank you all for your wisdom and insight. I think what I will do for now is to flush it out, replace the oil, use it sparingly and see about replacing the races, bearings and upper gears or a whole new upper unit in the near future.

I have another boat that needs about a month of work until it is water ready so I can take my time trying to replace parts or the whole unit.

I was wondering if replacing the parts in the upper unit could be done by an outdrive beginner or if a bunch special tools were required for that kind of operation??

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Did I Kill it??

Howard,

I had just replaced the fluid before I took her out. I filled the drive fluid from the bottom skeg screw until it came out of the vent screw above it. I did not check the dip stick on the top of the OD because I assumed full was full.

Not good............

[h=2]Did I Kill it??[/h]

Yes.

Start saving your money for another drive.

I would do an SEI or find a donor boat with a 3.0L + Mercruiser.

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: Did I Kill it??

or if a bunch special tools were required for that kind of operation??

^that.

and a few people are mentioning SEI, but I don't think SEI makes a replacement anywhere near the 2.3 ratio.

 

[SHickey]

Re: Did I Kill it??

Would it be worth my while to look at replacing the upper unit only and keep my LU or should I find a decent complete OD (somewhere) and remove my Lower unit and keep it as a spare?

 

[HT32BSX115]

Re: Did I Kill it??

Would it be worth my while to look at replacing the upper unit only and keep my LU or should I find a decent complete OD (somewhere) and remove my Lower unit and keep it as a spare?

If you keep your lower unit, you should have it completely disassembled, inspected and repaired, reassembled etc.........

It shares oil with the upper..........so any metal in the oil also went through the lower. That would eventually damage a rebuilt 'upper'.

and a few people are mentioning SEI, but I don't think SEI makes a replacement anywhere near the 2.3 ratio.

I think you might be right but it does appear that SEI is making complete Cobra lowers now..... (4.3L-5.8L..........no 3.0/2.3 though)
OMC Cobra Complete Lower Unit Replacements | sterndrive.cc


The Mercruiser "type" lower for a 2.3L engine is something like 2.00:1 isn't it? My choice would still be finding another donor (rotten transom/floor etc) boat with a 3.0 or 4.3L + Mercruiser drive and swap it all over.