Engine Coupler gone bad?

[BginerBoater]

Hi Hello all,

Your local neighborhood Woody here with a question about my outdrive. I believe I have an 1983 Galaxie with an 3.8L OMC stringer 800 with tru course steering, mid rise exhaust and mechanical shift. One day while out on river, I made the mistake of letting an individual even more wet behind the ears than I, drive the boat as i unstrapped the wakeboard from my feet. He zipped into a cove and sure enough we hit something (a rock) with the outdrive and prop. Being the inexperienced boater I was, I continued to boat for the remainder of that day. >.< With hitting the rock the propeller got a decent little chunk taken out of it. Im assuming the chunk of prop missing affected the propeller performance and cause it to wobble. Still being the BginerBoater i was i ran the boat until i was about 4-5 miles away from the marina, when Bing, BANG, BOOM! i Heard a noise from the back of the vessel. After this point i lost complete control of the boat. With the motor running, i would put it into forward and give it some gas, as a result i would get no movement from the prop at all. It seems that all that happens is the RPMs increase. Same story with reverse. Included are some photos of the drive and engine. From the research I've done on here and checking some other sources I THINK (key word) that I have a damaged or broken engine coupler. If this is the issue, anyone have any tips, tricks, or procedures for repair? Ive been told by some I need to remove the engine and others have told me I can just remove the outdrive.

Reguardless of the process. I need to find out what is going to be required to get this back on the water again. I appreciate the assistance in advance. I plan on documenting the repair with plenty of photos and sharing them with the community.

Woody

 

[BginerBoater]

Re: Engine Coupler gone bad?

 

[Bondo]

Re: Engine Coupler gone bad?

Ayuh,... Welcome Aboard,...

Are the ball gears turnin' when it don't go anywhere,..??
If not, ya the coupler is mounted to the flywheel, 'n yes, the motors gotta come out...
If so, then ya broke something inside the drive...

 

[BginerBoater]

Re: Engine Coupler gone bad?

Hi Bond-O

Thank you sir for the warm welcoming. I can not remember if the ball gears were clanking along when i last had the motor running ( its been a couple years). Ill kick the motor over tomorrow and check to see if they are moving. In the event it the ball gears are not moving, do i just need to remove the motor? or do i have to remove the out drive first before removing the motor?

Also, I Have found nothing but negative responses about the out drive that i have. With OMC going out of business and the drive i have not being a common unit, what is the likely hood that parts are going to become difficult to find and spendy to purchase.

In Short, ive seen a couple "part that boat out and buy a new one with the money" from several individuals when talking about repairing these units, What is so wrong with having a Stringer outdrive?

 

[Howard Sterndrive]

Re: Engine Coupler gone bad?

this pic shows the problem:

see that ball gear all wet with gear oil? It is supposed to have a tin welch plug in it and sealed with RTV. With that plug absent, your gear oil got replaced with a lakewater slurry and bearings and gears in your upper gearcase have probably died a horrible death.
It also looks like the plug is missing from the intermediate side too - so hard to say if there's any lube in there either....was the the bilge filling with oily water?

 

[southkogs]

Re: Engine Coupler gone bad?

Hey Woody - Welcome Aboard!

The reason most people tell you to get rid of an OMC is because they're out of business - and the stringer drives are especially becoming museum pieces. You can keep them running, but you'll spend quite a bit of time tinkering with them. I've come to kind of enjoy it with mine, but I can see that it might be too overwhelming one day. The drives are essentially a good idea but in light of the loss of the manufacturer, some quirks they had and the age they're pretty unpopular. I've had mechanics tell me they won't even look at it.

If I'm following Howard in what he's saying - and he's one of a couple of guys who you want to listen to on these things - your upper gearcase is toast. Pull the outdrive off and start the engine. If it runs and the ball gear is turning - you're in at least a reasonable starting point. I wouldn't try to rebuild that upper - look for a working one on CL or eBay you are willing to pay for. There are remanufactured ones out there, but they ain't cheap. You can also look for a donor boat with a Stringer 800 outdrive and "frankenstein" one back together.

As to advice on scrap or keep - depends on how much you like the boat. I got mine cheap (and have been able to keep it on the water cheap) compared to other boats. But, I've had to become more of a mechanic than I was. If I was to put her in the shop for even the medium grade mechanical issues, I'd be broke. If you aren't attached to the boat and have a little money - part her out and look for something newer/nicer/with a Mercruiser.

 

[BginerBoater]

Re: Engine Coupler gone bad?

this pic shows the problem:

see that ball gear all wet with gear oil? It is supposed to have a tin welch plug in it and sealed with RTV. With that plug absent, your gear oil got replaced with a lakewater slurry and bearings and gears in your upper gearcase have probably died a horrible death.
It also looks like the plug is missing from the intermediate side too - so hard to say if there's any lube in there either....was the the bilge filling with oily water?

Now that you mention it Howard, I do believe there was oily water in the bilge. But it was more like water with a few oil spots floating, instead of oil with a few water gaps. My plan is to remove the drive first, Ill start the motor up and see if the ball gear turns. If not, I guess i will be getting rid of the boat. I am pretty mechanically inclined, but if the upper unit is toast, it sounds like i am better off just letting it go.

Thank you again for the assistance everyone and any additional input. Ill try and keep her alive.

-Woody