Is This the End of the Line?

[Provincetown boater]

Hi Folks,
I haven't been on here much because things have been going well for my 1985 Ebtide Bowrider with a 170 Mercruiser Alpha 1. That is until last Tuesday.
It was a beautiful day with little chop when I took the boat off the mooring gathered gear and a friend and was up on the plane heading out past Long Point when I thought I heard a metallic clicking from the rear. I turned to listen harder but not hearing anything else I checked gauges all seemed normal so I let it go. I few moments later there was a shudder and the sound of metal mashing. As I was yanking back the throttle I was thinking that this sounded like a timing chain clanking around. But once in neutral and idling the engine sounded fine. But when I tried to reengage the drive two things happened. One the shifter moved forward much easier than had normally been the case, it has always been tough going into or out of gear while the engine was running, and shifting into forward did nothing but rev the engine. reverse was the same.
I shut down the engine and had my friend shift while I spun the prop by hand. The prop locked up at least counter clockwise when shifting into forward or reverse and freed up in neutral. But after restarting shifting had no effect it was like the engine was no longer attached to the propeller.
I don't really intend any major repairs since I was planing on a new boat for next season anyway, but I would like to sell it and it would be helpful to have an idea of what's wrong.
Sorry for the long post,
Thanks for your thoughts.
Pete

 

[alldodge]

Re: Is This the End of the Line?

I'm thinking your lower drive section needs work. The lower section does the shifting F-N-R . Pull the oil plug and see what comes out. May come down to needing a new lower section. When was the last time the drive got new gear lube?

 

[thumpar]

Re: Is This the End of the Line?

My 2 guesses would be first the top gears in the outdrive or the coupler splines. It is pretty easy to check both. Pull the top cap off the drive and have a look. Pull the drive and look into the coupler to see if the splines are gone.

 

[tpenfield]

Re: Is This the End of the Line?

Probably the end of the season . . . but may not be the end of the line.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Is This the End of the Line?

You should diagnose your problem.

If you need a lower unit, the cheapest way is to buy a new unit from SEI Marine Products in Tampa. It comes with a 3 year replacement warranty. You can get a SEI unit for under $800 vs. over $2K for a new Mercury unit. You can replace it on your boat in less than 1/2 hour.

Used lower units cannot be trusted unless they're bought from a qualified marine mechanic that offers a warranty. They're often a reason boats are junked, as The Industry just wants a fortune for new units.

SEI can be reached @ 813-925-7127.