Please let it not be the gearbox!

[JETTEST]

Sorry - hopped a flight....


Anyhow, from the cabin access compartment (behind the ladder) I can reach my arm around the right side (and equipped with a headlamp) see and touch the lever that the shift cable connects to. With someone working the cable topside, I saw and felt it move up and down. Because of the angle of my arm, I didn't have the leverage to manually move it from below.

I'd assume the shaft and coupling is around back there and below and that's an area visually inaccessible from anywhere I've seen... There is a door at the q-berth as mentioned ( at the aft of it) that I've never opened personally (only had the boat since December) but I may venture in there to try and gain access.

There's a rear compartment where I store crap and my spinnaker behind the helm (right in front of the transom) where there is the water exhaust valve for the engine cooler (or whatever the proper name is) and a manual bilge pump, but there is a bulkhead in the forward part of that compartment that reaches the floor. No access to engine from behind. SUCKS!!

Anyhow, I wish the prop fell off or something simple like barnacles, but I can see it on there and I have the bottom scraped monthly.

There's got to be a way to get to the shaft and I hope that the q-berth panel is the answer. From the starboard compartment (big) the fuel tank is in the way of access. Bad design. It had an atomic 4 originally, and I assume that this aftermarket 2GM20 install is the reason for all the blind spots...

[skipmac]

Hi Jettest,

Sympathize with your access problems. Mine is a bit tricky for a couple of things but nothing like what you're dealing with. Highly recommend you find a way to get to the shaft and especially the stuffing box. These things occasionally pop loose and that could be a boat sinker if you can't get there.

[s/v Jedi]

Originally Posted by skipmac

Hi Jettest,

Sympathize with your access problems. Mine is a bit tricky for a couple of things but nothing like what you're dealing with. Highly recommend you find a way to get to the shaft and especially the stuffing box. These things occasionally pop loose and that could be a boat sinker if you can't get there.

Indeed. Make sure you always carry a couple of those "epoxy sticks" so that in case of trouble you can knead one, jump overboard with it and ram it around the shaft to stop any leaks.

[NCboatrx]

Jettest. If you have lost drive in both forward and reverse, I would suspect a failed damper plate.

[sanibel sailor]

I have an aluminum Bomar hatch installed in the cockpit sole. Greatly improves access and lets in bunches of light when I need it. Maybe a permanent solution to access problem is in order.

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by NCboatrx

Jettest. If you have lost drive in both forward and reverse, I would suspect a failed damper plate.

Sounds likely to me too... but ya really need to see if the output shaft of the tranny is rotating before we can give meaningful advice.

Jim

[JETTEST]

Ok update!

I'm gonna look at the shaft in a minute, but I've visually confirmed (and with a pole) that the prop is turning (very slowly maybe 50 rpm?) fwd and reverse respectively in gear..
As speed of engine increases, speed of prop decreases... Like its "slipping"

Could the prop itself be loose? Or is this symptomatic of a damper plate?

[JETTEST]

Shaft spinning normal speed...

Gotta be a loose prop no?

[40 South]

Low oil level in transmission?

[Mark1977]

Originally Posted by JETTEST

Shaft spinning normal speed...

Gotta be a loose prop no?

I would think. It is possible you lost the keyway on the shaft. I had one disintegrate to nothing.

[sanibel sailor]

should be easy to remove at least!

[neptunesjester]

As 40 South asked, when was the last time you checked the tranny fluid level? Sounds like you have clutch slip. Even if you need to rebuild the whole gearbox, you can do it in a weekend with basic tools, a teardown guide, an oven, and a freezer. I've done it myself. Took three days and that was because I spent half the time disassemblying and reassembling things after interpreting the diagrams of the teardown guide wrong.

Later,
NJ

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by JETTEST

Shaft spinning normal speed...

Gotta be a loose prop no?

OK, just so I'm clear. So you can see the shaft on the inside of the boat, say where it enters the stuffing box and it is turning at normal speeds. You can rev the engine up and down and see the rotation increase and decrease.

But at the same time the prop isn't spinning at the same speed as the shaft?

Then has to be the prop is not firmly attached to the shaft. Unless you find something else going on it looks like you're going to have to haul the boat unless you want to give it a go in the water. Got a tank and regulator?

[s/v Jedi]

In FL so easy to do in the water. Take care not to bend a blade on the prop; find set screws etc.

[JETTEST]

Originally Posted by skipmac

OK, just so I'm clear. So you can see the shaft on the inside of the boat, say where it enters the stuffing box and it is turning at normal speeds. You can rev the engine up and down and see the rotation increase and decrease.

But at the same time the prop isn't spinning at the same speed as the shaft?

Then has to be the prop is not firmly attached to the shaft. Unless you find something else going on it looks like you're going to have to haul the boat unless you want to give it a go in the water. Got a tank and regulator?

Affirm. I found that by taking off the air filter and the fire bottle I have a nice clean birds eye view of the shaft as it enters the hull. (no q-berth bending required).

I'm not going under there myself. My bottom guy is also a mechanic and salvage diver. He's gonna go down there next tuesday and he a look. That said, he seemed a bit perplexed when I first described the issue but mentioned a few possibilities that it could be.