Help! Out on the water and my boat broke and is taking in water

[gobble]

I don't think my prop could be bent guys because all it did was slide down where the nut hit the rudder. Plus thinking about it, if in reverse, the tendency would be for the prop to push towards the boat and not away from it. I don't think it would "shoot" towards the rudder with any force.

I'll just live with getting the key by Wednesday. Skidim didn't have it and they told me to call the company that makes the coupler. It's tough to have one made because I don't know what it looked like before it broke.

How do I align the shaft? Doesnt' it align by the key being in both it and the coupler?

[gobble]

Does anyone know how to best keep the shaft from spinning when you install the new nut on the end of the shaft?

[malibu2004]

Piece of wood is what we use to keep it from spinning. 2 people makes is go allot smoother.

You align the shaft by moving the motor. When you put the coupler back on you need to have .003 I believe for a gap in the 12,3,6,9 position. If it's out from 3,6 loosen the rear motor mounts and get a piece of wood to pry against and move the motor. You'll probably need to put your purse down to move the motor and you need a big pry bar. If it's out from 12,6 loosen the front and do the same thing but you don't need the pry bar. Usually they get out of alignment 3,9.

For the key size the shaft might have the size written on it. It's a brass key.

The shaft most likely hit the rudder and wont be bent from that if it's bent at all.

[malibu2004]

Set the piece of wood on the floor and turn the prop into it.

[gobble]

I have to move the motor??? That sounds like a huge job.

Would it get out of alignment from being taken off and put back on again or are we talking about normal maintenance and inspection here?

[shawndoggy]

Plus thinking about it, if in reverse, the tendency would be for the prop to push towards the boat and not away from it. I don't think it would "shoot" towards the rudder with any force.

Whut? Think about it some more.... when in reverse the prop is dragging the boat backwards. it is actively trying to yank the prop shaft out of the tranny towards the rudder.

[malibu2004]

I have to move the motor??? That sounds like a huge job.

Would it get out of alignment from being taken off and put back on again or are we talking about normal maintenance and inspection here?

Normal maintenance. It sounds allot harder than it is.

[malibu2004]

Whut? Think about it some more.... when in reverse the prop is dragging the boat backwards. it is actively trying to yank the prop shaft out of the tranny towards the rudder.

The shaft should hit the rudder not the prop.

When mine broke the prop was a few inches away from the rudder.

[shawndoggy]

The shaft should hit the rudder not the prop.

When mine broke the prop was a few inches away from the rudder.

No I know that, I was just pointing out that when in reverse the prop is pulling backwards not pushing forwards as the OP suggested.

[malibu2004]

No I know that, I was just pointing out that when in reverse the prop is pulling backwards not pushing forwards as the OP suggested.

Gotcha.

I'm trying to figure out how the key sheared. The only thing I can come up with is the allen screw was loose thus the key is what was holding it and the key (brass) became fatigued and it sheared?

[GreenMan]

Gotcha.

I'm trying to figure out how the key sheared. The only thing I can come up with is the allen screw was loose thus the key is what was holding it and the key (brass) became fatigued and it sheared?

You're probably right. The OP noted that reverse was engaged when the boat was coming in 'a bit hot' so sounds like there was a pretty significant shock load on the drive. May well be that the securing nut was loose therefore no friction on the taper to help transfer the torque from the coupling to the shaft and relying on the key alone to transfer all the load. The key did one of it's jobs by shearing and avoiding damage to other drive components. It might have been like that for some time, slowly flogging the key away.

[williemon]

I aligned my engine in my v drive since it was bad out of whack so I had to adjust both planes. If you look at the mounts you see where it will slide. Not a bad job, it was not as hard as it sounded. I used pry bars and bottle jacks to help move the engine.

[williemon]

To add a question to this, I hit reverse if I'm to hot in forward on my stern drive all the time and to aid in docking. I have done this also with my vlx. It is ok to do this isn't it?

[justgary]

To add a question to this, I hit reverse if I'm to hot in forward on my stern drive all the time and to aid in docking. I have done this also with my vlx. It is ok to do this isn't it?

Yes, until something breaks. Honestly, you should be fine if it is in good repair. Since the OP's key was sheared, the shaft taper was probably loose enough to allow slippage.

As an aside, your boat will slow down much faster if you pull it back to idle but still in gear. If you pull it back to neutral, the prop will freewheel and have less drag.

If you need to use reverse to slow from anything but idle speed, consider learning to drive better. Stopping with reverse from idle speed is expected, especially when docking.

Edit: Removed the word "Pfeifer" that crept in somehow. Sometimes the phone is a spaz.

Edited June 19, 2015 by justgary

[gobble]

I can't figure out how to put this thing back together.

I got the key set between the coupler and the shaft, with the coupler over the shaft and the nut started by hand. With the coupler pushed all the way back until it hits the packing nut, there's no room to get a socket wrench in there because the transmission is in the way (what the coupler bolts to). It's guess there's maybe a little more than in inch gap.

How do I tighten the shaft nut??? The only thing I can think of is tighten the set screw then tighten from the prop side, but there must be something I'm missing.

[justgary]

What about a box end wrench?

[GreenMan]

I didn't have room for a ratchet but I had a breaker bar that JUST got in there.

You could consider grinding some off the top of the socket if necessary.

I'm also lucky enough to have a direct drive...

Edited June 19, 2015 by GreenMan

[brad72]

I had to cut my socket in half so it would fit between the 2 flanges, then did the same as Greenmans picture above.

[gobble]

I'm stumped. There's just under 1.5 inches of gap to get something in there. I cut a 1 1/16" socket in half and was able to get the socket on the nut, but can't get the breaker bar in. If I try attaching the socket with the breaker bar on it's too big. They must use some special tool?

[gobble]

I got it. I cut a socket in half then drilled a hole through it and fit a Philips screwdriver in the hole to tighten.

Question though. Where the nut is tight the set screw hits the very tip of the nut. Crap. I backed it off a bit to make the set screw rest on a flat part. Is this ok?

[GreenMan]

No. Tighten the nut firmly and let the set screw sit on the point. You need the nut tight in order to keep the taper tight to prevent the shaft from being loose in the coupler. If it's loose it will 'rattle' around in there, flog the key every time you shift from fwd to rev, not provide the friction that is intended to transfer the torque as opposed to letting the key transfer it all.

It may be why yours filed in the first place.

FWIW, the last replacement shaft I bought came with a stainless nyloc nut rather than the usual plain brass nut.

Good improvisation with the socket!

Edited June 19, 2015 by GreenMan

[gobble]

Ok, I got it tight but I don't like it. The nut turns then has a hard stop all the sudden and it's at a spot where the set screw hits the point like I said. I tightened the screw as hard as I can. You'd think the nut would be designed to stop where the screw hits a flat spot, if that's possible.

[justgary]

Several options:

1. Put a pipe over your screwdriver for more leverage, and tighten it more.

2. Buy a new nut and take a shot at it working better.

3. Use a flat washer to stop the nut earlier.