Square metal piece found in bilge

[Jeremy805]

Was doing the standard after lake trip cleaning and found this square peg with a ground off 45 on it. Any ideas would be really helpful. 
 

 

[Gary Pelletier]

Looks like a shear/key way pin.  Believe the only thing that would use that in your engine/bilge area is the prop shaft coupler.  

Edited August 3, 2020 by Gary Pelletier

[Jeremy805]

7 hours ago, Gary Pelletier said:

Looks like a shear/key way pin.  Believe the only thing that would use that in your engine/bilge area is the prop shaft coupler.  

I found it right where prop shaft goes through the hull. Looking at photos online, they do not have the 45 degree angle. Zero vibration or anything out of ordinary on the water. I’m assuming this is critical. 

[wdr]

The prop shaft has a key in addition to it being a tapered shaft with a locking nut that mates to the shaft flange. My bet is on that.

[Jeremy805]

17 minutes ago, wdr said:

The prop shaft has a key in addition to it being a tapered shaft with a locking nut that mates to the shaft flange. My bet is on that.

I’ll crawl into the boat today and check it out. Any ideas as to why this could have backed out or broke? Didn’t hit anything and never lost power all day. I boat the boat last year and have put 70 hours on it so far, it’s only got 208 total. I just checked the flange bolts last week and all were tight. Guess it’s time to break out the torque wrench and do an alignment check? 

[wdr]

Most likely the prop shaft was serviced or replaced and that key was dropped and lost so another was put in to save time.

[Sixball]

I am going with the prop shaft coupler.  Are you the second owner? It may very well be from work done in the past!  No way a prop key would find its way into the boat other then during a prop replacement or other work on the prop and the prop or parts being set down in the boat.  Couplers have been known to come lose. 

[Jeremy805]

2 minutes ago, wdr said:

Most likely the prop shaft was serviced or replaced and that key was dropped and lost so another was put in to save time.

That’s a possibility but I have cleaned this bilge every time I got out. I’m super ocd about keeping the bilge spotless, you could damn near eat off it. I’ll have to verify the sheer is in currently. 

[Jeremy805]

2 minutes ago, Sixball said:

I am going with the prop shaft coupler.  Are you the second owner? It may very well be from work done in the past!  No way a prop key would find its way into the boat other then during a prop replacement or other work on the prop and the prop or parts being set down in the boat.  Couplers have been known to come lose. 

I am the second owner. Old owner barely used the boat and had I serviced at one place locally so I’ll call and find out if this work was done before I bought it. You guys are great at helping my anxiety level. I’ve been tripping on this all night. 

[Jeremy805]

I’ll report back once I find out some more info. I’d like to thank you guys for you fast replies and copious knowledge. Within a few hours I’ve gone from super confused and worried to relaxed. I appreciate it a lot. 

[wdr]

Just now, Jeremy805 said:

That’s a possibility but I have cleaned this bilge every time I got out. I’m super ocd about keeping the bilge spotless, you could damn near eat off it. I’ll have to verify the sheer is in currently. 

LOL..... Have you cracked one of these open yet? But, probably a good idea even with the pain involved. You ain't going to be able to push it home if it spins in the coupler.

[Jeremy805]

4 minutes ago, wdr said:

LOL..... Have you cracked one of these open yet? But, probably a good idea even with the pain involved. You ain't going to be able to push it home if it spins in the coupler.

I have not done anything shaft or coupler related other than verifying all 4 bolts were not loose. I’m going to have to get a mechanics manual and dig in. Is it a pain in the a**? I’m assuming the sheer pin is not visible without taking the coupler off or at least disconnecting. 
 

what do you mean won’t be able to push it home if it spins in the coupler? 
 

sorry for all the questions. This is my first v drive and it’s an older boat but it’s a huge purchase for me, so keeping it safe and working right is my biggest goal. I’m mechanically inclined so I’m confident I can do the work. 

[Jeremy805]

14 minutes ago, Sixball said:

I am going with the prop shaft coupler.  Are you the second owner? It may very well be from work done in the past!  No way a prop key would find its way into the boat other then during a prop replacement or other work on the prop and the prop or parts being set down in the boat.  Couplers have been known to come lose. 

Would a coupler loosening allow the sheer pin to fall out? The pointed end is what’s really confusing. All I have seen are not tapered ones. It doesn’t appear to actually be sheered. I almost had sanding marks on it. 

[wdr]

Pushing it home was a joke about pushing a car home which fortunately, I have only had to do with motorcycles. The prop shaft sits inside of the prop shaft coupler which mates to the VD. That key stock provides a good portion of the rotational locking force. If there wasn't any key stock in the slot I would venture to say you would of already of found out about it by now. The real pain is just the lack of space involved even on my '10 LSV. 

[wdr]

1 minute ago, Jeremy805 said:

Would a coupler loosening allow the sheer pin to fall out? The pointed end is what’s really confusing. All I have seen are not tapered ones. It doesn’t appear to actually be sheered. I almost had sanding marks on it. 

No way in the world would that pin come out with loose coupler bolts.

[Jeremy805]

1 minute ago, wdr said:

No way in the world would that pin come out with loose coupler bolts.

Okay good to know. So the coupler would have to be fully disconnected for this pin to come out? Even if it was broken, it still wouldnt find its way out? 

[wdr]

If you are really worried about it. IIWM. I would pull the coupler bolts. Grab some WD-40 and lube the shaft in front of the cutlass bearing. Put on some thick gloves and give the prop a quick rotational spin. That should break the VD flange and shaft coupler apart allowing the shaft to be pulled to the rear until it makes contact with the rudder. Block the rudder with a 2x4 or like soft item and then climb back up in the boat and pull the shaft coupler nut, which was 1 1/16" IIRC. That may give you enough room to get a mirror in front of the coupler and a probe of some sort in to the slot to see if there is something in there. If you can neither confirm or deny the key is there then you will want to pull the coupler. THE HARD PART!

[Jeremy805]

Dealer is closed today, I’ll call tomorrow and get the service records. See if this was done before I bought it. Wdr, I agree with you in the fact that if this did break I would have either felt it or lost forward and reverse. That or it’s just the bolts holding it now. 

[wdr]

2 minutes ago, Jeremy805 said:

Okay good to know. So the coupler would have to be fully disconnected for this pin to come out? Even if it was broken, it still wouldnt find its way out? 

That pin doesn't look broken IME.

[wdr]

Just now, Jeremy805 said:

Dealer is closed today, I’ll call tomorrow and get the service records. See if this was done before I bought it. Wdr, I agree with you in the fact that if this did break I would have either felt it or lost forward and reverse. That or it’s just the bolts holding it now. 

ALL the bolts do is hold the shaft coupler to the VD output flange. It would mostly likely spin w/o the key stock in place.

[Jeremy805]

1 minute ago, wdr said:

That pin doesn't look broken IME.

You are the man! I will check it out when I get home today. Just with your description on how to disconnect the shaft makes it seems so unlikely this sheer pin is a recent occurrence. I guess boat mechanics aren’t known for their cleanliness. 

[Jeremy805]

2 minutes ago, wdr said:

ALL the bolts do is hold the shaft coupler to the VD output flange. It would mostly likely spin w/o the key stock in place.

Im grasping it now. So the shaft goes through the coupler to the tranny. I thought the coupler was the end point of the shaft. 

[wdr]

Yep. The shaft coupler is on the end of the prop shaft. It is held on by that key stock, press fit on to the tapered shaft with the 1 1/16" nut which is held in place by a 3/32" Allen head which you can see on the side of the coupler if you rotate it enough. The shaft coupler is mated to the VD output flange with the 4 SS bolts, washer and nut.

[Jeremy805]

2 minutes ago, wdr said:

Yep. The shaft coupler is on the end of the prop shaft. It is held on by that key stock, press fit on to the tapered shaft with the 1 1/16" nut which is held in place by a 3/32" Allen head which you can see on the side of the coupler if you rotate it enough. The shaft coupler is mated to the VD output flange with the 4 SS bolts, washer and nut.

Cannot thank you enough for all this info. 

[wdr]

No problem. Trying to build up the karma bank. I am about do to hit a log on the river.