good news/bad news

[illiniboarder88]

Well, given that I had MLK day off, I had some time to mess with the boat. I got it set up so my mechanic could get it hooked up to a hose. The way the boat is currently on the trailer, a fake a lake won't work. Getting that set was less than wonderful. The hose going onto the thru-hull was threaded on, which made it tough to get off. The good news is we fired her up, and she ran strong. I bought it under the belief that the block was cracked, but we let her run and all was good. Now for the bad news. When I put the boat in gear and gave it some gas, there was a loud whine. The piece supporting the shaft also got hot. I assume this means there is a berring in there that needs to be replaced. Has anyone had a problem with this? Does anyone know how difficult this would be to replace? I'd also like to get a shop manual, is there a good place to get one? I don't need one for the boat as a whole, I just need it for the engine and drive system. There were two other problems I encountered. The first one was that when I hit the throttle, there was no power. I quickly found that there is a little piece that is broken that hooks the throttle cable to the handle. This just threads on, so that shouldn't be a big deal. Can I order parts directly from Tige? The other problem was that the taps did not want to work. I messed with the pump, and it appears to be working. I figure I just need to bleed the system and maybe clean up the cylinders. Anyone have any suggestions there? Mostly, I'm stoked. It felt good to go work on the boat and learn that there were no serious problems. The next step is going to be figuring out how the perfect pass works.

[laserfish]

I could be wrong, but the thru hull and strut are water cooled, and if run without water they would not have lubrication. As for the throttle, from what I have see I think they are still using the same ones. Call Andrew at the factory, he would know and has been a great help to me.

[samw]

Well about the shaft being hot, if I am not wrong, you should NEVER run the prop with out it being in water. That shaft and coupler gets cooled and lubricated via the water.
Sorry, but I am not sure about the taps... If you can hear the pump click on and off I would start with bleeding the system and cleaning it up a bit. you can always take a hose of and see if it moves fluid. If that is the case it may be a bad ram.
You should not have a problem getting parts for the throttle from Tige'.

Sam

[slacker661]

If you ever need to put the boat into gear to check anything you can spray the shaft with wd40,it last for a minute or two but long enough to make sure nothing is bent or broken.Had the same thing happen to me and called the dealer and they are the ones who told me about this.Definately scare you the first time.

[chpthril]

PS strut needs a bushing now As stated, it is water cooled/lubed. Struts are easy to come by. There aren't but a handful of different ones.

Good luck on a shop manual. What engine do you have? Should be able to get the throttle linkage from anywhere that sells/stocks that manufactures parts.

TAPS: with someone pushing the button, give the plate a little push/pull. I've read that they can become stuck after sitting.

[illiniboarder88]

Chpthril, why do you say the strut needs a bushing now? Also, how hard is that to replace? I have the Mercruiser multiport 5.7. I didn't run it very long. I just wanted to see if it shifted in and out of gear. I was a little shocked when I heard the whine so we hit it again to figure out where it was coming from.

[chpthril]

Chpthril, why do you say the strut needs a bushing now? Also, how hard is that to replace? I have the Mercruiser multiport 5.7. I didn't run it very long. I just wanted to see if it shifted in and out of gear. I was a little shocked when I heard the whine so we hit it again to figure out where it was coming from.

If it ran long enough to make the strut it's self hot, maybe not hot, but at least warm to the touch, I would be afraid that it has gaulded (sp) the bushing and maybe the shaft. If so, the hard SS shaft could be polished out, no harm, no foul, and replace the bushing. If damage was done, and it goes unchecked, it could permanently damage the shaft and strut, resulting in replacement of both.

If in doubt, check it out.

[illiniboarder88]

thanks for that insight.

[chpthril]

thanks for that insight.

No prob, glad things are actually looking good for you

My first boat was a fixer-uper. I went the whole first season with a leaking out-drive. I would have to drain the water off after every trip out, and replace the fluid after every 3 or 4 trip out. Once the season (2 months that first yr) ended, I rebuilt the whole Alpha 1 lower unit. So, I kinda rolled the dice on it hoping not to wipe out the gears or case.

[zad0030]

I can definately help with Perfect Pass. I pretty much know the system backwords and forwards.

[illiniboarder88]

We blew out the lower unit on an Alpha 1. That was a real treat. The problem with the boat I have right now is that I don't know exactly what I have, and it is becoming very clear that the seller didn't know either. I didn't get to water test the boat before buying it, but I was comfortable enough with it to pull the trigger. Thus, I'm kind of feeling my way through this thing, and it's not the easiest to do in this cold weather. I plan on dropping it in the water about the first of March for a sea trial.

[SPBFAN]

I am in agreement with CHP. At a minimum you should now be replacing the bearing. It is easier to replace whole strut. If the shaft is grooved at all replace that also.

If you do replace the strut you will also need to check the engine alignment to ensure that is correct as every strut has a little different angle to it and the alignment tolerance is .003

[Jason B]

Your "mechanic" should have known better than to put the boat in gear out of water. I would consider a more knowledgable mechanic from this point forward. Not to be a jerk, that's definitely something he should have known.
Furthermore, if you don't know what is going to happen or you're not positive you can do something you should ASK here BEFORE you do it. It probably would have saved you a new bushing and a lot of work. The folks here are super helpful (no doubt you've figured out) and extremely knowledgable. I've asked some dumb questions, one being why does my propeller squeel when I turn it by hand , and nobody has ever made me feel stupid in anyway at all.

Morale of the tale: ask first, they'll help ya

[talltigeguy]

If you ever need to put the boat into gear to check anything you can spray the shaft with wd40,it last for a minute or two but long enough to make sure nothing is bent or broken.Had the same thing happen to me and called the dealer and they are the ones who told me about this.Definately scare you the first time.

I have had my dealer run the prop with water sprayed on it and with a little WD40, but only for very briefly. It squealed even with that.