New noise

aero3113

@212rowboat , are you sure that’s the correct measurement for an Alpha One Gen 2? I recently did the adjustment on my drives and that was the measurement for the Bravo 3.

aero3113

@212rowboat  Alpha One Gen 2 is 20 3/4

212rowboat

Hehehehee like I said, double check me.... i remembered 21 3/4 was one of them..... 

J3ff

I barely put mine up at all when running. I'd be more worried about a leaking steering pin or something. 

Just took mine out and dropped her back at the mechanic. White knuckle ride for sure in an old truck. First thing the guy said to me "THOUGHT YOU WERE SELLING IT" ha ha.

Told me start to finish it's a 4 hour job, including checking alignment and said he'd prob start tomorrow and finish up Wed. Problem is that doesn't give me enough time to sneak in over the weekend and touch up the paint!

LaRea

Dream_Inn said:

... the sound is very faint and most may never hear it.  I've gotten tuned to hearing this crap and like to jump on getting it fixed right away if possible.

Great example of the mantra:  know thy vessel!  Sights, sounds, vibrations, smells.  Know your boat's normal.  

PickleRick

15 min to remove.  Took longer to pull out the engine hoist and back up the SUV to the trailer to pull her forward.

The transom water line says i am running rich but with a carbed engine and all the time i spent at idle this weekend im guessing this is usual.  It was making noise all so i didn't get above idle speeds much. Maybe 10 min above idle speeds in 2 days on the water.

I only hear the noise when in gear, forward or reverse.  I can rev the motor in idle and she is smooth and quiet as one could expect

At idle its a pulsing noise when above low speeds more a whine or gowl..

Everything is dry and bearing feels ok but obviously its only making noise under load.  It may be making it on muffs but the exhaust drowns it out, i only notice it in water.

I have a greasable bearing so i know its not oem. 

New one is due here thurs or Friday.  Oem, along with seal.

J3ff

that's opposite what's going on with mine.. wonder if it's the ujoints or some other gear that when is put under load makes noise.. mine was doing the helicopter noise when off plane... however it's kind of been a f*&^ it kind of time and I've been using it for at least 2 months, up on plane, and have made a 30+ min run with it twice... the last time out I think I started to hear it up at plane, but there's so much noise going on it was hard to tell. 

PickleRick

Mine does the helicopter thing at idle and a much more steady growl on plane.  I didnt notice it more or less when trimming or turning.  

I inspected the foot oil for glitter/water, my u joints are good.  Spins freely.  Fingers crossed its the gimball. I believe it has inner and outer bearings on the gimball, it doesn't pivot as freely as i think it should. 

Helicopter is a better word to described it than pulsing

212rowboat

you guys shouldn't feel bad... when i got my first i/o (used) i thought it was just the nature of things- until one day it shut down cold on a plane as if someone killed the power... i could trim down and restart it, but as soon as i reached a certain spot on trim it would bind and kill the engine...

i pulled and swapped the bearing, and...... no more sound.  

and THAT is how i learned how to spot it early... 

J3ff

Yes, def heard a growl on plane on Saturday. Either way I believe I went non-sealed. And if the only thing I need to do is pull it out, repaint and pay the guy for 4 hours of time to swap the gimbal bearing in 12 months, I will consider myself lucky.

It's taking some time getting used to the fact that there is no winter to regroup and redo things that need attention down here. 

PickleRick

If i was a keys local my off season would be lobster season.  Mini and regular.  That and weeks of major summer/spring holidays.  


I am lucky in one area, a new sei complete stern leg is less than 1600 bucks with a 3 year no questions asked warranty. 

I don't think i could get a merc mechanic to spit on a bravo for a grand. 

Dream_Inn

Definitely when I rev mine in idle you an hear the helicopter sound, just like J3ff mentioned with his. My mechanic had a hard time believing it would be the Ujoint, his thought was gimbal bearing.  I'm glad he was hearing exactly what I heard and listened to it with me.  

I agree PickleRick that the setup to remove takes the longest.  Years ago when I took the boat over to them, they pulled me out in the sling.  Literally, by the time I grabbed my sunglasses and bottle of water and stepped down the ladder on the swim platform, they already had the drive off!  Crazy!  Heck, they had already identified the problem too!  They have one of those jacks that just connect right to the drive.  Sure makes it nice with the right tools!

Liberty44140

Al, didnt you make a comment not too long ago that besides the sealed vs unsealed gimbal bearings, there is also a different size and the larger size is prone to issues so you only stock the smaller size?

PickleRick

Anyone else here freeze their bearings before install?

Handymans342

PickleRick said:

Anyone else here freeze their bearings before install?

Use R22

PickleRick

Handyman is now being followed by EPA agents

Handymans342

We used to use R12 back in the day

rasbury

When my drive dies, I'm packing it up and sending it to @Alswagg. I don't trust anyone around here in my area, that's for sure.

Liberty44140

Alswagg said:

Liberty we now only stock and use the sealed bearings.   These are .125 thinner which allows for the larger u joints of Bravo and Current Alpha drives 

Thanks that’s what I was remembering 

rasbury

Ouch....that's going to cost...

PickleRick

Who drains their outdrive and stores it all winter dry?

Is new vp foot oil hard to get at local stores?  Our local Wal-Mart carries quick silver foot oil for our big outdrives

At one time the old vp outdrives took sae 30.  Im sure the new ones are way more picky.

J3ff

Alswagg said:

Liberty we now only stock and use the sealed bearings.   These are .125 thinner which allows for the larger u joints of Bravo and Current Alpha drives 

So this one is no good? https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07N14KHJB/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 

PickleRick

The previous owner of my boat installed china(Amazon) gimball, plug wires, bellows, etc. 

Id use glm, sierra, other reputable aftermarket manufacturer if you want greasable.    I choose sealed oem based on alswags recommendation.  Found a shop clearing out their inventory after going out of business in Jersey. I got the oem seal and bearing for less than 95 shipped.  

You dont want a growl in less than 3 seasons.  

J3ff

Alswagg said:

jeff, I would not use that.  Maybe in a dire emergency but not worth the extra service time for us 

Well F my life. lol this is what a few told me to get! It might already be in... hopefully it'll last a year or two? 

PickleRick

Only one way to find out!!!   

212rowboat

PickleRick said:

Only one way to find out!!!   

when you hear the helicopter coming up behind you, just know you're okay... they just want your gimball... 

J3ff

Yup! Will wait and see... Never had a problem with a non sealed one... Have only had issues with the sealed ones

PickleRick

I tried a cheap 150 dollar tandem pump (kind of like an injection pump and also makes vacuum for the brakes) on my passat about 2 years ago.  O.e.m. is 250 to 300.  I was going to sell the car at the time.  Been there some 50k trouble free miles.


Not all China stuff is junk and not all junk comes from China

J3ff

Alswagg said:

jeff, I would not use that.  Maybe in a dire emergency but not worth the extra service time for us 

@Alswagg Drive hasn't been taken off yet.. what part number do you stock?

YYZRC

I had the boat out today and it makes a low “womp womp womp” noise and vibration above 4600 rpm. The cadence seems to be 2 seconds on 2 seconds off. It doesn’t seem noticeable below 4600. I had the transom assemblies, gimbals and joints replaced over the winter. 

Thoughts?