The lets talk about boat noises and I/O pontoons thread :)

J3ff

reneechris14 said:

Go to a local hardware store get a big piece of treaded rod some nuts and washers a 2x4 with a hole in the middle. It will be the best pulley for a gimbal 

bought this after a forum member said to get it.. hoping it does it all. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07NCQ1TWN/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

J3ff

J3ff said:

Here's the noise - only when cold and also in neutral.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/VDAfPmPVDSN9ypFHA

Sounds pretty bad when the phone is resting on the swim platform, can hear it in the engine room but not as loud.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/RqZQ7Adjqnw6Jpyj8

Well. It sound the same to me. If you listen to the before video and wait till the end where I bring it back to idle.  You tell me. 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/yzDbNrTKAxHNHJPz8

It isn't as loud as before when you are standing up and on the boat. Kind of hard to tell with all the exhaust noise. I did put my ear on the upper gear case and there was LOTS of noise in there. Will run it again and use a metal pole to see if it shows where it's coming from. 

At this point I'm going to have to put it back in the water and run it to a marina for the winter where I'm going to use it on the weekends. If it continues to make no noise in gear I'm just going to run it and someone is going to get a 10,000 dollar 270 with a brand new out drive, AC, risers, FWC and a 383 with 150 hours on it in May. 

Aqua_Aura

Definitely sounded worse before. I don't remember all the events that have happened but has it always done this with the new engine? Is there an issue with the flywheel or possibly the coupling from the transom mount to the engine? What about the u-joint is there no issues there? 

J3ff

Aqua_Aura said:

Definitely sounded worse before. I don't remember all the events that have happened but has it always done this with the new engine? Is there an issue with the flywheel or possibly the coupling from the transom mount to the engine? What about the u-joint is there no issues there? 

The noise is hard to hear when inside the engine bay.. it almost sounded to me like it was coming from the upper of the out drive. It has not always done this with the new engine. It only started making this noise after the mechanics down here in the keys re-did the transom and had the engine out. 

J3ff

Alswagg said:

Are you positive you have the gimble bearing pressed in completely seated? 

Hit it pretty hard till the noise changed... here's a picture of how it is right now.. guess I can't say 100% positive, but I did try to feel behind the bearing to see if it was right up again that grease seal or whatever it is.. I couldn't get a finger in there to feel it. 

Is part #9 supposed to be in there? I can't find a 100% straight answer... (yes this is not a bravo 3 parts diagram but it's the same question on the same part) 





Just a reminder, the noise completely goes away when in gear. The few people I've seen post the same thing say it went away with an alignment or a gimbal change. I've done both! 

J3ff

Alswagg said:

Ok the impact noise changed when seated that’s good.  So you say the rattle noise goes away when in gear?  Both forward and reverse? 

Yes both forward and reverse. I ordered a mechanic stethoscope and it'll be here Wed to try and track it down.    

212rowboat

Linkage.... grrrrrr.... mine snapped last weekend... at 40mph coming into a wake, slowed, hit it- nothing. Just revved.  

When I left the dock the shift wasn't smooth.. it felt binding... came back to neutral, and passed through it without leaving forward, then grabbed reverse... back forward and same thing... i had to play with it to hit neutral.... and i did what any idiot would do.... just kept on going.... 

Twenty minutes later, said wake approached... said cable snapped... and there I sat drifting in the ICW... a working boat passed- if that wake wasn't 6' I'll kiss yer bedonkeedonk... it helped with getting me to one side, and.... it helped with the boredom after taking it in full abeam... 

Hour later a buddy arrives and tows me back to nearest ramp where his wife was kind enough to bring my truck and trailer.... which reminds me- trailer maintenance was to be the following weekend..... an exciting ride home with that boqt chasing me in holiday weekend traffic... 

Jeff... you ain't alone brother... there is a good deal of sacrifice to own and maintain a boat.  And special tools- dont forget those.... i ordered and arrived today the goofy special socket needed for removing the cable at the transom.... just another tool I'll use once every five to ten years... and as soon as I toss it I'll need again... 

J3ff

Alswagg said:

Are you sure the shift cable is adjusted correctly?   

Can't be sure of anything I guess. Don't think they would have adjusted it, but they did leave everything open and exposed to the air for 2 months. 

J3ff

Alswagg said:

Try removing the cable end from the linkage on the manifold and let the lower cable self center into neutral and double check the sound 

Will do. 

PickleRick

212rowboat said:

Linkage.... grrrrrr.... mine snapped last weekend... at 40mph coming into a wake, slowed, hit it- nothing. Just revved.  

When I left the dock the shift wasn't smooth.. it felt binding... came back to neutral, and passed through it without leaving forward, then grabbed reverse... back forward and same thing... i had to play with it to hit neutral.... and i did what any idiot would do.... just kept on going.... 

Twenty minutes later, said wake approached... said cable snapped... and there I sat drifting in the ICW... a working boat passed- if that wake wasn't 6' I'll kiss yer bedonkeedonk... it helped with getting me to one side, and.... it helped with the boredom after taking it in full abeam... 

Hour later a buddy arrives and tows me back to nearest ramp where his wife was kind enough to bring my truck and trailer.... which reminds me- trailer maintenance was to be the following weekend..... an exciting ride home with that boqt chasing me in holiday weekend traffic... 

Jeff... you ain't alone brother... there is a good deal of sacrifice to own and maintain a boat.  And special tools- dont forget those.... i ordered and arrived today the goofy special socket needed for removing the cable at the transom.... just another tool I'll use once every five to ten years... and as soon as I toss it I'll need again... 

If it's an alpha Orileys and some other auto parts store sell a 9/16 spark plug socket. Much like the common spark plug sockets they have a hex head at the ratchet end.  Plop your 5/8 socket over it and BAM no special socket needed. They also have these in stock so no delivery to wait on.  It's maybe 8 bucks. 


Now if only there were a special tool to make changing a bad macerator discharge pump that quit pumping mid stream.

J3ff

212rowboat said:

Linkage.... grrrrrr.... mine snapped last weekend... at 40mph coming into a wake, slowed, hit it- nothing. Just revved.  

When I left the dock the shift wasn't smooth.. it felt binding... came back to neutral, and passed through it without leaving forward, then grabbed reverse... back forward and same thing... i had to play with it to hit neutral.... and i did what any idiot would do.... just kept on going.... 

Twenty minutes later, said wake approached... said cable snapped... and there I sat drifting in the ICW... a working boat passed- if that wake wasn't 6' I'll kiss yer bedonkeedonk... it helped with getting me to one side, and.... it helped with the boredom after taking it in full abeam... 

Hour later a buddy arrives and tows me back to nearest ramp where his wife was kind enough to bring my truck and trailer.... which reminds me- trailer maintenance was to be the following weekend..... an exciting ride home with that boqt chasing me in holiday weekend traffic... 

Jeff... you ain't alone brother... there is a good deal of sacrifice to own and maintain a boat.  And special tools- dont forget those.... i ordered and arrived today the goofy special socket needed for removing the cable at the transom.... just another tool I'll use once every five to ten years... and as soon as I toss it I'll need again... 

Thank you for your encouraging words. At this point if I can't get this fixed in the next two weeks, I'm going to use it as a place to chill on weekends over the winter at a full service keys marina (tiki huts, showers/bathrooms/washer/driers,etc..). It'll be a 3 min ride to one of the larger Keys so maybe a couple trips there and back.  And then dump it in the spring for 10k... hopefully someone will like that price enough to come get it or ship it wherever. It'd be a great boat for a large freshwater lake. 

At that point it's time to downgrade to something more manageable.

212rowboat

PickleRick If it's an alpha Orileys and some other auto parts store sell a 9/16 spark plug socket. Much like the common spark plug sockets they have a hex head at the ratchet end.  Plop your 5/8 socket over it and BAM no special socket needed. They also have these in stock so no delivery to wait on.  It's maybe 8 bucks. 

Now if only there were a special tool to make changing a bad macerator discharge pump that quit pumping mid stream.

True story and had i known that or even suspected thats what I would have done.  

The last one I had, which has joined bigfoot at hoffas getaway house, was at least 6" long, and basically a thin walled 3/8" socket drive.... it was, in comparison, worth what I paid... the one that just arrived? I may as well have adopted a chaisaw tool, of which I have many, to do the job.  Grrrrrrrrrrr...... 

J3ff

Okay I used some mechanics dr sound scopes, the noise is CLEARLY coming from the TOP of the out drive.  You can't even hear it on the transom assembly. It's hot as F*** out right now so I didn't disconnect the shift cable from the helm.. 

There are lots of posts talking about "Knocking from the top of a b3 in neutral..." and it seems that a "mechanic adjusted the cable and the noise went away" soooo I guess it's time to learn how to adjust the cable. 

Anyone have a good link to a walk through on the shift cable adjustment? 

reneechris14

@J3ff disconnect the shift cable it the manifold riser area and let it rest in the neutral position. See if a jinger pull over push quites things down.

J3ff

Will have to do it another day... maybe tomorrow, not sure. The question now is did this damage the shifting part inside the drive.. 

Also - the loud knocking noise is gone - the one that seemed to be from not being aligned correctly - I'll post up the two videos - it's completely not there now.. however this 2nd noise is def louder (because it's out of the water?).. so it appears I've been chasing two noises, not knowing there were two to begin with. 

Shift cable adjustment tool will be here on Friday. 10 bucks and hopefully something that isn't too tough. Any and all pointers are appreciated! 

PickleRick

212rowboat said:

PickleRick If it's an alpha Orileys and some other auto parts store sell a 9/16 spark plug socket. Much like the common spark plug sockets they have a hex head at the ratchet end.  Plop your 5/8 socket over it and BAM no special socket needed. They also have these in stock so no delivery to wait on.  It's maybe 8 bucks. 

Now if only there were a special tool to make changing a bad macerator discharge pump that quit pumping mid stream.

True story and had i known that or even suspected thats what I would have done.  

The last one I had, which has joined bigfoot at hoffas getaway house, was at least 6" long, and basically a thin walled 3/8" socket drive.... it was, in comparison, worth what I paid... the one that just arrived? I may as well have adopted a chaisaw tool, of which I have many, to do the job.  Grrrrrrrrrrr...... 

The polulan and poulan pros of the 90s vintage( and maybe 80s) used a 9/16 O.D. bar nut so im sure there were and still are plenty of those bar tools floating around.  Poulan made some good saws back then. 

@jeff just out of curiosity what is the brand oil in the outdrive? Im not sure of new outdrive break in procedure but did your mechanic go over it?  Is the new foot oil supposed to be changed at @ regular interval after break in or do you change it in a shorter interval before going back to regular changes? 

J3ff

Not sure PR. That was all done by the mechanic, he put rotella oil in the engine..which I'm swapping out to mercuiser this weekend. I"m also going to change the out drive oil. There can't be more than 2 or 3 hours of use on the out drive since replacing it. Maybe even 1 of actual in gear time. 

Which cable am I disconnecting? 

Assume we are talking about the lower one that goes to the drive. 

PickleRick

I can't believe the mechanic didn't go over break in (if any)  or did you source the drive yourself?  

Sorry I can't help you with the cable adjustment. Im not touching my cables unless I have to.  But if the lower cable is the one that goes to drive than that indeed is the offical lower shift cable, if its like the alphas.  
 
The only thing I've looked at on my cables was the throttle.  Mo systems mo problems. 

Also, I've not had any issues running rotella oil in any of my marine or on road engines(lots of work 6.0 vortecs with 200k or more at the shop) .  Did he not use the proper weight?  

J3ff

He got the drive and put it on. They don't even know what break in is down here 🤣.. it was the proper weight oil. 

J3ff

Disconnected the lower shift cable... It did not seem like it really wanted to move... Watched a video that said to be careful pulling on it too hard and have someone rotating the prop when doing so... Will mess with it tomorrow or Friday.


Any advice on the matter on what to do now is appreciated. I did "jiggle it around"but it did not seem like it wanted to move it a new place than where it was... Maybe the motor needs to be on?

J3ff

Using this video starting around 7min 30seconds... to learn how to do it.. tool will be here friday. https://youtu.be/mr4mSEUXoUU?t=572

Already thinking of the what if's.

What if I get the tool and everything lines up as far as the shift cable adjustment tool... does this mean the cable is bad? 

J3ff

Okay... man I'm spamming my own post. HOWEVER. After thinking about it.. and how all of this crap may relate to the lower shift cable adjustment. I went back through my pictures to when the mechanic removed the engine to solve the transom leak problem.

Well I guess it should come as no surprise that it appears they DID REMOVE THE LOWER SHIFT CABLE... as here is a picture taken during the work.



SO, let's think back. I never had this noise before the engine came out for the transom leak fix. 

I got the boat back after they fixed the transom. The OLD drive started making noise in N about 3 times out. 

I gave it back to the mechanic thinking it was a gimbal bearing. He pulled the oil out of the OLD DRIVE and found metal. At this point we assumed the drive was toast because it had previously had salt water in it. Got a new 11,000 dollar drive installed.

THREE TIMES OUT and we are right back to where we are with this stupid noise. 

Could something have gone wrong when they reinstalled it? If so WHAT? 

I'm not looking to blame, I'm trying to figure out where it went wrong and how to get it fixed within the next 5 days. I need this boat in the water and it needs to be good ! 

I'll be back there tomorrow trying to see if it quiets down with the lower shift cable disconnected from the linkage on the riser... 

This is another picture I took - when I showed up unannounced my transom assembly/bell housing was on the ground, where I assume it had been for 8 or so weeks.. look what was in this picture... the shift cable end must have been on the ground for that long as well, through rain and wind and whatever else kind of dirt was in there. 

J3ff

Last post for the night... I found a video of the exact same noise as mine, this one is just in the water so it isn't as loud.

Here is my boat today out of the water..

https://photos.app.goo.gl/82rDh11SkaFbRHpWA

here is this persons boat in the water..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whBwKhP06Zw&feature=youtu.be

The fix for his was:

"Conclusion: A failed gimbal bearing was the cause , blew out grease when hot. Failed gimbal damaged coupling as well! They worked with Mercruiser to fix issue under warranty, and they did. Engine was misaligned (Chap issue), however, corrected by Mercruiser. Boat back to normal and loving it. "

This was on a brand new boat. 

You can see his posting here.

http://forum.chaparralboats.com/index.php?/topic/34172-noise-from-stern/

The part that has me very concerned is where he mentions coupler damage. 

At this point if there's coupler damage on this boat I'm going to throw it on ebay with a reserve of 5k and go buy another **** bayliner, the only boat I've ever owned that didn't need anything. I have only ever given money to mechanics, both up north and down here in the keys for this Rinker. It has been a **** nightmare. 

PickleRick

By chance do you still have your old b3 drive?

J3ff

No

PickleRick

I hope you got a good chunk of change for it.  

J3ff

Mechanic kept it... I talked with him today, he says it's not the drive (although has hasn't come listened in person) and that it's the motor, even though I told him that using a stethoscope had the top of the drive being the loudest and there was no noise on any part of the engine. 

J3ff

Just to close this out for the day - I disconnected the cable, while running I jiggled it back and forth, keeping my ear connected to the stern of the boat (yes I bend that way), no change in sound no matter where I moved it... shifted it into gear both ways twice, there was no point between the two gears where the noise went away. 

I have read a few posts saying that with a gear oil change the noise went away. I'll be doing a gear oil change tomorrow and it's going in the water Sat or Sunday...then moved to a nice full service Marina for the winter.. going to use it as a weekend getaway. I'm not the kind of boater who goes very far... it'll be a 3 min trip on plane to where i want to go. Case closed for now. 

PickleRick

My god man that bravo leg was worth at least a grand or two!   

Aqua_Aura

Maybe the mechanic discounted the work?