What's wrong with the STBD ram ?

J3ff

Looks like something needs to be replaced... noticed the right side ram looks like it's out of place... any ideas?

LaRea

Oh, I forgot - the sleeve at the end of the shaft is actually welded at a slight angle.  Yours is on backwards.  If you pull it off and rotate it 180 degrees like @reneechris14 suggested, it should line up perfectly.  

On the corrosion, you have a serious problem that you should correct immediately.  Part of the problem is the hull paint.  Get some sandpaper and make a 2" gap of unpainted hull around the outdrive.  There should not be any electrical contact between the bottom paint and the outdrive.  

But I don't think that would be enough by itself to cause so much corrosion in two months.  You must have the wrong type of anodes.  How salty is the water in your marina?  

reneechris14

Maybe you can spin 180°?

randy56

I cannot see it hurting anything the way it is. 

Glassguy54

Worn out bushing?

LaRea

Looks like the weld at the end of the shaft is broken.  New ram for you!  And check around for other signs of impact damage.

J3ff

Well that's nuts! Because the ram is brand new! As of sept! 

Sure hope it's just a bushing! 

LaRea

It's hard to be sure from the photo, but if you look at the angle between the shaft and the sleeve, it would almost have to be a broken weld.

J3ff

Can't see any broken weld

J3ff

man did that paint wear off fast.. here's a picture of the same thing dated sept 7th. 

rasbury

Wow- do you keep the boat in acid?

J3ff

Right? Those zinc's look terrible... and I noticed the cone shaped one on the props fell off... they were all new Sept 7th... boat was in the water till Nov 29th. This is what it looks like as of today. 

randy56

That's an amassing  the difference, were you in the water, what only 2 months, the paint, and anodes, that much corrosion.  Salt water is the culprit?

Handymans342

That ram end looks bent to me

jhofmann

Extend the ram all the way. remove and bring to a welding shop, they shuld be able to straighten and re-weld. Extending the ram will help keep the heat from welding away fron the seals. They may want to drape a wet cloth over part of the tam to add as a heat sink.

Glassguy54

Good Lord!!!!!!! Is the Mercathode system working? All bonding wires intact? Were the correct anodes installed?

J3ff

jhofmann said:

Extend the ram all the way. remove and bring to a welding shop, they shuld be able to straighten and re-weld. Extending the ram will help keep the heat from welding away fron the seals. They may want to drape a wet cloth over part of the tam to add as a heat sink.

This thing is less than 6 months old.. merc will be sending a replacement if it's really cracked?! 

J3ff

Glassguy54 said:

Good Lord!!!!!!! Is the Mercathode system working? All bonding wires intact? Were the correct anodes installed?

Can't answer the first question, but I did install all new anodes in Sept before it went back in the water. 

J3ff

LaRea said:

Oh, I forgot - the sleeve at the end of the shaft is actually welded at a slight angle.  Yours is on backwards.  If you pull it off and rotate it 180 degrees like @reneechris14 suggested, it should line up perfectly.  

On the corrosion, you have a serious problem that you should correct immediately.  Part of the problem is the hull paint.  Get some sandpaper and make a 2" gap of unpainted hull around the outdrive.  There should not be any electrical contact between the bottom paint and the outdrive.  

But I don't think that would be enough by itself to cause so much corrosion in two months.  You must have the wrong type of anodes.  How salty is the water in your marina?  

well that's great...tech must have put it on wrong.. I'll take care of that.  

It's very salty where I am, here's the kit I bought, I also put the propeller anode on, but as I said, seems to have fallen off. http://www.ebay.com/itm/291651793734?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Also - don't forget the actual drive is 10 years old, the only new parts are the RAM's and transom-mount..

LaRea

If aluminum anodes are 50% wasted after two months, you probably need zinc.  But before making a change, find out what others in your marina are using.  If they are using aluminum, and their anodes last a full season, maybe you have some other problem (faulty Mercathode, stray current at your slip, etc.).  And the bottom paint is probably making it worse.

J3ff

ah such a newbie move. I just saw "for salt water use" and figured they were fine. I'm sure everyone else is using zinc, but will check with a couple boater friends.  Ordering zinc right now. 

J3ff

Well wait a second, it appears this is the actual kit I ordered in August.. hmm 
https://www.amazon.com/Tecnoseal-Anode-Kit-Hardware-Mercury/dp/B00J5J983C/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1483397002&sr=8-6&keywords=bravo+III+zinc

LaRea

OK, so whoever worked on your boat made two rookie mistakes:  installed the drive ram backwards, and didn't leave a gap in hull paint around the outdrive.  I have to wonder what other mistakes they made.  Let's go back to basics:

First of all, you definitely need to remove the hull paint for 2" around the drive.

Find out exactly what paint was used on the outdrive.  If they used the same paint that they used on the hull, that's a major bad.  You would need to remove all of that paint from the outdrive, and refinish it with paint that is specifically made for aluminum outdrives, such as Trilux.  

No matter what, you need to scrape the corroded parts of the outdrive down to bare metal, then prime and paint.  

Did they paint the electrode of the Mercathode system?  It's the black plastic box on the bottom of the outdrive near the hull.  If it has been painted, you would need to replace it.  http://www.boatfix.com/merc/servmanl/14/14a7.pdf

Find the Mercathode controller (inside the boat) and make sure it's not damaged or disconnected.

Do any of the slips near yours have old, crappy boats with an orange household extension cord plugged into the shore power?  That's usually a sign of high risk for stray current, which can cause severe corrosion problems.

reneechris14

Mercathode system working.take off your shoes,battery's on,touch hydraulic line to ram,should feel like 9 volt battery.it's actually 3 volt,could use voltmeter.It is tuff water in long Island sound.

rasbury

give that to us again @reneechris14? is that touch the line and touch the ram and should feel an electrical charge and that's normal?

reneechris14

Your outdrive has a charge to it form the mercathode,it's very low like 3 volts.

reneechris14

You can put a volt meter on the little wire on the mercathode  and ground to the ground,this will give a reading.

reneechris14

reneechris14

See the little wire thats going to keep all life forms from living on your outdrive??

J3ff

Thanks for all the posts!! Is this thing live even when the battery switch is off? 

I wonder if something didn't get hooked back up after the engine was swapped. 

reneechris14

Battery has to be on.