Tranny Chatter

I purchased a '74 Martinique a few weeks ago and had it out for the first time over July 4th weekend. The boat ran great, and I did not notice any problems until going to take it out of the water at the end of the weekend. When I shifted into reverse and gave it a bit of throttle, it would make a chattering noise and then the engine would stall. This happened a few more times until I was able to use forward gear to get it on the trailer.

I fired up the boat this weekend in the garage to try and figure out the problem and found that the noise seems to be definitely coming from the transmission, and it is more of a chatter than a grinding noise and seems worse in reverse than in forward gear.

I guess my luck didn't last very long...........am I looking at a rebuild job? My kids will be disappointed if I am unable to get this turned around in a couple of weeks before our week at the lake. My gut tells me they're going to be upset.

Okay, that makes sense to me. Can this somehow be checked without pulling everything out, and if so, what exactly am I looking for besides obvious broken pieces?

Thanks so much for the insight guys - I feel encouraged to say the least. As a "newbie" the learning curve is obviously very steep, but I am very eager to learn from the experts, but please pardon my ignorance (in advance) regarding what most of you out there would consider common knowledge. I am simply amazed at the time and effort a lot of you put into answering others' questions - that's truly awesome!!

One more question on this issue..............are there other parts that make sense to replace while the tranny is out? I don't have a ton of cash to pour into the boat at this point, but if there are some "no brainners" to consider, I guess definitely need to take these into consideration.

Again, I am very grateful for the feedback and look forward to learning more from all of you out there. Robb

tomatoe, tamotoe??? i would say short term repair would be replacing damper....any more history?

Sorry Eric - posted my last reply before seeing yours.

Prior history is pretty vague, but my sense from the previous owner was that nothing had ever been done to the trans. The hour meter was broken at 939 hrs prior to the owner I bought the boat from. Rough estimates put the boat somewhere between a min. of 1500 and a max. of 2000 hours.

What would a damper cost? I looked on your website, but no prices were available.

I really need to get my hands on removal instructions so I can get it out soon to verify the problem.

Thanks,

Robb

Robb,
With that many estimated hours on the boat, it may be wise to consider sending the trans to Eric and have him freshen it up. I'd hate to see you put a new dampner in and then have the trans go on you.

Pulling the trans/bell housing is pretty simple. If you don't have access to a engine hoist to tilt the aft end of the engine up, two small bottle jacks under the exhaust manifolds work great. Disconnect the prop shaft coupling. Loosen the front engine mounts so the engine will pivot on them. Disconnect the rear mounts and jack the engine up. It doesn't take much to get the clearance needed to pull the trans along with the bell housing.

1) No

2) No just push the shaft back. - But you probably will also have to loosen the safety collar (ring next to the packing gland)

3) Starter needs to come off (don't forget to unhook the battery 1st). Also there might be a cover plate under the bellhousing that needs to come off.

Take some photos of the cable routing, etc, so you get it back together the same way.    2 weeks is a long time to remember 'how the clip goes on'.

An item good to replace during this repair is the shaft gland packing material. I recommend the Gortex type. You can get it from Correct Parts, or maybe from Eric.

Robb,
You need to remove the bell housing to change out the dampner plus as you have found out, the trans likes to stick in the housing. It's got a piloted step that is tight and sometimes even gets corroded. Prying is easier on the bench.

I agree, and I will get one ordered. The part I found lying in the hsg was the oil lite starter shaft bushing that most likely is supposed to be a light press into the starter housing. Anyway, cleaned the shaft, bore and bushing, added a bit of Loctite, and all should be well.

I'm not so convinced now that the damper is the problem. The concern I have now is with the amount of endplay that I am seeing in the input shaft. Best I can measure is approx. .075" without a dial indicator.

Does anyone know what it should be? When I move it back and forth, it sure seems to me that this could be the chatter that I am hearing. Thinking of trying to rebuild now, but I'm not sure what I'm in for as far as what has to be replaced. I've seen assembly drawings, but no parts list anywhere. What's all included with a rebuild??

Sorry for all the questions, just trying to get my head wrapped around all this to make a decision quickly and get parts ordered. Robb

Eric:

The tranny is on it's way. You should have it by tomorrow. Hope all goes well with the rebuild! Will need a damper too.

Thanks in advance.

Robb

Robb,
Yes, the 3 bolts are fine.

No on the automotive radiator hose unless it's wire reinforced. It's on the suction side of the RWP and non reinforced hose will collapse.

Robb wrote: I think it's on the discharge side (comes off top and wraps around tranny to a bronze fitting in bottom of boat).

Robb,
This is the suction side of the RWP. Water is sucked in through the through hull, goes to the strainer (if equiped), then through the trans cooler and then to the RWP. Take a closer look at the cooling water routing when you get a chance.

Got the boat in the water last evening and things went pretty well, but I noticed a few things:

1) Before putting in the water, I aligned the couplers to be what I considered .004", and it turned freely for 180 degrees, and then I hit resistance that required a bit more encouragement in order to turn. In the water, this seemed a tad tighter. I also had a very slight amount of drag in neutral when coming out of drive, but after about 15-20 secs, it would come to a stop. Keep working on the alignment? Bent shaft? I don't think the strut bushing has ever been replaced, so I was thinking of doing that next and re-aligning again after.

2) I replaced the shaft packing, and snugged it good by hand. It seemed to be weeping a slight amount, but I did not count actual drops per min.; it was warm after several runs around the lake, but never hot. I plan to keep an eye on it, but is this okay?

3) Also, when I was checking everything over, I noticed steady drops coming out from the top of the rudder gland. Is this a similar set up as the prop shaft gland packing - rope seal? If so, I'm guessing this will need replaced or tightened??

Thanks in advance for the insight. I greatly appreciate it!

I will post some picts of the original damper that I tore down to let everyone see what they can expect to find on the inside of an otherwise normal looking, rusty damper.

to think there are thousands of boats running around that