Alignment

Thanks again- to get my motor in alignment do I need to loosen the other 4 bolts that are for the up and down adjustment? When I put the couplings back together do I just line up the bolt holes? The two halves didnt seperate on there own, but I did not have to pry them apart either- it was fairly easy    Thank you

Ive been accused of self promotion, but, i would pull the trans and take a peek, that is classic example of a severely mis-aligned transmission and imagine what happens when you force the two halves together with the bolts with a wrench, you load the ass end of the transmission, one other thing a mis aligned boat will do is create a drag also when connected because it cocks the input shaft in the planetary bushings and it will drag.
the answer to your other question of should the trans drag? and with the prop shaft connected in nuetral it should not drag, with the shaft dis-connected as it is now you should be able to turn the output coupling of the transmission freely by hand, this lets you know that if it does turn that you do not have warped clutch plates. If it does not turn then you do have warpage.
I would seriously pull that trans and look at it, it may still be working but with the alignment issue from what i see and if it has been like that for a while it has been running hotter than normal causing the lathe cut rings to harden up.
the planetary is probably worn into the case and i bet the trans internally has a few issues

Thanks again, I'm gonna go out and see where its at right now- I'll keep you all posted, thanks for the help!

yeah, this is a great post. thanks Eric!

Thanks- I am doing this on the Trailer-is that not good?

it will still rock if it is bad as the screws haven't moved since they are safty wired and the coupling was pressed on when they where tightened and they'll ware too if the coupling as worn due to misalignment.

Also are you doing this in the water or on the trailer?

make sure though that it is a press fit, that is one of the first signs of mis-alignment is a loose coupling which has been working on the shaft

Loosen the 4 bolts, not the set screws. Be sure that the coupling faces actually seperate.

Thanks Eric, the 3,9,6,12 o'clock does help, I was on the right page, I think I just worded it weird. Thanks again, when I tear in I'll post how it went. Thanks 842001

shoot for zero all the way around, the spec is .003 or less on 2 parallel faces, this is what you are trying to achieve, it is a bit confusing and i do it all the time and expect everyone to jump in and understand it but sometimes i get ahead of myself because i do it all the time and think everyone should understand it.....try explaining it on the phone to someone...

if you did have .003 at the 3,6,9, and 12 o'clock position then that would be perfect because you've achieved .000 clearance...if that helps any.

baumanmt wrote: Hey Eric, When I check this with the feeler gauge, do I want it to all be at .003, should it just be equal all the way around regardless of the gap

Greg, I feel you have missed the basic idea of alignment. You want the engines crank shaft on the same centerline as the prop shaft. It's like your arm straight out and not bent at the elbow. When using the feller gauge between the coupling halves, you are checking to see if the faces are parallel or the crank shaft and prop shaft are on that same center line. The .003" is the max out of parallel you want the coupling faces. Don't worry, Eric can be confusing at times!!! At least you unbolted the coupling halves because there was a post the other day on another site that the boat owner was trying to get a .003 feeler between the halves without unbolting. Since he couldn't, he thought his alignment was good!

Hope I've helped, and welcome.

why thank you for the compliment on the topic, just trying to save you a trans rebuild, it could be costly. Eric

thats not imagination, it was loaded up and you removed the load, it makes alot of sense...its a great example of why alignment is so important

It's been alive a long time and I won't mind keeping it for a while longer!

Eric...great topic!

I had the engine out for a rear seal and figured I would clean and lube the the mounts.They were a bit tight due to rust...PB and a crow bar...now they side easily.

The prop now turns evenly with the one finger pull!

Thanks for the post!