225 opti gearcase problem

[down and out.]

was out yesterday, and hit a rock not bad enough to even damage the prop. Now when put into forward or reverse NOTHING. Checked the hub and it's ok. anyone ideas??? Seems like a shear pin??
but i know of none in a merc. thanks

[Grampa_Joe]

Does the prop spin by hand when it's in gear?

[down and out.]

the prop spins when in forward or reverse,and the output shaft turns with the prop.

[Mark]

Several things could be wrong, output shaft snapped off, prop shaft snapped, but from what you say the impact was not that great and the prop did not fall off in your hand. More than likely somthing has come disconected. Start by poping the hood open and see if the shift assb is moving as you put it into and out of gear, if it is moving you may have to dig deeper to see all of the levers, either they twist or go up and down as they move just before they go into the mid section of the motor. If this is moving with the shift lever you will need to look at the lower unit, if you have to go there you might want to pick up a service book to help you. I am not sure how far you want to dig into your motor to find the problem but any thing from this point on requires mechanical ability and some tools. Hope this helps.

Mark

[down and out.]

Thanks for the help. What you said Mark makes sense, because when I shift the motor there is no
clunk or noise at all. I'll check it out this afternoon. sure hope thats it!!!!!!

[Tom]

Down, sounds like you snapped the driveshaft. Don't let it get you down---call your insurance company and take it to your favorite dealer and the rest will be taken care by professionals. Tom

[mark]

you should feel some mechanical resistance as it goes into gear foward or reverse. you know the feel ! after that you get to start tracing why it feels funny!!
I hope it turns into somthing simple.!

Mark

[down and out.]

well ........ checked the shift linkage and everything was ok. From there we had to get out the tools.I pulled the lower unit off and at first everthing looked ok, but the driveshaft had no splines on it. took a look in the upper part of the motor and found the piece with the spines in it, NOT what i hoped for. the shaft was broken at the spot where they put the splines in. Looks like they had to cut it down to about 1/2 inch, so they could machaine the shaft for the splines. the shaft is aprox.
3/4 in di. but where it broke is about 7/16 in di. . after finding this I wounder if merc is working on lowest bidder. this motor is 3 months old.

[down and out.]

thanks everyone for your help. Remember... The bitterness of low quality lingers long after the sweetness of low price. :[

[Jim]

Don't stop there. Take the shaft to a machine shop or someone you trust that knows something about metals and the hardness of metals. Drive shafts are probably case hardened after the splining operation. The shaft may have had cracks in it from the hardening process or was not hard enough to begin with. In Either case, too hard or too soft, it will give you problems. Looking at the metal structure at the break can tell you a lot about why it broke. Get a couple of opions before you take it in for your "professional" dealer for their opinion. Jim

[Tom]

Hey Down and Out, You do have insurance don't you ? You hit bottom and broke something. Why are you blaming Merc for poor quality when it was an underwater obstruction ? Tom

[Eye Catcher]

Do you think Ford, Chevey or any car company would warranty your truck if you ran it into a cliff.
Stay out of the rocks and you will not have this problem.

[Mark]

Down and Out !!

Ouch....At least you found the problem. Your insurance company should be able to pick up some of the tab for a new shaft and whatever else was damaged. Thats what you carry insurance for!
I would also take the lower unit into a dealer and have the mechanic look at it broken shaft and all. There might be a update on the shaft....you never know. I have found that a little whining can reduce the cost of parts (lol). I speak from experience after I found a rock with my lower unit, $3800.00 later it works like new, because it is new. lol. However it did not snap the shaft.

Mark

[big fish]

first of all if you have a stainlees prop/ it could glance of a rock and you would not know it. 2nd of all the opti gear case is xk360 alloy/ the best in the marine business/. if you spent that much on an engine and your fooling around with it yourself something sounds real strange here.
take it where you purchased it get an estimate/ and fix it. dont blame the dealer/ or the co. you did the damage and hopefully you have insurance too protect your engine/ which is one of the best money can buy. they didnt sell you a sherman tank.
i have over 500hrs on mine and never had an expense/ except too winterize.
good luck.

[down and out.]

sorry .......... i was just a little disapointed.
i thought i was buying the best i could buy.had a 1996 JHONSON 175 that used to split rocks in peices.sure the prop needed some work but never the driveshaft!! I will take the Merc
broken shaft to a metal harding shop who is aviation certifided and have it tested. If it's my fault so be it...... All i want,is to fish out of my boat.

[Eye Catcher]

Did you take it to a dealer to find out if they would merc would waranty it.
With your post it does not sound like it.