Lower Unit Issues!!!! HELP!!!!!

[KidWalleye]

ok guys I was cruzing across the lake WOT about 7750-7800 RPMs and noticed the motor bogging a little bit. looked down at tac and seen about 5000 rpm then all the sudden BANG motor STOPPED shut off.. shifted to neutral and coasted to a stop. at this point i have no idea what happened. shifted to neutral and started motor and it is popping and spitting. sound just like it did when my air compressor went out. exhaust sounded really deep and loud for some reason. went in to boat ramp on kicker motor and loaded up.


upon further inspection find lower unit bearings GONE and lower unit locked up as you can see in the pictures.

now for the real question. could the lower unit locking up at 5000 rpms have ruined something in the motor to cause it to run extremely rough and die after started. i only started it one time in fear of hurting it worse..


Motor is a 1994 225 optimax with a 2006 power head on it. and to make it better this happened the morning of the second day of the Rock creek tournament in MT on Fort Peck, sitting in 12th place!!


thank you for any and all input.



Gary

[Blackmacs]

7750 - 7800 rpm? Sounds a bit much. You could possibly have twisted the crank shaft. I've seen lower unit issues cause problems all the way up the driveline.

[Hombre Robusto]

Originally Posted by KidWalleye

ok guys I was cruzing across the lake WOT about 7750-7800 RPMs and noticed the motor bogging a little bit.

Could that bogging have been the rev limiter? What are the max rpms for your motor? I have a '09 225 Opti, and I'm pretty sure the max rpms are about 56-5700

[ChuckD]

I assume you meant 2004 model, not 1994..not like it matters. That motor should never reach 7K RPM+

Time for a rebuild, and it's going to be expensive.

Just a reminder after you fill the lower unit with lube, let it settle for several hours, recheck top level and add more to keep the top main bearing in the housing lubed. Air bubbles take a while to settle through the lube when pumping, and bring the overall lube level down inside the lower unit.

[KidWalleye]

my mistake i got a little excited over all this.. my engine runs 5750-5800 Rpms. it was at 5000 after i heard the bog and then shut down because of the lower unit locking up. my rev limiter hits/beeps at 6k. i have been told that regaurdless of were the tach on the dash is at when the motor beeps at you.. the rev limiter is in the computer so you cannot over rev the motor without hearing the beep.

ok now back to my main concern.. how much has anyone seen get messed up from a lower unit going out. she is at the DR. right now but they cannot look at her tell the end of the week or beginning of next week. im just trying to get an idea of what the worste case could be.

and yes i did meant a 2004 with a 2006 power head.


thank again


Gary

[beeman]

Curious if it was run low or has wrong fluid. Mercury premium plus green synthetic is correct fluid $15 quart. Might just need new lower unit now SEI has them cheap and new $900.

[eyepuller]

had a 99 opti 225 same type of issue running good started to labor then broke drive shaft motor ran funny replaced with after market lower unit myself easy job 900$ sei dont always trust your dealer i was told 3 years ago ineeded a new motor mine still runs good

[REW]

Pretty simple.
Drop the lower unit, start the engine and see how it runs. Force water through the water inlet when doing this to avoid overheating the motor.

You have likely done no damage to the power head and you have likely toasted the lower unit.

Drop a new lower unit onto the motor and you will likely be back in business.

With the prop hanging out like this, the bearings are gone, and it is likely that the case is hosed as well.

If the case is bad, there is to be no consideration for rebuilding the lower unit.

Just drop a new lower unit on the motor and you should be good to go.

If you can see a bit of impact damage on the lower unit, the insurance company will pick up the bill for the lower unit replace met.

It is most likely that your lower unit has had impact damage either on that trip or on a prior trip. As a result, it likely tweaked the case which took the bearings to the failure point.
So, it is most likely an impact damage issue as opposed to a maintenance or gear lube issue.

Take care
REW

[KidWalleye]

there has been no impact of any sort in the last 2 years. the skeg did get a little pollish job 2 years ago from a sand bar on the river. after that the lower unit was fully inspected and seals were all changed. there are no dents dings or scratches. and no impacts to my knowledge and i am the only one that uses my boat!!

the lower unit is toasted!! the space between the prop and lower unit is not totally from the prop sticking out, there is about 1/2 inch of the lower unit the got destroyed when the bearings came apart. ill keep everyone posted as to what they find out at the boat Dr. office!!

the lower unit was not low on oil. it was just changed this spring with the green Merc premium synthetic. the old oil that came out was not milky at all.


thanks for all the help!!!



Gary

[Blackmacs]

I've seen outboards get braided line wrapped around the prop shaft and have it take out the seal very quickly. Hopefully the power head is in good shape.