Water test

Seeking opinions here. I've had an irritating oil leak since I bought my boat 18 months and 115hrs. ago. I replaced the rear main seal, oil pan gasket and quick drain hose and I think I stopped the leak. Success.

I ran the boat on the hose a couple of times in the yard after putting it all back together, did an alignment per Eric and Pete's information and then headed to the lake to water test and run it up at a higher RPM to see if it would leak.

The boat cranked well, but idled high (around 1000 RPMs). After it warmed up I idled it down to around 650RPMs and it seemed to run very well. However, the entire drivetrain seemed to drive........different. I can only describe it as..."tight." I can't say that it felt like a vibration, but I can't say that there wasn't a vibration. Man, what I would've done to have a CCFan on hand to provide a second opinion.

When doing my alignment, it seemed that I was within .002 which was as close as I could get it and was in tolerance if I remember correctly. I plan to check it again next weekend. Prior to doing this work my prop could be turned underneath the boat with one finger. No idea how the alignment looked as I was always comforted by the fact that I could turn it with a finger. After this work and alignment, it can still be turned with one finger. Historically, my shaft packing almost never leaked (but wouldn't get hot either). After this work, the packing didn't leak nor did it get warm. My steering seems to be getting stiff and that could have had some subconscious impact on my impression of the feel of the boat I suppose.

Something I noticed was that prior to idling the boat down to the 650 range, the shaft spun slowly (could be stopped by hand). Dirty neutral I think they call it? When idled down, the shaft didn't spin at all.

I had hoped that maybe another member could offer some insight. I'll readily agree that I could've imagined it, but it didn't feel like my boat.

My plan at this point is to eliminate the stiff steering variable, recheck the alignment and then reassess. Any other ideas are welcome. BTW, I'm giving away a flywheel in the "Boat Parts for sale" thread if a two star or better member will pay the shipping.

its a good sign when the shaft spins freely to a complete stop when going into neutral, at times alignment is so far out that i will get guys telling me that they have to kick the throttle up to 950 or so in order to have the boat not stall..the reasoning is the extra load from the MA. dirty neutral is when the shaft will not stop at all and you may notice a stall when put into reverse because the transmission is locked in forward and when you shift into reverse it locks up. the harmonics may be a touch different now that you moved the engine. did you check the strut bushings? is the shaft laser straight?

usually when the struts are dry the shaft is tough to spin and thats why i suspect they mey be worn on your boat ...normally i PB blast the strut when i do alignment so i can tell if there is any load on the trans, but it is a good gauge if you can spin the prop with your index finger with ease....but again if the strut is worn, it to will allow an easy spin

BuffaloBFN wrote: Did you start your alignment at the strut? The center guide on the coupler will trick you if you let it.

Greg,
I supposed I didn't. The centering guide has to "mate" at each facing to do the alignment correct? otherwise the feeler gauge would need to be a 1/8" thick.

I'm going to start back over at the strut and shaft this weeekend.