Help with obsolete transmission replacement?

[FPNC]

Originally Posted by Scubaseas

Is the motor side plate the same if known? In other words can he just bolt it up or does he need to modify the old or the new plate to fit.

It should be a direct swap out. The only difference being the output flange pilot is reversed. Available gear ratios are the same.

[Scubaseas]

I'm sure the OP will be delighted to hear that. Certainly a lot cheaper than what Volvo wants for one.

Me? I'm stuck inside with a Noreaster going on and a cast on my wrist. So, thanks to the OP that I had something to do today!

Thoughts on a bushing versus swap the shaft coupler?

[SY Harmony]

OP is going to want to stay with a down angle gear if at all possible.

[Scubaseas]

Absolutely. Hope he can get the same gear ratio too.

[Scubaseas]

Looks like he will have to use his engine mounting plate. Make sure to use Blue 242 Loctite on all bolts and nuts.

[Scubaseas]

https://palmerpower.com/zf-hurth-_-3...hurth-hbw150a/

Note the damper plate needs to be changed. Also Dextron 11E or 111. Not Mercon.

[Pete7]

A question for the OP, did you replace all four engine mounts?

Also how about changing the oil and running it for a while. Do you know when the oil was last changed? it could have been years ago.

This might be useful in the CF library:

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...do=file&id=100

[brajgreg]

Originally Posted by Pete7

A question for the OP, did you replace all four engine mounts?

Also how about changing the oil and running it for a while. Do you know when the oil was last changed? it could have been years ago.

This might be useful in the CF library:

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...do=file&id=100

Planning to do it whenever I get back to the boat. And add back some stop slip to see if that helps. The oil didn't appear to have any metal particulate in it, but it was dark and mostly opaque.

[brajgreg]

Originally Posted by Pete7

A question for the OP, did you replace all four engine mounts?

Also how about changing the oil and running it for a while. Do you know when the oil was last changed? it could have been years ago.

This might be useful in the CF library:

https://www.cruisersforum.com/forums...do=file&id=100

Sorry -- the two rear engine mounts were replaced. The fronts, according to the mechanic, were fine.

[deblen]

This place may help.Dealerships & Products | Darthaven Marina

[Pete7]

Originally Posted by brajgreg

Sorry -- the two rear engine mounts were replaced. The fronts, according to the mechanic, were fine.

I think I would have the two front engine mounts changed as well along with the gearbox oil and see what happens. Even perhaps do a flush, run for an hour in and out of gear and change it again, then leave it for a season to see what its like.

Not saying your mechanic is wrong , but quite difficult to judge the true condition of engine mounts by a visual inspection. Replacing the four on our
VP 2003 made a huge difference.

Pete

[Scubaseas]

Pete7 makes an excellent point. I need to pay more attention to the original posts. If this is simply a vibration then unlikely it's an internal transmission issue. If it shudders or drop out of gear then yes could be a transmission issue. Buy me a beer and I'll tell you which it is.

You can see if the noise or vibration gets less by putting a large screwdriver or prybar under the engine and lift. Or you can eyeball it when in gear and at WOT and see if the mounts compress more than about 10 to 13mm. Another way is tape a marker to the engine and place a piece of paper vertical on the tip. Run engine. You should have a short line or ideally a dot.

[skenn_ie]

Any transmission can be fitted to any engine, if you have the gumption to tackle it. Through research, I had adapter plates laser-cut to mount and couple a Scania and a Cummins engine to Twin-Disc transmissions, without even having seen the hardware. Almost all options have SAE spec'd interfaces, dimensions can be found online, and it is fairly easy to determined which SAE numbers apply to the hardware. Drive couplings may be a bit more involved, but still doable. I did have the advantage of access to a gap-bed lathe, so did some machining myself.
Work out what engine speed, reduction ratio, and output torque is applicable, vertical offset and output angle may also be a consideration, then hunt for suitable transmissions. What made things difficult for me is that I tend to try to work to tighter tolerances than are practical, things like bolt holes, I should leave a little more clearance, particularly when maneuvering half a tonne of transmission into place !

[brajgreg]

Coming back to this to close it out, for now.

After a haul out (prior to my purchasing the vessel) where two mechanics checked the MaxProp and certified it was good to go, and measuring prop shaft runout using a dial indicator gauge (magnetically attached to a steel c-clamp that was clamped to an area just above the stern tube), the boat went back in the water, and further discussion with the mechanics led me down the path of also believing the problem potentially was a transmission issue.

After speaking with some very friendly Cruisers Forum members about the problem, I decided to try and get the boat back from Florida over to the Galveston Bay area so I could work on fixing it myself. During a shakedown cruise on the trip back, the problem got a bit worse. At this point, I realized moving this boat across the gulf wouldn't be safe in this condition so we stopped along the way to fix the issue. Although we had eliminated the prop as the main source of the issue, we thought, potentially, we had now fouled the prop since it suddenly got worse. A diver went down to examine everything once we were in a marina, and he, too, said everything was good with the prop. I changed the front two engine mounts (so now we have four new engine mounts), and re-aligned the engine/transmission and prop shaft to within .004" via feeler gauge. Taking a cruise after that showed reduced vibration in the cockpit area, but looking at the engine/transmission it was still showing a substantial vibration. The mounts were doing their job of isolating the rest of the boat from the major issue below.

At this point, I put all my eggs into the "this propeller must be bad although a diver and two mechanics have now checked it" basket. Bought a fixed blade prop. It took nearly a week, but I found a yard to haul the boat out for a few hours. Upon getting the all-clear to touch the prop from the lift operator, I set about checking the propeller, and within approximately 5 seconds had determined it was now a very expensive Max Prop paperweight. Speaking with the good folks at PYI, Inc. it was explained to me that the end play on the blades should be less than 1/8" laterally or rotationally. Basically, you actuate the prop into forward or reverse position, lock one blade, which will lock all the blades (3 in my case), and then touch the tip of a different one and see how much it moves. I had 1/4" or more play laterally, and as much or more rotationally. We removed the prop, affixed the fixed blade propeller, and splashed and went for a test drive. Shake eliminated. Boat moved across the gulf to Galveston Bay. Now I just have to fix the stuff that broke on the way over, and probably do a whole re-wire after finding a massive amount of corrosion on the terminal blocks behind the breaker panel.

BUT, for now, I'm not doing a transmission swap.

Thanks to everyone, especially Scubaseas, for all of your probing questions and great recommendations. It truly made a world of difference for me.

Look for a new forum post, coming soon, regarding the wiring problems...