What does it sound like when you lunch an outdrive

[Still LauCo]

So, this is definetely my last outdrive boat.

Yesterday, we took the boat out for an overnight run. Stopped for fuel, went to get back on plane and my port engine wouldn't go above 3200rpm.

I idled the engines, couldn't find anything wrong. Putting the port engine in neutral, it revved up just fine.

Putting it under load again i started to hear a bad clicking sound from what I would guess was the port drive.

Need to have it inspected, just wondering if anybody has any ideas. The gimbals were done last year.
Thanks

 

[Still LauCo]

I will add that it shifts in and out of gear perfectly fine, and appears to run normal until getting into the throttle. Any thoughts?

 

[mkultra]

Well I had a similiar thing just happen to me and my top end is cooked. I lost fluid somehow from a failed seal. Ended up bogging my engine down before it blew an upper seal and things got really messy. Check your bildge area for any gear lub of water coming in, leaking oil out of your drive etc. When you pull it out check the fluid in your port drive and see if it is full and has any metal mush or streaks of water Milky green color. Then off to the boat robber.

Good luck and I said that same quote the other day myself "this is my last outdrive boat."

 

[fc3]

Let's see. On my last stern drive boat I was out in the Atlantic about 3 miles offshore and started to lose RPM. Didn't notice anything else, just a loss of RPM, raised the throttle setting and it was OK again. For a little while the started to lose RPM again. Brought it to idle and it stalled. Couldn't restart. Turns out the drive had water in it from a bad lower seal where someone's discarded fishing line wrapped around the prop shaft and damaged the seal. So ended the 1997 season. Went boat shopping, but couldn't quite get the dealer to meet me at the price I thought was right. Oh well. A new upper and rebuilt lower and I was out on the water again, in 1998 until the damn gimbal bearing seized up. That time I heard it. Sounded like a metal lathe. Shut down. Towed in. Hauled the boat. Went boat shopping. Did a Frank Webster. Went shopping with my checkbook in my shirt pocket and we agreed right away on a price. Never lost a day on the water since 1999 when I bought Just Ducky with V-drives. Eleven seasons. Zero failures. Zero tows. Zero "can't go boating because the boat's broken"

There are so many ways for sterndrives to fail. Sometimes you get a warning. Sometimes you don't. I was on a friend's boat back in 2006. He was cruising at 3500 RPM and 45 kts when the 800 hp starboard engine just stopped. A long ride back on the port engine, which didn't have the power steering pump. Turns out the Max Marine Worx strengthened Bravo XR upper lost a few teeth from one of the gears which wedged between the gears and housing and stopped the engine. No warning. Just dead.

If you can swing an inboard boat. Just do it. If you can swing a diesel inboard boat, then do that. Even if you can't go diesel, gas inboards are still better than a stern drive powered boat. Unless the Sea Tow guy is your best friend.

Best regards,
Frank

 

[Still LauCo]

Thanks for the information guys, I'll schedule to have it hauled and follow up.
Frank, I hear ya. I specifically bought this boat with outdrives because my children were still very young when i bought it, and wanted to be able to get in close to some of the local sand bars... I think I outsmarted myself! I would prefer inboards for a lot of reasons, and now that my kids are older I intend to make that change!

 

[SCORPIO]

Could the U-joints be going bad? That could cause binding and possibly a power loss as well as the clicking sound.

 

[skolbe]

When my fathers 290 Amberjack lost an outdrive - he noticed he had to give the engine more power. He didn't think much of it - then he came off plane and went to dock the boat. As he went to back into the slip he heard a loud thud opened the bilge and gear lube was everywhere. Good luck, I hope it is something minor.