supersport driveline

[polkaking27]

ok, so I was playing around under my boat (97 supersport- v-drive) today looking at the driveline and such. I realized that the driveline is not centered when it is going through the hull (before the v-drive), and it actually looks like it is contacting the side of the through hull fitting!!! Is this normal? When I turn the drivline manually it makes this awful squeaking noise. could this be why? IF this is not normal does anyone have any experience with this and know what it is and what to do?

Thanks!!!

[skinautique]

RE: supersport driveline

have you hit something? There will be a squeeking noise because there is nothing lubricating the bearings in the strut. How much resistance is there when you roll the prop over by hand?

[polkaking27]

Well I bought the boat "submerged" and when I got it the prop was all bent up and 2 of the tracking fins were missing. So I imagine they hit something. it takes a pretty good load to turn it over by hand, should it turn easily?

Thanks

[wakejunky]

Sounds like your engine is now out of alignment. If the boat hit something hard enough to rip off the skegs and bend the prop. Probably need a new strut, shaft and engine alignment.
That aweful sound you're hearing could be the rubbing in the strut, spray WD-40 on the strut and try turning it again, it should turn with some resistance. Then you could see if the sound is coming from the shaft hitting the hull. Also, check for a bent shaft.
Check the strut by standing behind the boat and looking down it's length, that thing should be perfectly straight.
If you need to do an engine alignment, God help you. On a direct drive fairly easy, still requires some knowhow and patience. V-drives are a whole new story, everything is backwards and checking the flange clearance is nearly impossible when it's under the engine.
Don't even know how they do it at the factory. But, of course they do it like 50 times a day.

Sounds like you've got a lot of work ahead of you.

Chris

[polkaking27]

I have checked the driveline and it isn't out of alignment. I haven't checked the strut yet though. How do I dertimine if I need an alignment, or if it is within specs. And If I do need an alignment, would it be worth it to take to the the dealer to do that???

[wakejunky]

The only true way to check the engine alignment is to take the coupler off the drive shaft and run a feeler guage around the spacing between the shaft coupler and the engine coupler. For some reason there are 8 bolts on the coupler. I forget the tolerance but, it's something like .003" spacing around. Something you'd better send off. More than likely the dealer won't be able to do it. Like I said it's a true skill.
Do my test as I mentioned above to find out what is really making all the noise when you spin the shaft.

Chris

[polkaking27]

chris

thanks for the help, I'll try all that tommorow!!!