2012 SAN transmission swap advice

[liquiddreams]

I purchased the boat a few months ago and the transmission cooler went out causing my transmission to slip. After talking to a few people on here I decided to do a swap to a 80 series PCM from the stock 40 series. I am mechanically inclined and have worked on boats/yachts a lot. I am just wondering if there are any good reads or videos out there covering the removal and install. It currently has the PCM 40 series transmission and the PCM Power Plus v-drive.

Any helpful tricks, vids or advice before I start this project this weekend . Thanks in advance

[hal2814]

I don’t have any videos but most of it is very straightforward. You’re probably only looking at a few hours tops. The power plus v-drive has an unusual setup and I’ve had a hard time finding good info for it. The shaft goes through the v-drive and the coupler is fore of the v-drive instead of underneath. I think it’s witchcraft. It’s pretty self-explanatory but you have to pull the shaft through and then remove the V-drive unit from the transmission. Don’t forget to do an alignment after you’re done. That part is WAY easier thanks to the v-drive setup.

[liquiddreams]

I don’t have any videos but most of it is very straightforward. You’re probably only looking at a few hours tops. The power plus v-drive has an unusual setup and I’ve had a hard time finding good info for it. The shaft goes through the v-drive and the coupler is fore of the v-drive instead of underneath. I think it’s witchcraft. It’s pretty self-explanatory but you have to pull the shaft through and then remove the V-drive unit from the transmission. Don’t forget to do an alignment after you’re done. That part is WAY easier thanks to the v-drive setup.

Thanks for the reply. I have been doing a lot of reading and most people are saying it is pretty straight forward. You actually spoke on the two things that I have tried to research a lot due to it being identified as a problem area. First was removing the shaft and second is the alignment. I'm a little worried about messing up the seal when I remove the shaft, so I question if I should go ahead and get a seal on order. I also question how far back the shaft needs to go to remove the -drive/transmission and if I need to remove the dripless shaft seal to allow the shaft to go back far enough for their removal..

[hal2814]

I don’t think you’ll mess up the seal but they’re cheap enough if you want to have a spare. You shouldn’t need to remove drip less shaft seal. It’s designed to have the shaft spin in it. It’s not exactly by the book but i take dish soap and work it in. Makes the shaft slide down easier on a drip less. I’d take the prop off and slide the shaft all the way down. You’ll know when you’re clear. But that should be plenty of room. As far as alignment look in the maintenance manual we have linked in here. It has some specific notes for the power plus.

if you would be willing to get some pics as you go that would be a great resource for the site.

[liquiddreams]

I don’t think you’ll mess up the seal but they’re cheap enough if you want to have a spare. You shouldn’t need to remove drip less shaft seal. It’s designed to have the shaft spin in it. It’s not exactly by the book but i take dish soap and work it in. Makes the shaft slide down easier on a drip less. I’d take the prop off and slide the shaft all the way down. You’ll know when you’re clear. But that should be plenty of room. As far as alignment look in the maintenance manual we have linked in here. It has some specific notes for the power plus.

if you would be willing to get some pics as you go that would be a great resource for the site.

Well it got me at the prop. I am set up to do the swap, but I cannot get the prop off and no one near by has a prop puller. I am on standby until the prop puller comes in...

[hal2814]

You could try without pulling the prop but I’m pretty sure you won’t have enough room. Probably best to wait. I’d look for a c-clamp style puller. In my experience they work much better. Mine is a harmonic and I’m not a huge fan of it.

[liquiddreams]

Well, prop is finally removed, but now the shaft coupler is fighting me. I got it to move about 1/8 to 1/4 an inch then it stopped. Sprayed some PB on it tonight and will try it again in tomorrow. I thought about putting some wood underneath the v-drive to support it (to keep the weight off of the shaft) and then slide it back enough to get the transmission out and the new one back in. Any thoughts on this?

[hal2814]

The shaft is at an angle. The v drive isn’t. I don’t see how it would work. But I’ve never tried. I would think there’s a good possibility of bending the shaft. As far as coupler removal, I’d hop over to correctcraftfan. They’ve made an art out of it over there.

[liquiddreams]

Well, everything is in, but now the shaft coupler isn't seating correctly. Cannot get the shoulder on to even start the alignment. I have been looking for alignment steps on the forums, but so far I have not been able to find them. The coupler looks like an even gap all the way around, but it just want seat. Any ideas?