15 honda 2009 lower unit rattle mystery

Hi.

after taking my small boat out of the water for hurricane irene, i decided to go ahead with all maintenance items since it was convenient. i changed oil and filters, lower unit oil, water pump impellor, etc. engine now has approx 600 hours on it and runs like a clock.

So i get her back in the water today, she starts up, and is making a clacking sound--you know the sound like it makes when you are halfway in gear, or go too slow into a gear before the dogs can catch. well, i was thinking I could just adjust it out with the shifter rod, since i could get rid of the noise by pushing gear shift lever to the reverse position a little and things would quiet out. the rod was put back as per the honda specs when i re-assembled it after the pump rebuild.

so i ran it to my dock about 5 miles from the landing--runs great as always, shifts in and out of forward and reverse great, no slipping, only when in neutral it makes this knocking sound, like the clutch dog is not centering and it is trying to go into a gear. i tried for 2 hours to adjust this out with the gear shift rod adjustment and it doesnt help any. I cant find anything loose in the linkage from the top end......

i am thinking that i must have done something with the shaft in the lower unit when i had it out replacing the water pump impellor. of course i didnt try to take it out or anything, but was wondering if it could have ridden up somehow....I am at a loss. and i am sure there is oil in the lower unit as i have already checked that..thought maybe i had forgot to refill it.

any ideas on what to look for when i get it off tomorrow would be greatly appreciated. it has to be something stupid i did because it has been flawless up to now.

Many thanks!!!

Steve

Take the shift rod linkage apart again.---------Put lower unit in nuetral and lever in nuetral.------------Re-attach the long nut again.----------That is were the mistake was made.

thanks racerone. i think when i reconnected the linkage i had the gear in reverse, as well as the shifter. that was the easiest way to get to the nuts. i ran the lock nut down 8mm, then threaded the long nut down until it touched, and then tightened them up.

i will try it again tomorrow in neutral.

also, i remembered that when i took the prop off, i couldnt get that thrust bearing off the shaft. the thing was free, but acted like it hit a ridge or something as it moved to the back of the prop shaft. it would move about 1/8 of an inch. i had thought that thing was supposed to just slide off, and i think it did before. anyway, dont know if that is some symptom, and i didnt force anything. there was plenty of grease on that shaft so it wasnt corroded anywhere. I am going to look again at that tomorrow.

thanks for the advice and i will definitely be back into it tomorrow!!

i change the oil every 100 hours, as well as the lower unit oil as well each time.

Honda actually instructs you to disconnect and reconnect the shift rod halves in reverse so you may not have it adjusted properly but you didn't do anything wrong there. Hopefully racerone's suggestion will work because it does sound like you have it slightly off.

As far as the thrust washer not wanting to come off, that is pretty standard and usually indicates that you should get it off and replace it. They get a little "step" in them from walking around on the propshaft and you have to either use a small, two jaw, gear puller or pry them off. I use a couple of small prybars and apply equal force to both sides of the washer. They can be pretty stubborn sometimes.

SUCCESS!!!

got the boat out of the water, adjusted the linkage correctly and she is now fine. I went ahead and did the connections in neutral just to make sure things were starting oout correctly. it was a little harder to get the long nut started. the thing must not have been in full reverse or something when i did it the first time and started with the lever and shifter in reverse (or so i thought).

the thrust washer--its still on there and it does feel like there is a ridge on it. i left it alone this time, and will try to find a small bearing puller to replace it.

thanks again to jgmo and racerone for all the help.

steve

The thrust washer for the 15 has been changed recently from the one you have (with no splines) to one with splines (that of course goes with a new prop shaft).

If you do not remove the thrust washer regularly, it will do what yours is doing. It rotates somehow behind the propeller and ultimately cuts into the propshaft. Sometimes using a puller is the only way to get it off.

Mike

thanks hondadude. so i guess i have to consider this a wearable part and keep replacing it often? i use this engine quite a bit, although not as much this summer due to moving. but it usually gets 250-300 hours a year on it.

i will get a puller and get the thing off soon--i did try to pry it a little, and i do believe its going to be stubborn to get off.

thanks

Just order carefully by serial number. There will probably be two different ones listed for that motor.

Mike