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Grrrrrowling from sterndrive when taking off

elgineddie

Contributing Member
"Good morning team,
Had a gre


"Good morning team,
Had a great few days out on Lake Delavan in southern Wisconsin with the family. My boat is running fine but there has been this noticeable growling coming from the stern when I drop it into forward and throttle up a bit. Sound disappears after I get underway to about 5 mph. I know an inspection is in order but I'll be waiting for winter to pull the whole drive off and work on it. I'd like to believe it's the sound of the water turbulence created by my prop ;-) but I'm kinda leaning towards thinking it's bad U-Joints.

I'm here to ask if anyone reading has heard of a slight growling sound when taking off and if they can point to something they've discovered in relation to it.

Many thanks (as always) in advance!"
 
"Gimbal bearing would be on th

"Gimbal bearing would be on the top of my list of suspects. There is a grease fitting on the transom for the gimbal. Grab a grease gun and give all the fittings a few pumps!!
As you state, it's time for an inspection.
Chris"
 
"I think the gimbal bearing wo

"I think the gimbal bearing would make a continuous noise that creshendoes/decreshendoes with with engine RPMs even in neutral. I am inclined to go with the U-joints.

When lubricating the gimbal bearing, make sure to use a high temp. marine bearing grease while the engine is idling in neutral. This procedure insures the bearing grease is distributed evenly throughout the bearing."
 
"Eddie
Get your boat to make


"Eddie
Get your boat to make the noise then steer sharply from side to side and see if you can detect a variation in the noise,if you can its most likely the uni's.
If not it will probably be the gimble starting to run dry.
If you have an external grease point for the gimble, pump some grease in while it is idling as Guy said.
If you are lucky, the noise may go away for a while, if it does, go buy yourself a lottery ticket.

Cheers
Peter C"
 
"Thanks team!
I re-lubed all


"Thanks team!
I re-lubed all the zerk fittings but got no sound change.
I did get the growling/grinding when I turned hard to port at a slow speed. Looks, I mean, sounds like I have a U-Joint project in the fall.
uhoh.gif


No biggie. Since this my first boat and my first full season, I would want to dig into the drive to see what's up. Last winter I R&R'd the entire brake system on the trailer because the previous owner hadn't touched it in who-knows-how-many years and everything was either rotten or rusted. I also did a full fluid/oil/lube job as well as a new impeller for kicks to make sure my season wasn't too short. I love looking forward to winter projects!!
snow.gif


Thanks again!
Ed"
 
"Sorry... one more semi-relate

"Sorry... one more semi-related question:

There is a zerk fitting on a spinning coupler inside the engine compartment, between the engine and transom. I can/can't see it all the time, depending on what position that shaft lies after the engine is shut down. I can't find a reference to it in my SELOC... any takers?

Thanks,
Ed"
 
"That one is for the engine co

"That one is for the engine coupler receiver spline and OD shaft spline. Hit it with a grease gun. This fall when you pull the OD for U-joints service you can examine and service the coupler and splined OD shaft. You will also want to take a close look at the bellows, shift cable and water inlet hose while the OD is off."
 
"From Past experience the Gimb

"From Past experience the Gimbal bearing is where I would start. If it is the bearing is should make more noise when you are turning the boat. Not hard to fix, and not too expensive."
 
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