HELPNO FWD OR REVERSE

please help..we have a 1988 O

please help..we have a 1988 OMC Sea Drive 115 hp..just bought used..took out 3rd time and running on plane and felt like motor was thrown in to neutral..checked and had no fwd or reverse at all. doesn't even feel or sound like going into any gear..??spun hub?? thanks for any info!!

"Michele.... Hopefully you hav

"Michele.... Hopefully you have this rig on a trailer, but if not you should be able to do this check without too much discomfort.

I'm assuming here that the shift linkage to the lower unit, including the 3/8" shoulder bolt that attaches the linkage that exists under the bottom carb to the vertical shift rod that leads to the lower unit is okay.

With the IGNITION KEY TURNED OFF. In neutral, turn the prop just to obtain the feel of it. Now, put the unit into forward gear, you may need to turn the prop slightly to accomplish that. With the unit in forward gear... if the prop still turns freely, and the prop shaft and nut are also turning, I'm sorry to say that you have in all probability encountered a broken driveshaft. And if so, it has more than likely sheared just below the water pump.

If on the other hand, the prop does not turn freely, but rather has a good bit of resistance to it, you've more than likely spun a hub. The easiest way to check that is to leave the engine in gear, jam the prop with a 2x4, then apply a great amount of pressure to the flywheel nut with a socket and breaker bar in a clokwise direction. (Counter clockwise would remove the nut<grin>) Let us know what you find.

Joe "

" thanks for your info joe!! a

" thanks for your info joe!! and you were right!! we got ourselves a broken driveshaft at the water pump.. man you are good!! ok, now i got another question. we took it to our mechanics, and they're saying its gonna take about 3-4 hours in labor to replace the drive shaft. does that sound right? they're gonna give me the full estimate on monday with the part prices. (guess they have to tear gear case apart?) i also asked them to check the water pump while in there now because i've noticed that the water circulation p-hole is just trickling out, its not a steady stream like i think it should be. any comments on that? said pump was about $50 and he had to take old one off anyway for access so there'd be no labor involved with that. thanks in advance for whatever you can tell me on this. "

"Michele.... Three to four hou

"Michele.... Three to four hours labor to tear down the lower unit, install a new driveshft etc, then run the engine out and check engine operations is about right. Actually it's quite generous as I've seen many a job such as that run up to six hours. The gearcase has to be dismantled completely. The driveshaft is expensive as I remember it. The water pump runs about $50 as you mentioned. If your engine is one that has the small plastic water outlet telltale, that fitting does get clogged at times, and if so, even with a new water pump the water stream would trickle out.I'd suggest that you clean out that fitting with a piece of single strand steel wire, or remove the fitting and clean it and the hose etc. Good luck.

Joe"

" how expensive is that drives

" how expensive is that driveshaft? i've checked some websites that sell parts new and used and looked like the driveshaft alone was about 150.00 used and 230.00 new.. but i'm not sure if it was correct one,(seemed to be accoriding to info i entered) but not sure what other parts will need to be replaced along with it. (gaskets,...???) thanks for your help !!i'll keep you updated. "

" was wondering if you might k

" was wondering if you might know....i would think that there would be at least a 30 day warranty on this boat and motor purchased from the marina. even though it was used, wouldnt it be like buying a car, where they give you one for a short time. not only does it seem ethical, but i figured there wuld be maybe some state law or something just to protect the consumer from getting taken. if they had been into this motor to rebuild the powerhead, shouldnt they have done some sort of inspection on the rest of the motor to see if anything else was going to "go", and may have needed some attention? or did they know and perhaps sold it anyway knowing that they could make some more $ on the sale sometime soon. i just can't believe that this was only our 3rd time out on the boat since we got it 3 weeks ago. and the first two times out on it we just idled thru the canals for about 45 minutes. this was our first real outting and never even made it past the markers outside the river. thanks for any info you can give. "

"Michele....The 20" drives

"Michele....The 20" driveshaft in 1999 (my last price book) had a list price of $420.32. The 25" model in 1999 listed for $424.25. I believe these were the prices for the driveshafts that changed over from the one piece shafts to the two piece shafts (The two piece design eliminated the breaking). On top of that, there would be about $10.00 for lube, and about $9.00 for a few "O" Rings and a shift hsg gasket.

A 30 day warranty is usually a given thing and I have never heard a small claims court say otherwise. However, read over your sales contract, receipt, whatever, closely to see if a warranty time coverage is stated. The only time a customer would be out of luck legally is if the words "As Is" are there for "as is" means just that legally and once you sign the papers with those words on it.... unfortunately it could blow up the first time you turn the key and you would have no recourse.

Joe"

" glad you got back w/ me on t

" glad you got back w/ me on this joe! i really appreciate it. well got the estimate today. we're looking at about 1500.00 thats 491.oo for two piece drive shaft, plus they tacked on two hours labor because they have to "shim" for the new shaft design being a 2 piece (?). guy said we also have a chip on the forward gear inside edge. said he wouldnt give me any warranty on drive shaft work if i didnt do the gear set. said that could cause problem again on drive shaft and he won't be responsible. any way that price includes 251 for gear set, plus charges for the lube and shaft nut, plus impeller i asked them to replace. now they're also saying there's a 50.00 hull out charge too. i would think if they are getting the work, or even if they are getting paid to diagnose the problem that fee would be included in there labor charges. all these little fees seem to just keep adding up!!! if i do the gear set he talked about, he said he'd give me a 90 day warranty on the work and parts, unless of course the parts have a manufacter warranty of a longer period, then i would have to pay labor only on those specific parts.
i called another outboard shop-independant shop- and they gave me a price of 600.00 for replacing drive shaft w/ a used one he's got and replaceing the fwd gear and impeller. labor and parts=600.00 he said he's warranty's only 30 days though. sure seems too cheap to me..don't have good feeling about that..but wow what a big difference in price. would be great if only cost me 600.00
as for the warranty on the boat and motor when we got it..our paper doess say "as is" except written by them i did get a 45 day warranty on the work they previously done on powerhead and carbs. by the time boat is repaired and out of there shop though that warranty will be expired i'm sure. ...want to buy a boat???? "

"Michele..... Whewwwwww! No, I

"Michele..... Whewwwwww! No, I don't want to buy a boat but I can understand where you're coming from. Extremely sorry to hear that the "As Is" is written on your sales paperwork. Shiming the driveshaft takes about a half hour tops! The gear part I can understand if it is indeed chipped.

The other fellow who will do that same job for $600.... I have done that myself, that is install a used D/Shaft and forward gear with pinion (the forward gear and pinion are a set, you can't install just one) but those parts that I had looked like they just came out of the box. If those parts are perfect, that's a good deal. Otherwise, avoid it. I wish you luck. Where are you located? You can e-mail that info if you wish.

Joe"

" hey joe. sorry i was so long

" hey joe. sorry i was so long winded last time. im located in cape coral, fl..near ft. myers on west coast. think i may just let them do the repairs, as o i'm getting burned out on the whole thing. think i've lost half my hair and the other half has gone total grey. ran out of "tums" too. at least they'll give me a 90 day warranty..other guy (600.00)was only gonna give me 30 day. plus he did add in that once he was in the motor, he may need to replace "other" parts and that of course would change the price. just seems to me to be to open for extra charges that may just get me back up to that 1500.00 that i thought i'd be saving myself from. i'm very skeptical, i guess. plus the boat is already at other dealer already and torn down partially. charges already exsist there to pay. i'm gonna talk to the manager there monday to see if he'll maybe help me out on some of bill. doubt it, but hey, you never know unless you ask, ....and plead.i'll let you know what happens. thanks again. "

"Seadrive Flywheel for a 1988

"Seadrive Flywheel for a 1988 OMC 2.0 Model 20AHRJAS, where can I find one? Have a seadrive (by the way my drive shaft snapped too) that has been rebuilt top to bottom, had some magnets come loose and the process of removing the flywheel ruined it so that I am somewhat concerned that repairing it will leave it unbalanced when I replace the magnets. Figure a new flywheel the best bet, but having trouble locating one. Any ideas? [email protected]"