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Engine starts but has loud metal clanking sound

J

joshclark0331

New member
Went to the lake last Saturday

Went to the lake last Saturday boat ran perfect. I have only had the boat for 2 years in which most of this period I never took it out. Interior was bad and I had to come up with the money to fix it. I took it out about a month ago and the boat was a little sluggish but after running it all day it got better and was running great. So Saturday I take it out again and it ran smooth for about 3 hours and my wife and I stopped to swim for a while. We crank it back up and it starts fine. I give it gas and about 150 yards later it shudders and stalls out. I could no longer get it to crank. Battery terminals were super hot and we had to get towed back to the ramp. So today I finally had time to look at it and see what I could find out. I charged the battery and got it to kick over but when it did there was a horrible metal clanking noise coming from what sounds to me the stern drive. I have a 1991 wellcraft with a Mercruiser 5.0 Alpha 1. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks
 
Joshua Clark
I'd take a l

Joshua Clark
I'd take a look at the starter first. The hot terminals indicate a heavy amperage draw. the starter may be seized or misaligned causing the clanking?
Bert
 
"Sounds to me like something i

"Sounds to me like something in the outdrive seized up and broke.

The seized component would make the engine hard to turn, causing the sluggish behavior on the first outing. The starter will draw as much current as it needs to in order to do its job - until it burns out, anyway. That would account for the hot battery terminals. The starter was working really hard. Once it cooled back down, maybe the seized component could turn freely enough for the engine to start. When you ran it for the second time it heated up enough to seize hard and the engine HP broke it. Now it clanks. That's just my guess. :)

Does the prop turn?

--FatBear"
 
"my guess would be the solenoi

"my guess would be the solenoid stuck that could be the cause of the hot wires from the constant pull of the starter also would drain a batt quick
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Prop turns fine. It clicks whe

Prop turns fine. It clicks when it is in forward and locks when I turn it in the opposite direction. If it is in nutral it spins freely.
 
I have not checked the fluid l

I have not checked the fluid levels(which I should have done to begin with) but I was lazy and didn't. I will have to check tomorrow.
 
"the prop will turn fine even

"the prop will turn fine even if the rest of the drive is bad, Check level and condition first, then pull the drive and see if the motor runs ok, you can use a hose from a washing machine cut in half and pushed into the water inlet hole in the transom housing to supply water to the motor"
 
Ok so I took my boat to a mech

Ok so I took my boat to a mechanic. He says that a bearing in the upper unit went out and cracked the housing. I now need an new upper unit or remanufactured. Anybody know where I can pick an inexpensive on up. Gear ratio is 1.65R
 
"I'd have to check the rul

"I'd have to check the rules, but I'm not sure you are allowed to use the word "inexpensive" on a boat related forum.
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In the Portland (Oregon) area we have a wrecking yard for boats where you can find spare parts for good prices. If you live near lots of water you might be able to find something like that nearby.

Or here's an online source. Don't know if they are good or bad, just that you can buy one from them:

http://www.sterndrive.cc/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=Mercru iserSterndrive

Good luck!"
 
"also Craigslist.org and Ebay,

"also Craigslist.org and Ebay, I've seen 3-1 people like the sterndrive units and support"
 
Not sure if I have a gen 1 or

Not sure if I have a gen 1 or 2. My boat is a 1991. I know that mercruiser switched from gen 1 to gen 2 in 1991. My serial number is 0D450730. I have been looking at these sterndrives at the website Guy Gasper posted.
 
"If you see 2 nuts and bolts o

"If you see 2 nuts and bolts on each side of the drive it`s GEN II, if you don`t it`s Alpha"
 
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