ran transmission w/o fluid!!

disasters are always a series of events..... let me know what you guys think.

I changed all of my transmission lines last fall and ran the engines one more time to test all the connections. I forgot to tighten the lower most hose and a lot of the fluid leaked out while idling.

Well, fast forward to this year and I completely forgot about that. I started the engines for the first time about two weeks ago and they ran fine. The shaft was turning but I didn't give it much thought because I didn't have the prop installed and figured the extra drag wasn't there to keep it stationary or close enough, barely turning. It idled for about 10-15 mins but never put in gear.

Installed my new alternator last night and figured I make sure that's ok since I'm supposed to go in next weekend. The engine is turning over and making this horrible dry pump sound. I figured it had to something with the alternator so I disconnected that and same thing. It's turning over, doesn't really want to start and making the noise.

Then I pull the dispstick and it's bone dry. I add some fluid, get it running and it's still making the noise and the shaft is spinning at a pretty good clip. Do this two more times, adding fluid and finally get it to where the noise has pretty much stopped and the shaft isn't rotating in neutral anymore. I tried it in reverse and forward and it goes into both gears but I still hear an occassional noise (not continuous) of that dry pump sound.

Since I just did the strut, I knew exactly how the prop should feel when rotating by hand and it's exactly as it was before which is good. It's definitely not seized up but I'm not sure if the sound will completely go away or get worse under load. It's got the right amount of fluid now and the noise is 95% gone... again all on the hard, at idle. It does make the noise more if I bring the idle up but again not continous like when I first started it. I assume it's the pump I heard and ran dry... is that fatal? Fluid is nice and pink but it's about 5 mins old too

Am I toast or should I just run and see how it sounds? I guess if I had to pull it, I would rather be in the water doing the work. Do the pumps cavitate for a while when run dry?

BTW, new alt works just fine.

Bob

The tranny shaft directly turns a gear set that makes 150psi or so of oil pressure. Noise here is not good. It made some loose metal, adding more mayhem potential. Its best to remove and inspect the oil pump, easy when the tranny front is exposed. At minimum, you should measure ur oil pressure, and replace the fluid a couple times with a short run cycle between.

If you have a minute, here's a quick video. I disconnected the coupler so I could test it in/out of gear. When I started it cold this morning, it made that aweful noise again for maybe 10 seconds. I tried to capture it on video but it didn't happen long enough. I shut it off and let it sit for about 3 hours and then started it again uncoupled and it didn't make any noise.

What you see here is just a few minutes after I started it...

http://www.youtube.com/my_videos?feature=mhee

The shaft seems to rotate (when coupled) in neutral for the first 20-30 seconds and then hardly move, if at all. I never noticed this before but never checked it so quickly after starting. You can see it spins at a pretty good clip in neutral uncoupled. Don't know if that means anything but assuming that running it dry would only affect the pump and not have anything to do with the clutches. Just an assumption, I've never had one of these apart before.

You might be okay. Being low on oil (NOT empty) there was a ton of air in those pasages inside the tranny. Once that's worked out it should quiet down.

Hell, I ran mine onto plane with the oil level too low; it slipped like mad before I could chop the throttle. After adding some oil to top her off, she's worked fine for 6 years.


The bottom line: You didn't try to move it like that--that's a plus--and they are tougher than you think.

Jeff

2X what Dave said - I'd also suggest backflushing the gear side of the oil cooler...it will catch anything floating in the oil as it circulates through it.

15 minutes without oil is a long time for the guts of the gear. If you choose to run it, I'd keep a well tuned ear for more "funny" noises. Any metal 'parts' that make it into the pump will make their way thruout the entire gear - read that as a full overhaul with (most likely) all new bearings.

thanks, feeling a little better. I went back today and started it cold and it didn't make any noise. I think I'll splash it and change the fluid a couple of times as Jeff suggested.

What type of gauge do I need to check the pressure?

A 300# gauge is what I use. may wanna bring a few NPT size adapters. If you have the BW manual downloaded, the size is ID'ed within.