Hit outboard leg on rock

Hi Everyone,

I'm gutted to write this but hit the leg at 70% speed today on a rock that wasnt marked on the lake. Its an Alpha One Gen2 leg on a Mercruiser 4.7 1997 LH Engine...

The engine appears to be fine however will cut out when I try to put it in gear. Havent had a chance to take the prop off yet and there appears to be a chunk missing from the bottom of the leg (fin). With the engine off and throttle in gear the prop moves in both directions (including reverse) with a clicking sound in one direction.

Could anyone please recommend how to go about diagnosing and see what I need to do? I'm hoping its just a sheerpin and prop replacement.

Thank you in advance.
(insert crying here)

Split the unit and test, there is no 'shear pin" and at 70% you probably destroyed the gearset or lower driveshaft

I ran the engine to see if it would start.. No problem starting but wasn't ejecting any water from the transom with the muffs attached to the bottom leg. Ran it for a good 2 mins and stopped it manually just incase I would cause any further damage. Hopefully its just the impeller that is wreaked or stuck..

I also drained the gear oil and saw lots of "glitter" in the drain.. There appears to be a magnet attached to the bottom drain plug screw, wiped it with a cloth and its pure shards So yeah it's not pretty.

Had to stop there as I couldn't get the anode off to get the last nut/bolt. Hopefully will pick up the right allen key tomorrow and give it another try.

So whats the bets the top of the leg is also borked? (insert crying sound here ) Is it possible to shove the hose up the upper leg water intake and see if it ejects water out the transom? Does the engine have some sort of coolant pump in addition to the impeller?

Go to the SEI website and get a new aftermarket drive.

Water pump not pumping after hitting rocks usually means the pump is not turning any longer.