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1993 3.0 Alpha One Clutch Issue?

T

taylorjheinzen

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Hey guys, new the forum, and pretty new to boats as well, so thanks for any and all help. I know as many details as possible help, so excuse me if I'm too thorough. I bought a 1993 Bayliner 1950 Classic with the 3.0 in it last month. It was meticulously maintained and cared for, all service history kept and 325 engine hours. I've taken it out several times including the water test from the owner, and it ran smooth, APART from there was a little clunk shifting into gear, that I just assumed was normal. The clunk got worse each time I took it out, and now last night, I was cruising at about 4K RPM, the engine all of a sudden revved to about 5K and preceded to stall out. Tried starting it up again, turned over, idles, but then stalls out. Lifted the cover to find water in the bilge and some white smoke. Tried this 3 times, same thing. Got towed in, and when I was docked, I started it up, put it in gear, and instead of stalling out, the RPM's hit up, but no drive, much like a clutch out for a car. My uncle is a boat guy and feels it might be a lower unit prob. Thoughts?
 
clunking into gear is normal for the MC1 and Alpha drives.
have someone look at the shaft where it goes into the motor , start the motor and shift into gear.
shaft turns= drive problem
shaft does not turn = engine coupler problem
 
Hi Taylor...


Have you found the problem? I had absolutely the exact thing happen to me. Alpha 1 (but first gen, from 1975). I am getting ready to take the thing apart and I'd like to know what you have found.

I was also cruising at about 4K and the engine suddenly revved as if it were no longer under load. I pulled the throttle back and killed the engine. I was afraid to restart it on the water so I called for a tow. But a few days later I started it up and found that I could taxi at about 3mph as if nothing were wrong. But when I tried to give it gas it just slipped and didn't go anywhere. I thought the same thing... it's like a clutch was spun.

Any information would be appreciated...

Thanks
 
Why not trouble shoot it first, see post 2
With the motor off, shift into fwd making sure the prop is locked CCW,stand on a blade and try to turn it.
prop moves ,prop shaft doent= probably the prop hub
prop moves, prop shaft turns, shaft behind does not= internal drive issue
prop moves, prop shaft turns, shaft behind does turn =bad coupler
 
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It was a few things. First, the coupler was bad, needed to be replaced. The problem would have stopped there, if the engine wouldn't have kept stalling out with throttle. My mechanic is assuming it's a bent or broken shaft that's causing it to override any throttle activity. Gonna be a lot of labor, but it will officially solve all the issues.

PS. Water in the bilge was from some leftover rain water that I just forgot to pump out. Smoke was from a bad water pump that will need to be replaced too. An unlucky outing no doubt, but rather find that out here in May on a solo joy ride, than a weekend in July out with 6 people!
 
When I put it in gear and step on the prop it takes about 2/3s my weight to turn the prop counterclockwise as viewed from behind. (I weigh about 250lbs). The hub nut turns with the prop. It seems like the motor is not turning when I do this, but i could be wrong. There is a bit of a binding sound when the prop moves. My boat is stored offsite and it was just me looking at it. I could have marked a pully or something to see if the engine was turning, but I didn't think of that until I was on my way home.

I am fairly mechanically inclined, but I know nothing about outdrives. I'm not sure what you mean by "Shaft behind".

Also, to me, the most notable symptom here is that the boat will taxi at a slow speed. But it slips when I give it gas. This implies that something isn't completely broken, but maybe sheared or something? I dont think it made any nasty noises or produced any smoke when I tried to give it gas.

I considered it might be shift linkage, maybe it isn't going completely into gear. But if it were, I would think that it wouldn't have happened all of the sudden like it did.

Unfortunately, I just lost my job. So I have much more time than money. Going to a qualified mechanic is out of the question for me right now.
 
When my coupler spun it did exactly as you described. Motor revved but wouldn't go anywhere. I was able to put it in gear and limp Bach to the dock. Outdrive needs to come off and engine needs to be pulled to replace the coupler if that's the problem. I found chunks of rubber in the bilge. I did the work myself.
 
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