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270 outdrive slipped

am_dew

am_dew

Advanced Contributor
"I had something strange happe

"I had something strange happen this weekend. Just after launch and after the engine had warmed up, as I was slowly accelerating, at around 3000 rpms all of the sudden the RPMs rose to over 4000 and the prop was slipping because the boat stopped moving forward. I immediately slowed down and slowly raised the RPMs again and the same thing happened. The slough where I launch has a lot of underwater weeds so I thought perhaps that some weeds got tangled in the prop so I raised the outdrive to check. My girlfriend thought that as I raised the outdrive she saw some weeds come off the prop. I checked the area around the prop and there was nothing, so I lowered the drive. I restarted and accelerated slowly...no slippaged around 3000 so I cautiously kept raising the RPMs...no slippage this time all the way up to WOT. And the rest of the day, no slippage at all.

Would some weeds getting into the area near the base of the prop have cause the slippage I experienced? What actually slipped? Should I be concerned about some kind of damage?"
 
"You may have got a piece of p

"You may have got a piece of plastic or something else trapped in the prop, or the prop may have been spinning in the hub. You may want to remove the prop and look for signs of slippage (rubber bits protruding from the hub). Before reinstalling it, make a mark in the hub and another one in the prop (both marks must line up), then install the prop. If slippage reoccur, check the marks again at the first opportunity. If they have moved, you need to rehub your current prop or get a new one."
 
Thanks El. I was worried abou

Thanks El. I was worried about drive damage and had not thought about the hub slipping. I will remove the prop before the next outing and take a look.
 
It's possible that a large

It's possible that a large amount of weeds becoming entangled in the prop would cause it to cavitate and not propel the boat forward.
 
Pulled the prop today before h

Pulled the prop today before heading out for a cruise...no signs of slippage. And I made a lined up mark on the hub and prop and will check it again before next outing.
 
"There is a good chance that t

"There is a good chance that the drive gear and cone clutch are slipping in your upper gearcase. I experienced the same problem.

I would start by checking the condition of your drive oil. If it is low, or has water in it, you will be more prone to slippage. What viscosity are you running?

If your oil is in good shape and the hub is not spun, then you will need to lap the drive gear and cone clutch. This is not a very difficult job. Let us know how you make out."
 
"The area that I boat in has f

"The area that I boat in has fair amounts of weed in it at times (eel grass). What I learned long ago is that when the revs popped up was to cut the throttle, wait for the boat to come to a dead stop and then shift to reverse for a second or so. 90% of the times, this was enough to dump the weed off the prop. Different types of weed maybe not be so obliging but its worth a try."
 
"I am using straight 30W oil i

"I am using straight 30W oil in the drive and I will check the oil before the next outing. I ran the boat over 30 miles at fairly RPMs yesterday without any slippage so I am hopeful that the slippage I experienced a month or so ago was nothing serious as I don't have the tools, etc. to remove the leg and rework the drive gear and cone clutch."
 
"Robert, that's a good sug

"Robert, that's a good suggestion, thanks. Where I boat, the only weedy area is in the short slough I have to go through to get out to the main river. What I did yesterday is I raised the drive and checked for weeds once I got out on the main river, and cleaned any off before I started cruising."
 
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