Broken Driveshaft

[Barbara]

I believe this is a first? At least I haven't seen anything like this in any posts before. Our driveshaft broke. Nothing sucked up, nothing in the impeller. It seems to be a manufacturing failure. But it sucks - no boating for a while. I hope it'll be fixed soon. 2019 AR 240

 

[scokill]

Never seen it. Should be an easy fix though. Warranty???

 

[Barbara]

Never seen it. Should be an easy fix though. Warranty???

Should be, it's a bit more than 1 year old.

 

[Scottintexas]

Wow! I don't think we've seen that,
I agree it should be an easy, straightforward fix

 

[sunbyrned]

That's interesting. Since it's such a new boat, I wonder if more will start to pop up and what the actual cause will be, like a change in metal or an alignment issue, or something. How many hours are on this? Please keep us posted.

 

[ZGhost]

I believe this is a first? At least I haven't seen anything like this in any posts before. Our driveshaft broke. Nothing sucked up, nothing in the impeller. It seems to be a manufacturing failure. But it sucks - no boating for a while. I hope it'll be fixed soon. 2019 AR 240

Seems to me like a metal fatigue failure due to a material inclusion (term for foreign material within the shaft material that typically creates stress and weaken the homogeneous material of the shaft) where you can see the initiation site of the failure? I bet if you contact Yamaha and send them pictures including close ups of the 2 surfaces they would and should cover this even if outside warranty window.

 

[tdonoughue]

Wild. Yes, I do believe that is a first. At least for this board...

 

[buckbuck]

Very strange where it snapped. Can you help us understand why there appears to be rust on the wear ring?

 

[veedubtek]

It wipes right off.

I actually ran down to help Barbara yesterday, as I thought she was describing something jammed in the impeller - figured I'd show her how to remove the jet pump to clear something stubborn. You can imagine my surprise when I pulled it off and the impeller stayed. No amount of force I could exert would remove the driveshaft from the engine, either.

 

[Barbara]

Can you help us understand why there appears to be rust on the wear ring?

Maybe it's normal? I don't know

 

[sunbyrned]

I doubt the anodes can be a factor in this, but just curious what they look like since I've not seen a snapped drive shaft or rust like that on this forum. It might be something to look at for preventative reasons.

 

[Brad460]

Seems to me like a metal fatigue failure due to a material inclusion (term for foreign material within the shaft material that typically creates stress and weaken the homogeneous material of the shaft) where you can see the initiation site of the failure? I bet if you contact Yamaha and send them pictures including close ups of the 2 surfaces they would and should cover this even if outside warranty window.

Agreed- You can actually see the inclusion at the fracture point, it appears to be right at the surface having caused a stress riser. You can also see the shaft was cracked for some time before it eventually failed as there is rust on a section of the fracture face.

Clearly this is a defect in the material and the fracture absolutely started during the warranty period- unfortunately it’s not a place you would see until final failure.

 

[veedubtek]

Finally got the stubborn thing out. Took a heavy duty 3" wide ratchet strap tied to my Porsche and a whole lot of force before it flew out and whacked me in the side of the knee..

 

[Speedling]

Wow!
This is a manufacturer defect if ever there was one!
That stinks but should be a fast fix. At least the shaft itself. I want to know why the impeller was lodged too though

 

[WREKS]

@veedubtek Were the bearings in the impeller housing still good?

 

[veedubtek]

Bearing looks great, surprisingly. I believe when the shaft broke, it forced it up into the coupler. The splines on the shaft where it connects taper off, and I think it just kinda forced it together, hence why it took so much force to remove. New shaft, impeller, and bearing on order to be safe.

 

[WREKS]

Bearing looks great, surprisingly. I believe when the shaft broke, it forced it up into the coupler. The splines on the shaft where it connects taper off, and I think it just kinda forced it together, hence why it took so much force to remove. New shaft, impeller, and bearing on order to be safe.

@Cobra Jet Steering LLC waxes the splines on the driveshaft prior to installing.

 

[buckbuck]

How's the knee, bro?

 

[veedubtek]

Way better than my shoulder or my back. Sucks gettin old! Beats the alternative though

 

[BGN123]

Wow!
This is a manufacturer defect if ever there was one!
That stinks but should be a fast fix. At least the shaft itself. I want to know why the impeller was lodged too though

FYI I have a new 2021 Yamaha 275SD - the engine died and i had to have it taken to the shop. They just told me the driveshaft broke and both the driveshaft and the impeller need to be replaced. boat is brand new.