Coupling movement - Bad intermediate bearing - see youtube link

[ross l]

I removed the pump, started the engine and still had the rattling marbles noise. I inspected the coupling and found about 1/8" of movement at the coupling. I'm pretty sure the bearing is bad and I need to replace it. Would you agree?

 

[I_squared_r]

Yeah i'd say so. Good to find it before failure

 

[ross l]

I ordered a loaded WSM intermediate bearing from BZB. The price was $70 less than SBT.

Wsm 003-406-01 Complete Bearing Housing Assembly: Yamaha

WSM Performance 00340601 Complete Bearing Housing Assembly: Yamaha

www.bzbproducts.com

Upon inspecting the new housing, I got my answer on if greasing it will actually get grease into the bearing cavity. I am happy to report, yes. There is a hole in the inner housing to allow grease to get to the bearing (see pics below).

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Yes there is it is in the pictures I posted using toothpicks to show where the hole is . It goes right through the rubber into the bearing area, the problem is there is no vent for the excess pressure to exit that cavity and finally it blows past the seals. or it works the rubber loose to escape past the rubber where it meets the metal housing. in this picture the 2 parts are separated completely however they are not supposed to be , once the rubber gets separated you take on water like mad. the bearings go bad and you need to replace the entire setup.

 

[ross l]

Thanks Jeff - you wise owl! A vent would be good. Maybe you should engineer that.
I was thinking I would fill it with gear lube after I press in the shaft and before I install it in the boat. You think filling it to the top would cause an expansion issue?

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I will tell you what I do. I just did this to my new 2021 bearing housing before ever putting them in the water .. I removed the fitting and used a hose barb in it's place I used the syringe to add some gear lube to the housing then I put on a hose and crimped over the end using a small cable tie to keep it bent , this along with the grease and the tube I made from a 5 gallon bucket cover gasket because it can expand under pressure. , So in your case *I would use grease before putting it together and then after it is installed change to the hose barb and add some gear lube with a dental syringe as well so everything gets lubed and the hose will deal with any internal pressure if there is any however I seriously doubt there is .

 

[ross l]

Package that up and sell it. I'll buy the first one two.
I would love to see a pic of that.
About 6" of tube works well?

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Haaaa too damn busy, with all the orders for my steering and EZ locks but I used a long enough hose to get it out to where I could get easy access to it.

 

[rad1026]

So mixing the grease and gear lube is okay? And what type of gear lube are you using?

 

[rad1026]

Ross I, how many hours on your boat?

 

[2kwik4u]

What keeps the coupler on the end of the shaft? Is that assembly serviceable without pulling the engine?

 

[ross l]

Ross I, how many hours on your boat?

about 100 hours

 

[ross l]

What keeps the coupler on the end of the shaft? Is that assembly serviceable without pulling the engine?

I understand I will need to slide the motor back a couple inches. I am about to embark on that part of the journey.
Check out this video on the coupler shaft housing assembly...

 

[rad1026]

about 100 hours

What?!! Wow, that seems like premature failure. 100 hours is nothing.

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

I get a minimum of 650 hours on the intermediate bearings and close to 900 hours on the pumps with no issues adding gear lube to them also. I pull the cone with the bow angled down inject the gear lube into the pump clean the o ring and add some silicon to the o ring and return the cone to the pump. But that's just me .

 

[rad1026]

Please tell me what kind of gear lube you are using and how often you do that

 

[Cobra Jet Steering LLC]

Do you have CRYPTO clearance?

 

[rad1026]

no Jeff, I don't have any type of clearance. My brother does though, I could have him call you. He works out here at Kirtland Air Force Base for the DOD.

Really though, like synthetic outdrive oil?

 

[ross l]

I finished the intermediate bearing job.
I know what contributed to the failure. -One of the bearing seals was covering the grease hole on the inner housing. This meant that no grease ever got into the inner bearing cavity while attempting to lube it.
QA at Yamaha comes into question. Wonder who and where it was assembled and how bad the their hangover was.
Rust colored grease is good, right? ?

 

[ross l]

Sub assembly with Jeff inspired lube tube design...