Shaft bearings SHOT!!! Now stuck shaft...ugh!

[4x15mph]

When you do put the driveshaft back in, you will want to put Yamalube Molybdenum Disulfide Grease on the splines of the driveshaft. I ordered this on Amazon but there are probably other options

I battled in pulling out my impeller and jet pump today since I am replacing the housing assembly with the version that has a replaceable plastic liner. I guess one down side to a plastic liner is that you can't use heat to separate the jet pump/impeller housing/duct unless you are careful and/or are planning to put in a new plastic liner. The plastic liner would have melted with the heat that I used today. In the end, it was hard hammering on the bracket assemblies on the outside of the Duct (part that attaches to the hull plate on the back of the boat). lots of heat from a propane torch, and a good deal of PB Blaster.

 

[cane.mba]

Dang.... Wish I hadn't found this thread! Well, secretly glad I did, but worried about what I'll find now....

 

[Gym]

Don't think you'll have any issues @cane.mba. My boat is 6 years older than yours and was perfect when I checked it two weeks ago.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

You will hear it if you have an issue! Trust me.

 

[cane.mba]

The issue is at the end of the last season (last day out) the starboard jet was making a clanking sound on start up. Assumed it was something caught up, because it went away. Now I'm worried . I'll find out tomorrow, I'm not planning on pulling the cones unless I see a visible clue or reason. However, I've never inspected the shaft or impeller, nor have I cleaned the screens.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Sounds like the common impeller clang when the motor gets that certain rhythmic rumble it resonates into the impeller and housing. Bad bearings will sound like a snow plow on bare asphalt or worse!

 

[Bruce]

@Murf'n'surf, I decided to pull the cone and look at my bearings.

First I removed the three screws from the cone and tried to pull the cone out. It did not budge so I decided to pull the nozzle to get better access. I removed the shift and steering cables then the four bolts around the nozzle. When I pulled on the nozzle all of this came out.



How do I remove the cone?

The shaft spins smoothly in the cone without grinding. Perhaps I should grease the spline and put it back together?

 

[Murf'n'surf]

@Bruce seperate the casing right behind the filter and forward of your zinc.

 

[Bruce]

@Bruce seperate the casing right behind the filter and forward of your zinc.

It seems to be stuck together. What kind of tool did you use to separate them?

 

[txav8r]

@Bruce , there are tabs on the edge both of those housings to pry them apart. They are sealed only with gasket maker...after you remove the 4? bolt. I didn't think you had to remove any of that to remove the tail cone and see the grease supply. You do have to remove it to change the bearings however. I will say this, if it is running smoothly and you don't have any slop or bearing growl...it might be a good idea to look at rule number 1..."if it ain't broke, don't fix it"...and I say this in all friendliness and helpfulness...and anyone, feel free to correct me if I am wrong.

 

[Bruce]

As Mel said, a pry bar was the answer. Will post pics later

 

[txav8r]

Good job bruce!

 

[Bruce]

Ok, here are pictures of the bearings



And the grease in the cone



The grease in the bearings looked a little wet to me.

There is a real possibility that this is the factory grease.

How does it look to you?

 

[buckbuck]

Looks similar to what I have seen on mine. I just scoop out the old grease and push as much new grease as possible into the bearing without removing anything. Be advised that the grease Yamaha recommends a difficult to find, high viscose grease.

 

[Murf'n'surf]

That's factory grease. Looks good from here. Be sure that the seal around the cone is in good shape when you reassemble it. Definitely worth the 45 minutes to check it since your boat is an older one, and even more so before your Atlantic crossing!

 

[Rigger]

That's how mine looked as well "a little wet" with some white edging on the grease. I replaced the factory grease with Island Racings Marine Liquid Pump Grease. The service manual for my 230 said fill the cone to 3/4 full - maximum, if I remember correctly. It most definitely didn't say to fill the cone with grease.

 

[Rigger]

Actually now that I stare at your pics a little more your grease looks better than mine did. I actually had small amounts of water in each of my cones. Now, I'm talking drops not small puddles.

 

[Paulie]

@Rigger , did you just replace the amount of grease in the cone with the Island Racing product or did you attempt to remove the old grease from the main housing like Cam did with a bag and some compressed air?

 

[Rigger]

@Paulie
@Paulie There really wasn't alot of factory grease in the bearings it all seemed to be in the cone. I cleaned the bearings off as much as I thought they needed to be then just filled the cone with the new stuff and reinstalled. I also replaced the gaskets - ordered from sportsplaza!

edited to add @Paulie

 

[Rigger]

@Paulie There wasn't much grease around the bearings actually it all seemed to be in the cone. I cleaned out what I thought was good put the new grease in the cones then reassembled. I also installed new O rings from the dealer. I just used a rag to wipe e'm down as best as possible. No air or special solutions.