OMC gearcase ?'s

[Action Dave]

Since switching my gearcase housing from the Lighning style it came with to a regular case with bob's cone, I have had nothing but issues. First, I kept breaking the carrier pins. Almost every time I took the boat out. Finally I just said "screw it" and had the carrier welded into place. Now just yesterday I noticed a crack in the housing starting in the back near one of the original pin holes(about 2 o'clock) and working its way forward about 3 or 4 inches. I Know this housing is pretty much junk now. My question is could this all be do to increased engine height? I run my propshaft about an inch above the pad(maybe a hair more) I know this puts more stress, but jeez! I'm thinking my propshaft might be slightly warped. I don't notice any strange vibration but it could be that I'm so used to it I can't feel a difference. I can't really see any wobble when i spin the shaft. Is there a way I can make sure that the shafts good? I don't want to swap everything to a new housing to only have the same problems.

[jphii]

All I can tell you is this. I run the same case all year racing, riding, and just out screwing around. All it has done (beside the cone, of course) is pinning the carrier. I run only the old style case. I have never had a problem with it. I check it regularly, because the 1/4-20 bolts do break. All I do is toss in a new bolt and it's good to go.

Spanky builds mine. Last years case, when I took it apart, looked just like it did when he put it together. After a year of more than average abuse and ZERO maintenance, that's not too shabby.

[Action Dave]

I think the housing I coned might not have been good from the get go. I've never had a prolem with internals just the carrier bolts breaking alot.

[jphii]

Pinned carrier bolts or the other ones?

[bluecheckmate]

Get a merc

[Action Dave]

Get a merc


Where's your boat?


The pinned carrier bolts always broke on me.

[jphii]

Yea, I usually break at least one a weekend. Gotta keep an eye on them.

[STV_Keith]

I'm swapping my V8's to CLE's.

[baja200merk]

I'm swapping my V8's to CLE's.

Im hoping to go that route too, seems to be the best bet other than a $porty:o

I dono if i have been lucky or what but i have one 1/4-20 pinning my carrier (10-11 o clock) for 5yrs and i have never checked it or tightened it at all. I tapped the case/carrier and put red locktite on the bolt with a nylock on the inside. The motor only spent 2 yrs in salt and im pretty sure the carrier got salted (welded) to the case:p . The last 2 years it was run a little under 2in above the bottom with no issues, all i do it change the water in the case every now and then:rolleyes:. Its time for seals hope it comes apart:eek: . Funny how that works all daves stuff is like new near perfect and breaks and my JUNK lives:confused: :confused:. Too bad ur not closer id let u run mine see if u can break it:D spanks gonna be buildin it when i reseal he just doesnt know yet:p

Kevin

[Instigator]

I think the housing I coned might not have been good from the get go. I've never had a prolem with internals just the carrier bolts breaking alot.
With what you are describing thats the issue w/o question.

When you have one apart look on the inside diameter of the housing where the rear of the carrier seats against it.
When they work/wear they open up that I.D., sometimes a lot!
When that happens it is also moving the carrier around enough to wear down it's O.D. which magnifies the problem.
If you ever see that, pitch both pieces before you lose everything when it goes boom!

Dave I have run pinned carriers for more than 10 yrs and for probably 1000 hrs.
During that time I've lost one pin/bolt when it backed out due to my not checking them.
Since I switched to synthetic fluid and started checking the bolts every time out I've had zero carrier failures.

Bluecheckmate, whats a good Merc unit run these days :D

[Action Dave]

Thanks alot guys. Gary I think you are right about the housing. I think the housing was out of round and has just got worn out even worse over time. BlueCheckmate's got to worry about his boat before he can give me pointers.;)

[Action Dave]

Side note: The spare coned housing I have available is the older style. I believe it takes a different reverse gear and has a different bearing carrier. Anybody have experience using that older style?

[bluecheckmate]

Where's your boat?


The pinned carrier bolts always broke on me.


At the shop for round two painting and the motor is just there on a stand with the heads off :D.

[Instigator]

Side note: The spare coned housing I have available is the older style. I believe it takes a different reverse gear and has a different bearing carrier. Anybody have experience using that older style?

you mean it the acrrier is retained by 2 giant circlips then the housing must match and you cannot mis-match parts.

On the reverse gear you have to have one surafe truned down to clear the rear bearing.
I think that is the way it works.
I had to do that to one to get it to assemble and assume that was the cause.

[bw1969]

I had an older case that I pinned but I had a stainless sleeve pressed in where the rear of the bearing carrier makes contact. I think it helped to spread the load on the housing. I've only run it for a couple hundred hours but no problems. This is a surfacing lower on my Ally GS.

[Action Dave]

The sleeve is a pretty good idea to help evenly spread the load.

My new case is one of the old ones with the big clips. I'm gonna weld the carrier in place.

At least my new housing looks real cool. Nice welded pipes directing th eexhaust straight out the back. just above the cavplate.

[Forkin' Crazy]

I had an older case that I pinned but I had a stainless sleeve pressed in where the rear of the bearing carrier makes contact. I think it helped to spread the load on the housing. I've only run it for a couple hundred hours but no problems. This is a surfacing lower on my Ally GS.


That is what I had to have done to one of mine that had a lot of hours on it. Haven't broken a pin bolt since.

[jphii]

Hey FC, you still have those pictures? Might be a good thread to post them in again.

[Forkin' Crazy]

Hey FC, you still have those pictures? Might be a good thread to post them in again.


Yep. Not really good ones though. You can't see how far it goes past the carrier toward the inside, but it does quite a bit.

The sleeve is pinned to the carrier, then slid into place, and pinned to the housing. Also have 5/16 screws. But they are hard to find and had to be ground off flush. Stick with the 1/4" screws.

[bw1969]

I just pinned through the housing, sleeve and bearing carrier with four 1/4 inch machine screws. I'm also running the old style case with the 2 big retaining clips.

[theoldwizard]

Okay, I admit I don't know anything about OMC L/U, but if you guys are regularly breaking standard 1/4-20 bolts, has anyone tried a Grade 8 bolt ?

[racer]

If they are breaking the bolts the housing is loose and all the stress is on the bolts, they need to be bolted to stop the housing ware before it starts not to try and fix the problem.

[loop]

would a heavier duty bearing carrier help?

[Riverratt]

I have an older V8 case with the 2 bolts that hold the carrier in. I put a new carrier in last year and was thinking about pinning it but it looks like the only place to pin it will go through the o-ring on the carrier. Is this the way you have to do it or is there a way to miss the o-ring

[Action Dave]

Riverratt, you can disregard the o ring on the carrier. When you pin it, you have to go right through the grove where the oring sits.

[oldschoolltv]

I pinned mine with grade 8's and every other trip or so I have to replace one, I did it from the start on this lower unit but it was a used one on a fishing boat before I got it, 2 years use and maybe 5-6 new bolts, if it gets worse I am going to do what forkin did and sleeve it, and I thing Al once said he made a billet one and had it .001 tight for slight press fit, matt

[Dave S]

Mercs don't have this issue...... they get stuck in place and crack the case.;) HeeHee there I go again.:D Just kidding..... I used to weld the merc cases to hold the carrirea in.:rolleyes: I got some OMC cases for sale.... 20 inch V6 2 part shaft.......$100 . I don't know anything about them....I do Merc....poor fool.:o

[Instigator]

If they are breaking the bolts the housing is loose and all the stress is on the bolts, they need to be bolted to stop the housing ware before it starts not to try and fix the problem.

Thats the point I was trying to make and my experiences show the same.

[bw1969]

That's also the reason I had the stainless sleeve pressed in, to tighten the fit. I was starting with an old case.