www.iFourWinns.com

At the end of the 2011 season I noticed a small amount of water in the gear lube of my 1996 VP Duo Prop. I took a sample to the area Four Winns dealer where the service manager suggested I bring the boat in so they could perform a vacuum and pressure test on the outdrive. Two days after dropping off my boat, the service manager called and remarked that they couldn't get it to leak. He explained that this wasn't the first time they've seen this. He noted that in some cases water is never found in the lube again. His suggestion was to use the boat in 2012, but to check the gear lube for traces of water at the end of each day.
Thats exactly what I did. Ran the whole 2012 season. Checked the oil level dip stick for discoloration, water beads etc., nothing. When I winterized the boat, I drained the gear lube into a black pan. The lube on the dip stick looked clear, but once in the pan it was much easier to see the carmel color and water beads. I went back to the service mgr. and told him what I did and what was found. His recommendation was to bring the boat in around spring time and they would pull the outdrive, split the case and reseal the entire unit. Some where around $1200.
I feel like this is overkill. I was under the impression that the majority of leaks in outdrives are the O-rings or seals around the prop shaft. I'm not sure what to think of his resealing the entire unit.

I'd like to hear your take on this. Any and all coments and suggestions are GREATLY APPRECIATED!
Hey neutron...... I promise I'll pay attention!

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1997 23.8 Four Winns Vista
Bay Dream'n

resealing is better than getting a ruined drive where it has to be replaced

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"Changes In Latitudes, Changes In Attitudes "

1996 238 Vista dlx "Casper's Toy Too"
2006 5.0GXI w/closed cooling, DP-sm 1.95 drive
Previous boat:
1998 Sundowner 205

It's all down to personal choice as far as risk is concerned.

The seals and O rings where parts rotate are more likely to fail than static O rings and seals where parts are just bolted together.

if I was rebuilding an outdive from scratch I'd change all seals and O rings. As a running repair, only those associated with rotating parts.

[quote] if I was rebuilding an outdive from scratch I'd change all seals and O rings. As a running repair, only those associated with rotating parts.[/quote]

I certainly not looking to ruin my outdrive, but I believe Graham R gets my point. Why jump to a complete reseal. I would think the prop shaft seals are my problem.

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1997 23.8 Four Winns Vista
Bay Dream'n

[quote] if I was rebuilding an outdive from scratch I'd change all seals and O rings. As a running repair, only those associated with rotating parts.[/quote]

I certainly not looking to ruin my outdrive, but I believe Graham R gets my point. Why jump to a complete reseal. I would think the prop shaft seals are my problem.

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1997 23.8 Four Winns Vista
Bay Dream'n

I agree....swap the prop shaft seals and go from there. I think their vacuum seal test answered that question...theshaft seals were static in their test since the shaft wasn't rotating and all passed. Only variable not explored was the spinng shaft which takes you back to those shaft seals.

You may even have pulled in some debris or fishing line that compromised the shaft seal.....I assume your not getting any vibration or have damaged props...if so that vibration could cause the prop with those seals.

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http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o71 ... wqm355.jpg


08' H210SS
VP 5.7Gi

When I call to make the appointment for March, I'll request that only the prop shaft seals be replaced. The vibration suggestion has me thinking. I do recall catching the sand once trying to position close to a beach. There isn't any vibration, but its still probably a good idea to have them checked.

Thanks for everyones suggestions!

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1997 23.8 Four Winns Vista
Bay Dream'n

The tolerances on those shafts are extremely tight usually in the neighborhood of .000-.003 max lateral run out. To make things worse the inner shaft because it it smaller can be easily bent by hitting something like the bottom. You probably won't feel a vibration because it can cause the seal to leak even if it's only out by a small margin like .008. If it is bent it would be a rotational leak instead of a static leak which it sounds like they tested for like TX H210SS said.

The point of my story is: I wouldn't tell them to just replace that seal because they have to tear down the drive in order to do that. I would ask them to do a lateral run out test of the shafts first. If you just have seals put in it could wear down your new seal in a short amount of time. It may save you from having to have your drive torn down twice.

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Our Boating Blog: http://ben-dana.blogspot.com/

2005 268 Vista "Sea Pickle II"
1979 AMF Alcort Puffer
Previous:
2003 FW190 Horizon
1973 Startcraft 18ft "Sea Pickle"

I appreciate your input. Just printed off the information and will be reviewing it with the service manager when I take the boat in. Yeah.....I definately don't want to do this twice.

Thank You!

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1997 23.8 Four Winns Vista
Bay Dream'n

Just came back from the dealer with "not so good" news. He called Thursday and asked if I could swing by and look at some "Questionable" parts. The upper and lower units were disassembled, cleaned and laid out. The tech had an outdrive break down diagram showing all the internal parts and highlighted the problem areas. The lipseals on the prop shafts, vertical shaft and yoke had worn grooves into them. They were noticable by eye, but more revealing when you ran the blade of a small flat screwdriver over them. I told him to go ahead and replace the worn parts. I was surprised by his reply that he didn't recommend it. He explained that he had worked up a price on just the replacement parts and it was totally ridiculous. He said the shafts from Volvo Penta come with the gears, which increases the price and you can't reuse any of the old bearings. Then there's the additional labor cost for pressing parts on/off, shimming parts, checking tollerances, etc, etc, etc. To do it the absolute right way..... $8-9K. He said that when your looking at that kinda money, I needed to take into consideration the age of the boat and how long I planned on keeping it. When I mentioned replacing it with an aftermarket outdrive, he shuddered. He showed me pictures of aftermarket outdrives that were brought in because the owners had problems. Thats anouther story altogether. Anyway, he stated that because everything about the outdrive is otherwise like new, he would recommend replacing the bearing and race in the prop shaft housing, and all the O-rings and lipseals. He feels it -could- last another ten years. Total cost around $3,500. I'm going with his recommendation and it should be back in the driveway next week.

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1997 23.8 Four Winns Vista
Bay Dream'n