A27 transmission seal leak part B

[Randall]

I’ve decided to start a new thread on the A 27 shaft seal or bearing problem. Engine is Nissan 78hp driving 1-1/4” dia. shaft with no center mounted flange bearing. Looking aft of the packing gland appears to be the log. No flange bearing in sight. If anyone has this configuration on their A27 would appreciate your advise before we try to ease the shaft aft to remove transmission.

Randall
1986 Albin FC Meridian”

[TorreyWP]

I have the same set up and just removed my transmission a few weeks ago. I went a bit further; sent prop out for balancing, serviced the dripless packing gland with new bellows and also put a new cutlass bearing in. Most of the nuts/bolts are metric so a set of six point end wrenches and 3/8" drive six point sockets will be needed. You may need a breaker bar of some kind. Plan on lots of this stuff having NEVER been apart for the life of the boat...That said, this is not a HUGE job and will save you $$$. Access and difficult fasteners are your biggest challenge.

No need to remove the prop or rudder if all you are doing is removing the transmission.

First; soak the 4 shaft coupling to transmission bolts and nuts with your favorite flavor penetrating oil. Mine were rusty. Take a picture of how your shift cable is attached to the transmission and bracket, I find it easiest to remove it and put it back together in neutral. Now, remove the cable. For access; I found it easiest to remove the exhaust hoses from the elbow on the engine to the muffler. Kneeling down on the starboard side of the engine and facing aft was my best position for the job. Measure the distance from the bottom of the bilge to the bottom of the shaft. Cut a 2x4 to this length, you can use it to brace the shaft while it is not couple to the transmission.

- Loosen your shaft packing nut, the big one in your picture. Large adjustable works great.

- Now break the 4 nuts and bolts free from the shaft coupling and remove them.

- You should now be able to push the shaft aft a few inches to facilitate the transmission removal. Brace the free end of the shaft with the 2x4 you cut.

- Loosen the 6 (?) transmission to flywheel housing bolts. Be ready on the last one; the transmission isn't really heavy (30-40#) but it is awkward and you will have to manipulate it, tilt it, turn it etc to fit it out past the engine. It does fit, trust me. I think mine fit out past the aft starboard side of the engine.

At this point you want to get a look at your torsional dampener that is mounted to the flywheel. Mine had broken springs and was quite loud. Hope you found a good source to do the seal job, its not rocket science but a knowledgeable shop is key. Make sure they give the rest of the guts a good look so you do not have trouble down the line. Gears, friction material on the clutch packs and other seals, it will all add $$$ if other things are needed but you would hate to put it all back together just to be let down. For perspective: a brand new ZF transmission costs about 2100 bucks and comes with a 3 year warranty....dont ask how I know....

My boat is still apart while I'm waiting for a few more parts to put it back together. I had planned to do a write up with pictures at some point but let me know if I can be of any further help "on the fly" as they say...

Good luck!

[TorreyWP]

Here are some pictures of my removal job. In pictures where you can see the shaft removed, I had already pressed off the shaft coupler. You do not need to do that.

Be glad you don't, thats where I spent most of my time!

Some of the pics are rotated but you get the idea.

[Randall]

Thank you Torrey. That’s the kind of detail that makes a difficult job much easier. I hope to start in mid-April when on blocks for the season.

Randall
1986 Albin 27 FC. “ Meridian”
No. Fort Myers, Fl

[motthediesel]

Randall,

I just had my driveline all apart, as I added a mid-bearing to my 1-1/4" shaft. I also took the shaft all the way out to straighten it. Dropping the rudder was necessary to do that, but it really was not a big deal.

You probably will not need to remove the shaft coupling, and that's good, but at least in my case, just sliding the shaft back was not easy. I backed off the stuffing box nut, slid it forward, then tried to pull the shaft back by pulling on the prop. It just would not move.

So I removed the prop, then slid a length of PVC pipe over the shaft. Using a big washer on the end, the prop nut was then used to pull the shaft back, as you see here.



Well, that worked, but unfortunately, it pulled the rubber bearing material right out of the cutless bearing, as you see here.



At that point, there was no going back, so I pulled it all the way out, and bought a new cutless bearing. The problem was that there was a lot of corrosion/growth on the shaft inside the stern tube, and that would just not pass through the bearing without wrecking it.

You may have better luck, I hope you do, but be aware that this particular problem might await you as well.

Tom

[TorreyWP]

Good points there Tom. Nice puller set up as well!

Randall, just in case you see a need to get the shaft all the way out of the boat when you get going with the project, make sure the yard blocks the boat high enough to drop the rudder down out of the boat or that the boat is on dirt so you could dig if necessary. You will need about 6-8 inches under the rudder shoe, I dug a hole to get mine out.

Likely you won't need to, just thinking ahead. Because of the nature of these boats being displacement, low shaft speed boats; lots of the driveline won't have been apart since new unless something "happened".

Keep us updated!

Also fyi, if needed: I have 2 spare transmissions, one for parts has chipped gears and another good used unit. I would be happy to part with either to help a fellow member.

[Randall]

Thanks again Torrey, will keep in mind. When on blocks, my drive shaft will be about 4 ft. off the ground. I'll track progress and post results.
Randall
1986 Albin FC "Meridian"
No. Fort Myers, Fl.

[Dieselram94]

Randall,

I just had my driveline all apart, as I added a mid-bearing to my 1-1/4" shaft. I also took the shaft all the way out to straighten it. Dropping the rudder was necessary to do that, but it really was not a big deal.

You probably will not need to remove the shaft coupling, and that's good, but at least in my case, just sliding the shaft back was not easy. I backed off the stuffing box nut, slid it forward, then tried to pull the shaft back by pulling on the prop. It just would not move.

So I removed the prop, then slid a length of PVC pipe over the shaft. Using a big washer on the end, the prop nut was then used to pull the shaft back, as you see here.



Well, that worked, but unfortunately, it pulled the rubber bearing material right out of the cutless bearing, as you see here.



At that point, there was no going back, so I pulled it all the way out, and bought a new cutless bearing. The problem was that there was a lot of corrosion/growth on the shaft inside the stern tube, and that would just not pass through the bearing without wrecking it.

You may have better luck, I hope you do, but be aware that this particular problem might await you as well.

Tom

Just curious, what type of corrosion and growth was on the shaft and inside the stern tube? Any white powdery type of stuff?

[motthediesel]

No, not white or powdery, it was dark crusty stuff that looked more organic than typically chemical. It was dry of course, as the boat’s been out of the water since November. I scraped it off with an aluminum scrap (so as not to damage the bronze shaft) and it cleaned up nice.

Tom

[Dieselram94]

No, not white or powdery, it was dark crusty stuff that looked more organic than typically chemical. It was dry of course, as the boat’s been out of the water since November. I scraped it off with an aluminum scrap (so as not to damage the bronze shaft) and it cleaned up nice.

Tom

Thank you for letting me know. I’ve been trying to identify a white crusty/powdery substance that my shaft and interior stern tube were covered in.

[Randall]

To Torrey, thanks for the generous offer for a used transmission. I am interested. Let me know what detail you have on the trans. and price per return email. I have sent a link to your email. Thanks again.

Randall
1986 Albin 27FC "Meridian"
North Fort Myers,
fl.

[Bob Noodat]

Thank you for letting me know. I’ve been trying to identify a white crusty/powdery substance that my shaft and interior stern tube were covered in.

Chemistry never made much sense to me, and I have always found electrical phenomena hard to grasp, but white powder on metal in a marine environment always seems to go with rogue electrons streaming away between dissimilar metals. A stainless prop, long periods on shore power at an iron dock? Others understand the processes better than I do.

[Dieselram94]

Thank you for letting me know. I’ve been trying to identify a white crusty/powdery substance that my shaft and interior stern tube were covered in.

Chemistry never made much sense to me, and I have always found electrical phenomena hard to grasp, but white powder on metal in a marine environment always seems to go with rogue electrons streaming away between dissimilar metals. A stainless prop, long periods on shore power at an iron dock? Others understand the processes better than I do.

At first I thought it was a build up of salt, however it didn’t taste salty. Bronze shaft and bronze stern tube, bronze propeller. All zincs in place. After realizing it wasn’t salt I feared it was electrolysis, however after scraping, sanding and otherwise cleaning it showed good bronze underneath the buildup. If I remember right it had some of the buildup on shaft and stuffing box in front of stuffing box where electrolysis would not be possible. I have replaced the shaft with a brand new 1 1/4” stainless shaft and new bronze stuffing box and new cutless bearing. Right now my best guess as to what this white stuff is is either a calcium build up or some sort of other mineral that was in the water where the previous owner kept the boat. This boat has always been in Maine so it really spent somewhat minimal time in the water as we have short seasons up here.

Last picture shows the reflection of the pick I used to scrape and clean some of the substance away. As far as I can tell I see no pink in the bronze. However inside of stern tube does have a rough texture but I think it was cast that way?

[Bob Noodat]

Is there any chance that you might have your battery within a common air space to your shaft and that this white deposit is the result of sulphation? Apologies if that is a daft idea.

[Dieselram94]

Is there any chance that you might have your battery within a common air space to your shaft and that this white deposit is the result of sulphation? Apologies if that is a daft idea.

Batteries are quite a distance away but it is a theory I hadn’t thought of before. The propeller and exposed part of the shaft were all clean of this buildup as well if I remember correctly.