Driveshaft Problem Anyone?

[chrisk]

So I was out with some friends in their '92 Nautique and we were pulling a skier up and the boat literally just stopped moving. It felt kind of like we hit something so our first thought was oh no, the prop just fell off. I got in the water and felt around under the boat, the prop was still there, untouched but the entire drive shaft could slide back and forth 3 or 4 inches. The shaft literally sheared in half right at the coupler. Has anyone ever seen this?

[zalamander]

Happened to me 2nd day I owned my sunsport. Mine was due to rotten stringers and engine shifting. Drive shaft is around $400. I would also recommend getting new bearings in strut and paying a shop to re-align everything (make sure they offer warranty). Prop may have a dent on it also from shooting back and hitting rudder.

[Salty87]

i didn't have mine long before something similar...drive shaft pulled out of the coupler. the keyway got all torn up so it was as good as broken. rudder stopped it from getting pulled out of the hull entirely.

[chrisk]

Yeah, they're pretty perplexed about this. Last year they ran it aground and bent the driveshaft. They had it replaced and had a shop re-align everything and now this happens...

[DKJBama92Mariah]

With the break that close to the coupler, sounds like an alignment issue to me. Perhaps the strut was bent and the shop didn't catch it. I hope for their sake it isnt loose motor mounts.

Welcome to life with an inboard. The stern drive guys get to deal with fishing line around the prop hubs, contaminated gear oil, faulty trim solenoids, a simple bearing that requires pulling the engine to change, and leaking bellows that can in some cases sink a boat. We get stuff like this.

In 16 years, I've broke one strut, bent two more, snapped off a rudder, and I'm on my third driveshaft and second prop. I am on a first name basis with the local prop repair shop owner. No way around it, inboards are much more vulnerable to damage from either rocky bottoms or in my case large logs submerged just below the surface.

Despite this, I really have little interest in stern drive boats. I do all my own work, so I appreciate the DD inboard being so simple and easy to work on. Not to mention a small one like mine can run circles around a sterndrive maneuvering around the dock.

[chrisk]

I forgot to update this, the boat owners sent the shaft in to have it inspected and they discovered rust around the area where the shaft broke. They basically decided that the shaft was a manufacturer defect and they are getting a new one for free.

[wspeedin]

and leaking bellows that can in some cases sink a boat.

This right here is the exact reason I sold my Bayliner and bought a Supra!! 4th of July weekend in 2009 I left the boat docked at my buddies lake house, woke up in the morning and the entire back half of the boat was under water. Ugh, fixed it all back and sold that POS! Bought a Supra instead!