Transmission help

[Cusefan78]

So over the weekend my transmission started to slip and now it's pretty bad. Going to pull the transmission any advice on getting it out and back in. Also who does everyone recommend on either getting it rebuilt or getting a new one. Would like to get this turned around pretty quick the season is almost over

[Cusefan78]

So here's where I'm at. Called skidim and ordered a barrel, seal kit, and clutch kit. I took the old transmission apart and found that the clutch discs were worn badly and also found some hair line cracks in the bottom of the barrel. Parts come Thursday and il be rebuilding the transmission Thursday night and hopefully have it ready for install Friday. I ordered the transmission book from pcm and was told its a 3 hour job to rebuild it and I'm guessing another two to reinstall and align the transmission. The guys at skidim told me its a fairly easy job. If all works out ill have a completely new tranny for $800.

[docdrs]

Take lots of pictures and write it up please. Will h
elp others in the future

[chris young]

How does one know it's slipping? I thought it kind of strange that I get 30MPH @3000RPM but only ~38MPH at nearly 6000 RPM. I noticed that someone here said the tach should roughly follow the Speedo.

[KaiVal]

Here is a great series of how to rebuild a velvet drive, see below.
Inspect your pump for wear. I recommend buying a new pump. There was one on Ebay for $175 delivered.
Also inspect the dampener mounted on the flywheel for wear or loose springs. A replacement dampener is about $90 on the web.
To pull the transmission remove the muffler and risers, unbolt the drive flange, cooler lines and cables. I removed the rear mount to stringer fasteners then with a bottle jack under a manifold jack the back of the engine up watching clearances as you go. Then remove the trans side mounts. There are two long bolts holding the trans to bell housing, pull them and stick them into the side mount holes to use a handles. Then remove the remaining four nuts washers. Have someone help pull the trans aft and out. It's about 100 Lbs.

https://forum.supraboats.com/showthread.php?10280-How-to-rebuild-a-velvet-drive-10-17-004-1-1

[Cusefan78]

Chris, at first my boat sounded like it was cavitating everytime I turned hard under power then it started to make that cavitation sound when I tried to get the boat moving. It's to the point know that I had to nurse it up to speed then I can feel it loosing its grip. Pulling the tranny wasnt bad after I looked at it for a while. Pull the four bolts on the flange for the prop shaft push that towards the nut as far as it goes, then pull the 8 screws for the back motor mounts. Then loosen the top nuts for the front motor mounts. After that I connected a come along connected to the ski pylon and the other end I wrapped around the back of the tranny. The tranny needs to go up a few inches to clear the flange. After that its 4 bolts on the tranny and you're home free.

[trayson]

We just pulled the tranny in mine and did the reinstall.

Change the rear main seal if you have any inclination that it could ever need replacing. they are $10 but you have to pull the tranny and flywheel to get at it... If you don't already have one, get a brass pilot bearing and the corresponding clutch alignment tool and that will make getting the transmission input shaft aligned dead on with the damper plate easy and straightforward. (I ended up using a universal pilot tool because I didn't know about the pilot bearing idea).

Lube up your tranny mounts and get them ready to go back in. We had the most success with mounting the tranny mounts back on the tranny and then putting the whole tranny with the mounts into place that way. Leaving the mounts on the stringer and trying to slip the tranny between them would have been a huge PITA.

Sliding the middle rear floor section out of the way (the floor that's above the packing nut) helps get more room.

You MUST do an alignment of the propshaft flange to the transmission output shaft flange and get it within .003
This is tedious, but totally doable. Oh, and get yourself an 8 point socket to turn the square end that's at the top of the transmission/stringer mount.
I was able to get my side to side measurement of the flange alignment (via feeler gauges) to dead on, and I was .0015 between top and bottom. Boo-Ya!

Oh, flush the damn lines that go to your tranny cooler BEFORE you reassemble the tranny. I couldn't figure out why the tranny didn't take the 1.9 quarts that were the spec for the PCM 40i.

The guys at skidim say that they "rebuild" the trannys without taking off the spring on the main shaft. THat's why I elected to send mine to fantastic finishes marine, where they do a FULL rebuild for $900, including everything. They turn it around in 2 to 3 days. Shipping wasn't bad at all via fedex ground. I shipped mine in a rubbermaid heavy duty bin and it weighed about 55 pounds.

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-0Fv89ElShb8/Udxs9vYXxUI/AAAAAAAAOUI/t2-msjkPlcE/s800/20130709_094319.jpg

also check your ring gear for chipped teeth in the 4 positions on the inside of the gear where it would contact the bendix gear of the starter. Mine had chipped teeth. I was able to find one with the correct number of teeth for the Ford 351 at my local auto parts store for $22. Screw SkiDim and their $121!!!! Saved $100 right there. Got the old one removed and the new one pressed on at a local machine shop for $15.

LMK if you have any more questions. I just did this during the month of July...

[Cusefan78]

I changed the spring. They told me not to but my barrel had cracks so I had to take it out anyways I made a tool out of a small piece of 2x4 and two sockets. Put a screw through the sockets attaching them to the 2x4 then I used two wood clamps On each end of the tranny and the other end to the 2x4. I then pressed the spring back down and reinstalled the lock ring. It worked like a charm. The rebuild was pretty easy. Take the barrel apart replace the 5 clutch discs and the 5 ring plates. Insert the shaft then the cover. Remove the back seal and the 4 in the front. Install the new seals then Bolt it back up. Here's a tip make sure the barrel is all the way down and the shaft sits flush in the barrel. I had to take it all back apart after I find my cover was 1/2" too high. I don't take pictures of the whole process but I do have the Manual and I would be happy to scan and message it to anyone. I have a picture of the outside and and the barrell also have pictures of all the broken stuff ill post them in a few. It's a messy job make sure you clean everything and get the old gasket completely off. The whole rebuild took me just shy of three hours.

[trayson]

I changed the spring. They told me not to but my barrel had cracks so I had to take it out anyways I made a tool out of a small piece of 2x4 and two sockets. Put a screw through the sockets attaching them to the 2x4 then I used two wood clamps On each end of the tranny and the other end to the 2x4. I then pressed the spring back down and reinstalled the lock ring. It worked like a charm. The rebuild was pretty easy. Take the barrel apart replace the 5 clutch discs and the 5 ring plates. Insert the shaft then the cover. Remove the back seal and the 4 in the front. Install the new seals then Bolt it back up. Here's a tip make sure the barrel is all the way down and the shaft sits flush in the barrel. I had to take it all back apart after I find my cover was 1/2" too high. I don't take pictures of the whole process but I do have the Manual and I would be happy to scan and message it to anyone. I have a picture of the outside and and the barrell also have pictures of all the broken stuff ill post them in a few. It's a messy job make sure you clean everything and get the old gasket completely off. The whole rebuild took me just shy of three hours.

Damn, I should have sent YOU mine! haha! You sound like a rockstar. Great job!

[Cusefan78]

Ok so it's all back together one thing I forgot to share is if you're replacing the drum it doesn't come with the clutch piston. Mine was a bitch to get out. I ended up drilling four holes through the back of the old drum. Go slow cause you don't want to drill through the piston. Ten take a punch and tap it out. Then push it on the new drum. I used a piece of wood to seat it. It's a really easy job. Thanks for the rock star comment but its pretty simple just take your time and make sure everything is seated and clean. 13002 remove the 12 screws take the pump cover off noting what's up and what's down.
Remove the cover
The reverse gear will come with it. To change the reverse clutch take off the ring and pull everything apart and pop the new clutches in. For the forward gears pull the shaft out. Then there is a retainer around the outside take that off and replace the clutched then slide the shaft back in. If you have to replace the drum you need to pull the center spring off. Becareful it's a big spring. 13003 cracked drum. Make sure to look cause I have been told this is common.
13004 this is how I removed the spring and pressed it back down. Worked like a charm and saves me $80 for the press tool. If you Guys have any question feel free to ask.

[Cusefan78]

So the tranny is back in and runs like a champ. Zero slipping and it shoots out of the hole as good as new. In all honesty if you have even the slightest mechanical ability it's not a bad job to undertake. Here's another tip. Disconnect the exhaust after the silencer and put them out of the way on the floor of the boat. That way you have plenty of room to slide the tranny in and out and can bolt the mounts back up with nothing in the way.

[trayson]

So the tranny is back in and runs like a champ. Zero slipping and it shoots out of the hole as good as new. In all honesty if you have even the slightest mechanical ability it's not a bad job to undertake. Here's another tip. Disconnect the exhaust after the silencer and put them out of the way on the floor of the boat. That way you have plenty of room to slide the tranny in and out and can bolt the mounts back up with nothing in the way.

Did you remove the tranmission stringer mounts then?

Did you do your propshaft to tranny alignment?

Did you do anything else while you were in there? (like the rear main seal?)

[Cusefan78]

I didn't change the dampner or the rear main. They both look in great shape plus it's easy to take the tranny out so if I need to down the road it's not a big deal. I did realign the tranny. Didnt need much. Left and right was perfect just needed to raise the front mounts a hair to bring the back down. There's a great video on YouTube showing how to do it with a feeler gauge. I did take the string mounts out with the tranny. It makes the tranny much easier to work with on. I used them as handles to align the transmission and into the dampner. If you have to do this I would highly recommend reading the pcm Tranny service manual. It's very informative and it helped me a ton.

[trayson]

Yeah, if I had to do it again, I can see how popping off the shiny exhaust pipes would be helpful. Nice work! Now, can you come over to my house and R&R the seal on my rudder so I don't have play in it and stop taking on water??? You're way more handy working on boats than I am!

[Cusefan78]

That doesn't look like a bad job. Looks like the rudder slides out after you take off the two nuts and the steering cable. Pretty sure it just has one of those rope seals.

[trayson]

That doesn't look like a bad job. Looks like the rudder slides out after you take off the two nuts and the steering cable. Pretty sure it just has one of those rope seals.

Well, I guess there's a trick that you have to have the rudder shaft turned a certain way for it to slide out of the lever once the pinch bolt is removed. But yeah, that's the idea. I guess I'm not thrilled by having to pull the gas tank to access it.

I didn't realize buying a 20 year old boat would mean that I'm 50% enjoying it on the water and 50% boat mechanic!!!

[villain]

The old adage works for boats too I guess.

Ashes to ashes, Dust to dust
If it wasn't for fords, my tools would rust.

Lol

[chris young]

I wouldn't obsess about the tank, it's a pretty easy job, at least it was on my Rider.

[Cusefan78]

B- break
O- out
A- another
T- thousand.

When I did my transom LEDs I had the back rest pulled out and saw the tank for the first time. Pulling it isn't a big deal. Take the clinching screws out and the screws for the front strap out. Then unhook the sender and the hoses and it'll slide right out. Pretty easy process. I'm guessing that rudder change isn't a big deal. I wouldn't stress over it.