Engine Coupler Replacement Advice-gctid365325

[MidnightSun]

Last year on my last outing I unfortunately lost my starboard engine coupler. (gotta stop racing those cigarette boats. ) Good news is I had all winter to find one brand new at an unbelievable price which I have sitting in my garage right now.

I am pretty darn handy when it comes to mechanical work and actually removed/installed the engines in my boat. Unfortunately the boat is too far away and towing it to my place and back would set me back at least $1000 if not $1200. My plan is to go to the neighbouring house of where the boat is stored and have him bring his backhoe over my boat to which I will simply connect a chain fall to get the engine up high enough to replace the coupler. Most likely there was an alignment issue which I will take care of once changed and yes I do have an alignment bar. The Avanti I have is probably one of the easiest boat to get an engine out as the arch is reversed and the dual hatch doors open to starboard and port which leaves things wide open to work on.

Engine removal is a no brainer for me however I have never even looked at a coupling replacement before. Is there anything special I need to know before I get into this or is it just a question of taking the screws out of the old coupler and replacing with the new one, torqued properly and maybe a shot of blue loctite for good measure. Any pulling tools required or large pry bars or whatever to get the coupler off?

Any tips or pointer would be greatly appreciated as I will be 1.5hrs from home and do not want to go all the way back because I need something special to get the job done. Thanks in advance

[Guest]

I replaced my coupler. It is straight forward; the hardest part is disconnecting all of the wires, hoses, and pulling the engine. Once the engine is away from the transom and you can access the rear of the engine you can pull the old coupler and install the new. You may be able to do this without pulling the motor all the way out of the engine compartment. There were no special tools I needed for the replacement. As you say realign the engine and drive when you reinstall the motor.

[MidnightSun]

2859er wrote:
I replaced my coupler. It is straight forward; the hardest part is disconnecting all of the wires, hoses, and pulling the engine. Once the engine is away from the transom and you can access the rear of the engine you can pull the old coupler and install the new. You may be able to do this without pulling the motor all the way out of the engine compartment. There were no special tools I needed for the replacement. As you say realign the engine and drive when you reinstall the motor.

Thanks,

As mentioned I am at ease with pulling the engine. Knowing it's just a few bolts to take out and replace for the coupler will make things a breeze. Still need to figure out why it went only after a couple of hundred hours though. Alignment will definitely be on the high priority list and will check the port engine alignment while I am in there. Thanks again.

[Guest]

MidnightSun wrote:
Thanks,

As mentioned I am at ease with pulling the engine. Knowing it's just a few bolts to take out and replace for the coupler will make things a breeze. Still need to figure out why it went only after a couple of hundred hours though. Alignment will definitely be on the high priority list and will check the port engine alignment while I am in there. Thanks again.

Yeah, mine had maybe 300 hours or less when it went, maybe a combination of alignment and lack of grease. I went with the stainless steel replacement option instead of the aluminum. I align every year now and make sure the input spline is clean and greased well at the start of each season.

[Guest]

MidnightSun wrote:
Thanks,

As mentioned I am at ease with pulling the engine. Knowing it's just a few bolts to take out and replace for the coupler will make things a breeze. Still need to figure out why it went only after a couple of hundred hours though. Alignment will definitely be on the high priority list and will check the port engine alignment while I am in there. Thanks again.

Depending on how much room you have you should not have to completely remove the engine. A beam across the back of the boat and a chain fall should be all you need. If you can lift it and move it forward about 6 inches you should be able to get back there to change it.

[MidnightSun]

check737 wrote:
Depending on how much room you have you should not have to completely remove the engine. A beam across the back of the boat and a chain fall should be all you need. If you can lift it and move it forward about 6 inches you should be able to get back there to change it.

Funny you mention this as I did think about doing it this way. Chain block only needs to support around 600lbs but I am a little worried about the space between the beam and engine by the time the chain block is in and I would need to scoot it forward which may prove challenging with only a few inches of chain. Guess I could block up the beam to give me more room and chain length to ease the move forward.

If you take a peek at my pictures in my signature you will see I have plenty of room to scoot forward and access is great. (Double click on the photo showing both engines)

[2850Bounty]

Hans, with the drive off, and if you have enough space ahead of the engine, you could actually leave the flywheel cover attached to the inner transom plate.

The flywheel cover must be removed anyway, and this way you don't need to mess with the rear engine mounts (F/C to Inner Transom Plate).

The coupler unbolting and bolting should be no different than if changing a Borg Warner coupler.

[MidnightSun]

Rick, take a look at the picture showing both engines in my signature. Double click it to blow it up and tell me what you think.

[2850Bounty]

MidnightSun wrote:
Rick, take a look at the picture showing both engines in my signature. Double click it to blow it up and tell me what you think.

I can't tell much from the first photo........



:kidding

Hans, I'd say that you do have enough space. All you need would be the depth of the actual drive coupler profile, and perhaps a tad bit more.

Like said, you won't need to mess with the rear mounts if you were to do it this way.

It's a shame that you even need to touch these beauties.... that is one clean installation! :coo-



On the other hand, Hans.... if access to the two rear mounting hardware is easier....., then that may be the route to go.

Here's basically what you'll have back there.

Inner transom plate mounting ears and hardware...........



......... and the corresponding flywheel cover mounting ears that rest on top of the inner transom plate ears.



Sometimes it can be rather tricky to get this rear mounting hardware back together...... depending on access.

.

[MidnightSun]

Thanks Rick for taking the time to detail things like you did and everyone else who responded, really appreciated.

[Guest]

2859er wrote:
Yeah, mine had maybe 300 hours or less when it went, maybe a combination of alignment and lack of grease. I went with the stainless steel replacement option instead of the aluminum. I align every year now and make sure the input spline is clean and greased well at the start of each season.

Mine is going into the shop next week. I'm replacing mine with the stainless too.

[MidnightSun]

Impossible, you have a Sea Ray, they don't break because they use titanium couplers. :kidding Just curious, what are they charging you for this?

[Guest]

MidnightSun wrote:
Thanks Rick for taking the time to detail things like you did and everyone else who responded, really appreciated.

Hans,

The two rear mounts are set up with a nut that slides into the casting and they will stay there when you pull the mount bolts. The fiber washers will come out with a little lifting of the engine. I even changed one of the nuts with the engine in place using a piece of wire.

In any case you can try to leave the engine in and if that doesn't work it will be ready to pop out.

You probably only need to lift the engine a couple of inches and have some blocking available, pull the engine forward and lower it back on to the blocking. I put mine under the front mounts.

Good luck and take some pictures.

Rick is right that is a beautiful set up. No wonder you want to race with it.

Cheers

[Guest]

MidnightSun wrote:
Last year on my last outing I unfortunately lost my starboard engine coupler. (gotta stop racing those cigarette boats. ) Good news is I had all winter to find one brand new at an unbelievable price which I have sitting in my garage right now.

I am pretty darn handy when it comes to mechanical work and actually removed/installed the engines in my boat. Unfortunately the boat is too far away and towing it to my place and back would set me back at least $1000 if not $1200. My plan is to go to the neighbouring house of where the boat is stored and have him bring his backhoe over my boat to which I will simply connect a chain fall to get the engine up high enough to replace the coupler. Most likely there was an alignment issue which I will take care of once changed and yes I do have an alignment bar. The Avanti I have is probably one of the easiest boat to get an engine out as the arch is reversed and the dual hatch doors open to starboard and port which leaves things wide open to work on.

Engine removal is a no brainer for me however I have never even looked at a coupling replacement before. Is there anything special I need to know before I get into this or is it just a question of taking the screws out of the old coupler and replacing with the new one, torqued properly and maybe a shot of blue loctite for good measure. Any pulling tools required or large pry bars or whatever to get the coupler off?

Any tips or pointer would be greatly appreciated as I will be 1.5hrs from home and do not want to go all the way back because I need something special to get the job done. Thanks in advance

Hans,

Not to question you but are you sure it is the coupler? I spun a prop last year and I was going to change the coupler and someone told me if the coupler went there would be rubber debris on the transom area and back of the engine.

Turned out a new prop (easier to change) was all I needed.

[Guest]

check737 wrote:
Hans,

Not to question you but are you sure it is the coupler? I spun a prop last year and I was going to change the coupler and someone told me if the coupler went there would be rubber debris on the transom area and back of the engine.

Turned out a new prop (easier to change) was all I needed.

This is not always the case, if the cogs fail inside the coupler like mine did the rubber can and was in my case whole and not the problem. In any case it is important to rule out the prop as a source of failure.