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JaPOM35
07-17-2013, 07:50 PM
I'm a newbie and need advice.
I hit something while out on the lake caught up in a storm (very choppy) and took the boat out of the water to check the damage. Initially we felt a vibration, but didn't seem severe and passed quickly. Upon inspection we have bent the prop and it appears the strut too. That said I read a forum post about intentionally 'bent' strut bearings to ease driver swerve/pull and removal. I wondered if this was true and what year that stopped at. I have Moomba LSV 2005.
After the incident we drove for about 30 mins with no sign of any problems, but was concerned and very choppy so pulled it out of the water. I haven't put it back into the lake to try it again as I'm affraid to do more damage.

Any advise would be appreciated.

Jason

mmandley
07-17-2013, 09:15 PM
If you know the prop is bent then dont use the boat unless your trailering it, the added stress can damage the shaft seals.

Are you refering to the Strut that holds the drive shaft and the prop is bent? It takes a pretty solid hit to bend it, if its bent then you will need a new one.

Also yes on the Moomba boats the Shaft and Strut set off center to the Left of the Rudder. This stopped in 12 with the release of the Mojo. The LSV and OBV might have this also but i think the Mojo was the first to go center drive like with the rudder.

I would first get the prop fixed, then if you are not sure if anything is bent, take it for a spin, it should be smooth and no vibrations, if you have vibrations it could be the drive shaft its self is bent.

DOCDRS
07-17-2013, 09:18 PM
The strut will be offset from the rudder to allow removal of the shaft. First check your alignment. That will tell you if you have bent your strut if you cannot get it aligned.

motosno963
07-17-2013, 09:30 PM
if you wanna see bent ill pull up a pic of when i hit a long last summer..but like said beforeit will be off set a little for shaft removal..mine did the vibration on take off..did it after i hit the log, then stopped and took off and noticed a vibration..then did it again when i went to trailer it

bergermaister
07-18-2013, 01:56 AM
If it looks anything like this then that's BAD... :(

http://i326.photobucket.com/albums/k414/grberglund/MoombaMobiusV/berglund-moomba9.jpg

If it were me (again) I'd pull everything, have it checked, and replace as needed. Having any part of the running gear off just a little is going to cause unnecessary wear and tear on the rest. Better safe than sorry.

kaneboats
07-18-2013, 12:07 PM
I hit a rock going at idle and had to replace shaft, strut and prop. The boats are heavy enough that you can damage everything with a strike against anything fairly solid, even at low speed. Some shops can straighten and true your shaft but more than likely you will need to replace the strut and maybe the shaft and repair the prop. You can do it yourself and it's a great thing to learn. I can do the whole job in a couple of hours now.

squeeg333
07-18-2013, 03:50 PM
I have always been curious how you replace the strut. I mean, I know how you phyisically do it, but how you ensure that it is in proper alignement once you re-install it (not to mention access the nuts on the inside of boat under the oil pan). I thought I was going to have to do this several years back, and I had no idea how I was going to re-align the thing.

kaneboats
07-20-2013, 11:40 AM
LOL! You don't align the strut. It can only go in one spot. You have to align (with the strut) by moving the engine.

squeeg333
07-25-2013, 06:43 PM
Is that true though? The 6 bolts holding the strut to the boat aren't body-fit bolts, they are just thru bolts with nuts on the end. So there's going to be slop in those holes. So, theoretically, it could be re-attached the boat in a differnt alignment than it was initially. I could see that causing an issue...