Drive shaft broke inside drive housing

[trevormcfar]

Looks like something gave in my v drive to cause the drive shaft to heat up to the point it got brittle and ultimately broke. I can feel the end of the drive still in the vdrive and of course the broken part is free with only the rudder stopping the whole prop/shaft from falling out. I can still put the boat in forwards and backwards without any sounds to cause alarm making me think just the drive shaft is broken. Havin said that, for it to get so hot in there makes me think something else is screwed. Thoughts on what could have happened? (Yes there is oil in the v drive). Just curious if anyone else has heard of this or may know more than me. I will be taking it in to get fixed... guess I’m trying to prepare myself for how bad this could be...

Thanks all 27573

[beat taco]

Alignment is the biggest cause of a failure. Its not a bad job. If your seal was leaking I'd replace it and also inspect the strut bearings since it's coming apart anyway.

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[trayson]

I'm just a couple weeks ahead of you on this one. According to the prop shaft guru, breaking there is almost surely a problem with alignment.

I did the work myself.

New shaft from Elberts.com = $500
New cutlass bearings = $100
New shaft seal = $200 to $300 for dripless.

The alignment is KEY. the motor and tranny mounts allow adjustment veritcally and horizontally. it's an upside down geometry puzzle on a v-drive, but do-able. I did mine with help from a buddy.

[trevormcfar]

It could have been off alignment as we did hit a smaller log prior. Did not think much about it as everything seemed ok other than a slight vibration. Looks like that’s the issue for sure. Thanks everyone.

[DOCDRS]

Alignment or a bent shaft will also cause premature dripless failure. If it will snap your shaft wear on the vdrive internals will be occurring as well. Also motor mounts may wear out prematurely too. I know most rarely if ever check these. It is fairly easy to incorporate it into your fall winterization process