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  1. #1
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    Signs that your torquemaster gearcase is about to go?

    serial number 1B464793
    2007 250 pro xs
    26 fury

    I'm hoping that it isn't toast, but something bad happened to my torquemaster lower over the weekend.

    At the end of tournament day (5th run of the day or so), a couple miles into my last run returning to weigh in, I looked at my rpms and noticed that I was around 5800 and I was only going around 55 mph. As I was saying "hmmm, thats not right" to myself, there was an ugly noise from the engine and then it shut down. Was able to start the engine with no problem, but no gears in either forward or reverse.

    This lower unit replaced the original a couple years ago and probably has around 50 hours on it. The original was destroyed when I went to get on plane a few inches above a rockpile. When that happened, it was an obvious hit, and the prop and lower unit were obviously damaged.
    In this case, there was nothing obvious.
    As I didn't hit anything (that I know of... I was on Kentucky lake and did run through some Carp) with this lower, I'm wondering what may have happened here.
    Does the RMP to speed thing I mentioned point towards anything?
    I feel like I rarely hear about a torquemaster blowing up without hitting anything.


    A couple things I'll mention about my time with this lower unit...
    After it was installed, I lost about 5mph (5900 used to be 74mph, was 69mph with new lower). I chalked this up to the same prop being used after it had been repaired.
    Motor idles a little rough when in gear. Smooths out when I give it a little gas.
    Should also mention that I fished three days in a row before this happened. Two of those days, the air temps were in the twenties or low thirties.
    I won't be able to get the boat into the shop for a few weeks.
    Trying to get a jump on what the diagnosis might be here.
    Thanks!
    puma proxs

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    #2
    With the boat on the trailer and the motor off, see if you can spin the prop freely while its in neutral then try putting it in forward/reverse and seeing if you can still spin it. It shouldn't spin at all.

    Not a Merc/Torquemaster but I had the same thing happen to me on my last boat with a Johnson 200. Was cruising on the St. Johns River at about 4000RPMs and all of a sudden the motor redlined and came out of gear. As the boat came to a stop I put it back in neutral and fired it back up with no issues but had no forward/reverse. I was in the middle of a channel and hadn't hit anything to my knowledge. The motor had been acting funny prior when shifting in and out of gears. For instance when pulling up to a dock and putting it into neutral from forward, the motor got real quiet like it was only running on 3 cylinders instead of 6. Cut it off and cut it back on and it sounded normal again. The shop had chalked it up to a linkage issue and had to replace the LU. They had already replaced it once prior to this due to me hitting a rock.
    2002 Ranger 195 VS - Mercury Optimax 200

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    #3
    Are the RPM readings coming from a Smartcraft Device?



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    #4
    Quote Originally Posted by Tater400 View Post
    With the boat on the trailer and the motor off, see if you can spin the prop freely while its in neutral then try putting it in forward/reverse and seeing if you can still spin it. It shouldn't spin at all.
    Unfortunately, my boat lives an hour away and I won't be visiting her for a week or so. I do know that the prop spins freely when in neutral. Can't recall what it was doing while in gear.

    Quote Originally Posted by Savage View Post
    Are the RPM readings coming from a Smartcraft Device?
    Yes
    puma proxs

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    #5
    Since the RPM data is accurate, that means one or more of these things:

    The jackplate was set too high.
    The motor was over trimmed.
    The prop is damaged.
    The prop hub is bad.



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    #6
    Quote Originally Posted by Savage View Post
    Since the RPM data is accurate, that means one or more of these things:

    The jackplate was set too high.
    The motor was over trimmed.
    The prop is damaged.
    The prop hub is bad.
    Are you referring to the difference between the older and current lower units, or to the recent loss of gears?
    The thought of a spun hub occurred to me, but the loss of gears came with a loud bang and then the prop wouldn't spin at all (the only spun hubs I've seen will still spin when in gear, just not under load).
    That said, I'll be ecstatic if this somehow turns out to be a spun hub. lol
    puma proxs

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    #7
    Missed the no gears part......You likely lost the lower unit.



  8. Mercury 3L/4 Stroke/Verado Moderator EuropeanAM's Avatar
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    #8
    Sounds like you had already lost one (or more) teeth from either the pinion or the Forward Gear. That would throw the gear ratio enough to notice a significant speed drop for the same/given RPM's.

    Won't run that way for long though... and when the tooth jams between others, it locks the gearcase and sheers a shaft, pinion, etc.


    Dual Mercury Master Technician- for Mercury Outboards, Mercruiser and Mercury Racing at European Marine in Greenville, SC.
    Still consider myself a "Marine Apprentice" after 47 years (learn something new every day).
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    #9
    Thanks, guys.
    Unfortunately, that above lost tooth theory makes too much sense.
    Is there typically a cause for this happening?
    Scared to ask, lol... I haven't looked into my warranty yet, if the above is indeed what happened, are there repair options?
    puma proxs

  10. Mercury 3L/4 Stroke/Verado Moderator EuropeanAM's Avatar
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    #10
    Single tooth (or groups of 2-3) adjacent teeth failures are most commonly caused by a sudden change in speed of one gear (most common example is impact with an object).

    Repair is possible in many cases- though you'll want to make sure whomever is doing it:

    1. Knows what they are doing

    2. Has the correct tools and manuals for the HP gearcases.


    Dual Mercury Master Technician- for Mercury Outboards, Mercruiser and Mercury Racing at European Marine in Greenville, SC.
    Still consider myself a "Marine Apprentice" after 47 years (learn something new every day).
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    #11
    Thanks, Don.
    No joke... if this would have happened 10 miles later, I would have qualified to fish the All American tournament on Lake Hartwell in the spring. Could have brought the boat down to you and made it a boat fix / pre fish trip.
    puma proxs

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    #12
    When my lower unit went out I was hauling @ss back to the ramp and the back of the boat sorta jumped to the right. I immediately shut down turned off the engine and trimmed it up to see if I hit something. Seeing no damage I trimmed it back down started the engine and it wouldn't go into forward or reverse. Being only a half mile from the ramp I fished my way back. After wrestling the boat onto the trailer I spun the prop and it sounded like a mixture of chunky soup. Mechanic said the pinion gear let go... Thank God for my warranty... Good luck... Dan

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    #13
    Quote Originally Posted by Dan21XRS View Post
    Being only a half mile from the ramp I fished my way back.
    When I lost my lower unit a couple years ago, I was only a few miles away in the morning. Fished my way back to the ramp and actually had a good day. lol.
    Not so lucky this time.
    puma proxs

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    #14
    Sounds like the lower is toast. My sportmaster blew while running 3k rpm. Was just cruising along and then it banged off the rev limiter. Start up motor and runs fine but shifting did nothing. Had it rebuilt professionally for about $2500
    2007 Sterling 22xs-Yamaha 250-Dual 10 foot blades-Ipilot-Bobs Jack plate-HDS 8 (SOLD)
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    #15
    It was dark when I pulled the boat out, and dark when I parked her in storage, but geez, I don't know how I missed this...
    My guess now is that this is not a rebuildable lower unit.
    IMG_4082.jpg
    puma proxs

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    #16
    Nope it is toast!



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    #17
    I don’t know if it was couisedent or not but a couple years ago my boat would struggle to get on plane one afternoon, next morning lower unit locked up on blastoff. Could that be related?

  18. Mercury 3L/4 Stroke/Verado Moderator EuropeanAM's Avatar
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    #18
    Quote Originally Posted by La Boy View Post
    I don’t know if it was couisedent or not but a couple years ago my boat would struggle to get on plane one afternoon, next morning lower unit locked up on blastoff. Could that be related?
    Could be... especially if it behaved well after the gearcase was replaced.


    Dual Mercury Master Technician- for Mercury Outboards, Mercruiser and Mercury Racing at European Marine in Greenville, SC.
    Still consider myself a "Marine Apprentice" after 47 years (learn something new every day).
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