Chain reaction results in new gear box

[DAKA]

Gear Box change

Sometimes I wish I wasn't so much of a perfectionist, this started 3 years ago when I posted on YBW about changing the pitch on my props for an extra 1-2 knots..........

The Professionals tasked to remove the 1 year old props had problems with the starboard prop that they said was stuck and ended up having two men run holding a railway sleeper as a battering ram against an iron bar held against the prop.

By the time the prop was removed it was mangled and had to be re tuned .

Following that I suffered an irritating petty leak of ATF fluid, only about an egg cup full every 200 nm or so but enough to be an irritant in an otherwise spotless bilge, at the end of the season I changed the oil and filter in the hope it was an oil seal, but the gearbox still dripped oil on long passages.

I was quoted £6600 for a new fitted gear box and I decided to phone around, I knew almost all engine manufacturers use the same gear box ( Hurth ZF ) so I phoned

a Cummins-Mercruiser dealer who quoted £4791.37, but it would be white ( I wanted black )

I know Volvo Penta use the same Hurth ZF 63 a in their D4 and D6 range so I got a price from a Volvo dealer £ 3253
getting better but it would be green.

I ended up getting the same gear box from Perkins in bare Aluminium for £ 1480.

Thats an amazing £2 000 to £3 000 for a paint job

I spent £20 on some etching primer and black paint and got in touch with 'Col' off the forum .

I had seen a post of Cols when he changed two gear boxes in a boat just like mine so I knew Col was the right man for the job

Col was very professional and methodical.
As soon as I spoke to him I was impressed, turned up exactly when he said he would and started straight away by jumping into the engine bay.I assumed he was eyeing the job up , but a short while latter he had already disconnected the shaft, pushed it back and was well on with the job.

Look at all those cables, wires and hoses not to mention the 1 1/2 inch shaft and hole to the marina !

heres the new one, bottle of fairy left in for perspective.

I can do this with my eyes closed said Col

Don't tell the wife about the mucky bit of wood

No probs, its out

All back /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Nothing concerned Col, he just got on with it chatting and smiling all the way through.
I was impressed with his professional and friendly approach, I had full confidence in his ability and I would not hesitate to invite him back to work on my boat in the future.

The prop upgrade gained me 2-3 knots extra cruise speed for free ( no extra fuel).
The new gear box will save me 50p worth of ATF top up per season , but I know it is right /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

Once the gear box was removed I took it to a local gear box specialist who repaired it in a day for £105, that's one spare that will be kept at home and not in the bilge !

Of course the chain reaction continued, the sea trial was fine until we decided to stop off at Gosport Marina for lunch, we were directed down a very narrow fairway, I mentioned to swmbo that I wouldn't like to do this fairway in a cross wind when......... the starboard gear lever stuck in forward, I had practised berthing on one engine many times ready for an engine failure but never thought to rehearse with one engine still engaged, we managed to berth without damage and I phoned Col who was there within 40 mins and lever adjusted during the lunch time stop, thanks Col /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[Solitaire]

He does do a good job! I see he's got a new bit of equipment now - junk of wood, chain and a ratchet! They are heavy those boxes /forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif

He is down sorting out a pair of errant heat exchangers for another forumite today. No peace for the good!

 

[DAKA]

It was your post that made me decide to change the gear box, you made it sound so easy /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

The block and tackle was to hold the engine while the gear box was removed.
The rear mounts are slightly different to yours as they are on the gear box not the engine.

On reflection I should have taken the gear box out last November, had it repaired and put back in but I didnt realize that it was only a petty fault.
There was no way of knowing what the problem was while it was attached to the engine.

 

[Solitaire]

Hindsight is a very experienced person! Still you have a spare and you could most probably sell the "old" one for pretty much what you paid for the new one. That was a result!

 

[spannerman]

Good to here that there are a few reliable marine engineers out there.
One thing suprises me is how often I read of problems getting props off, I always warm the boss with a blowtorch and sometimes they fall off with a small tap at worst we use a prop puller, but never does it take more than 15 mins.

 

[alt]

Nice pics.

Question: Why did you buy a new gearbox when you managed to get the old one repaired for £105?

 

[Latestarter1]

Daka,

Very commendable however just a couple of questions, assuming warranty on old box had expired.

Why did you chase engine manufacturers for the supply of a gearbox? A call to ZF in Nottingham would have given you update on what they had in stock and a list of convenient dealers to supply or quote for the repair of your oil leak.

Engine OEM's obtain gearboxes from ZF Italy and ship back to respective factories all over the world and holding inventory is an expensive business another mouth in the food chain.

The ZF list price for a 63A is about £2200 with discount normally about £1900 due to bum £ Euro exchange rate so you did well out of the Finning deal. However check out your warranty, if gearbox was 'on the shelf' for a while ZF can be a bit funny about warranty Vs date of manufacture.

 

[DAKA]

[ QUOTE ]
Nice pics.

Question: Why did you buy a new gearbox when you managed to get the old one repaired for £105?

[/ QUOTE ]

I was quoted £500 for a seal repair kit.

With labour costs of double (in and out) it didnt make any sense to spend so much on labour.

A new box allowed us to keep the boat in use .

It wasnt until I took the gear box to a specialist that I found it was so easily repairable and once away from south coast main dealers and to East coast Marine Engineers based in commercial fishing areas the repair costs were sensible.
The commercial operators dont have to be told it is urgent either, they are used to boats having to catch the next tide so everything is urgent.

I told him there was no rush, which he took to mean any time that day !

The first replacement gearbox was made specially for me in 2008, they dropped that one on the way from Italy and I had to wait another 4 weeks , the second replacement box was made Jan 09, its brand new /forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif

 

[DAKA]

The box was in warranty when it first started to leak, however I felt the damage was due to excessive force applied to remove a prop and as such do not feel it was a warranty claim.
I ordered the gear box just before the Euro went wrong, thankfully someone else took the hit on that.

There is a six week wait for this gear box 2.5 : 1 ratio, they are made to order.

I could have bought a second-hand one but I didnt want to replace a working box with a slight leak for something unknown.