Prop turning while traveling
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I don't take mine off while traveling but I did take it off for IKE.
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1,882 Posts
I put mine in gear when making long tows. It's not so much as the bearings wearing out but, the seals on the shaft. I've heard that the heat can build up in the lower unit and cause the seals to leak. I'm not sure if it really helps it's just what an old salt told me. I know a lower unit gets hot when running from exhaust and just the friction from the gears. I find it hard to belive that it could get that hot out of the water. You never know, I stick mine in gear just for the piece of mind. Just don't forget to put it back in "N" at the ramp. You'll spend a good 4-5 minutes trying to figure out why the motor won't start. LOL
--Hop
--Hop
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5,338 Posts
a lot of people will argue that driving down the road with your prop spinning is bad and i have heard it is not bad but i play it safe and just throw it in gear. can't hurt it.
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1,082 Posts
It "could" cause premature wear on your water pump. I think everything else is safe. I put mine in gear, it won't hurt anything and it keeps any rumored issues at rest.
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1,706 Posts
Team Castaway said:
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The impellor in the water pump does not turn with the engine off and the gear case in neutral.Team Castaway said:
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5,765 Posts
I have also heard about the water pump wearing out but after the earlier posts I guess now I know the real answer, but then again it only takes 5 seconds to put it in gear when you leave the ramp.
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254 Posts
It indeed is true.. the WP doesn't turn unless the engine is on. The seals are not a problem...it's just like the outdrive shaft seal on a trucks tranny or the CV outdrive shafts coming out of a tansmission. They are lubricated/cooled from the oil on the inner side of the seal.
Design/quality of the seal probably had to do more with it ever leaking than anything else. Some mfg. parts are just cheap and are known for failing until they come up with a new revision of the part. I've seen this so many times in automotive. Over time you notice different revisions to fix the problem that initally occurred way too soon.
Design/quality of the seal probably had to do more with it ever leaking than anything else. Some mfg. parts are just cheap and are known for failing until they come up with a new revision of the part. I've seen this so many times in automotive. Over time you notice different revisions to fix the problem that initally occurred way too soon.
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1,082 Posts
Yep, it's official.... I'm retarded! I stand corrected. I would gather that is why we have water pressure when sitting in neutral at the dock and not moving? I don't know why I was thinking that. I know better than that.
If you are worried, put it in gear.
If you are worried, put it in gear.
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4,624 Posts
Mine is always in gear, I followed a boat from Cuero to Seadrift last Friday and you couldn't see the blades it was spinning so fast.....In my opinion its needless wear on your lower unit oil.
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4,526 Posts
The real reason you should always put the boat in gear when travelling is that once those props get spinning up to a certain speed it will actually lift the rear of your boat and trailer up off of the roadway and could cause an accident...or at the very least could cause hydroplanning on a wet roadway. The old helicopter effect.
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5,338 Posts
Are you serious? The amount of boats i have tow long distance from bass boats to a 28 foot boat i have never seen that. Anyway if you have a light enough boat that would lift off then you should probably have it strapped down because a bump on the road would pick it before the prop spinning to fast would. i don't want to insult anyone but i would love to see that happen.Slightly Dangerous said:
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