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Prop Shaft Cracked


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So last week I was out on the water and cruising along pulling my kids on a tube when I noticed some vibration through the steering wheel. I immediately backed off to idle speed and the vibration was terrible. I was in 25' depth, so I knew I didn't hit anything. I tried diving under boat to look at the prop, but all was good. I limped it back to dock and started investigating. My rudder seems to have some play in it, but it is pretty minimal. Not sure whether that's normal or not, but I knew that couldn't be the cause of such vibration. I decided to pull the boat home and had a close look last night. The prop shaft was actually moving in the coupler, so I removed the couple to see what was going on. My prop shaft has actually cracked right from the edge of the key way up to where the threads start. Looks like I am going to need a new shaft and coupler. Is this a common problem, or am I just unlucky. My boat has about 48hrs on it.

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Been waiting for almost a week for a response from the dealer on whether they are sending me a replacement shaft and coupler. I imagine it will take another week for them to ship it. Meanwhile we are having some of the best weather of our short summer, and I am sitting on the shore. I called directly to MB to get an update and they said they would look into it and report back to my dealer. Feels like a runaround to me. My love for my boat and MB is fading a bit over this. Anybody have a contact at MB that could help me get an answer?

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Been waiting for almost a week for a response from the dealer on whether they are sending me a replacement shaft and coupler. I imagine it will take another week for them to ship it. Meanwhile we are having some of the best weather of our short summer, and I am sitting on the shore. I called directly to MB to get an update and they said they would look into it and report back to my dealer. Feels like a runaround to me. My love for my boat and MB is fading a bit over this. Anybody have a contact at MB that could help me get an answer?

 

this really sucks. I just had mine break on Sunday as well. going thru the same thing now. Also with such a short summer here in CO, having any boat problems makes you question if its really worth it.

 

BTW, I told my local dealer to just order the parts, not to wait for MB to decide. Sort it out later. We'll see what happens.

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I called Elbert's this morning and ordered a flexible coupling, coupler, and new shaft. $310 USD for everything + $180 shipping so I can have it tomorrow.

 

And after I ordered it, my dealer phones to say they will send parts out today. Lol

 

Looks like I'm going to have a spare.

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Got my parts at 5pm on Friday afternoon. I installed them that evening and arrived at my lake at midnight. Woke up early to put my boat in the water, but it wouldn't start. Long story short, I needed 2 new batteries. The good news is that I am now back up and running. No thanks to MB or my dealer, as they are still arranging to get parts to me. Too Late Fellas!!!!! I agree about the flexible coupling..........a noticeable improvement in how smooth the boat feels now. It's a bit more work to install, but well worth it. As for alignment, Cecil at Elbert's told me you can have as much as 0.009" of misalignment with it. As opposed to the suggested 0.003" with the regular coupling.

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If it took the dealer all day, then I would say they need a new boat mechanic. I removed my cracked shaft in 1 hr and installed my new shaft, coupler, and flexible coupling in 2 hrs by myself. I will say that it was a huge pain in the butt without a second person, as you really need to have someone outside the boat pulling back on the shaft for clearance. I got creative and managed. With a second person I'm sure I could have installed it in a little over 1 hr.

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If it took the dealer all day, then I would say they need a new boat mechanic. I removed my cracked shaft in 1 hr and installed my new shaft, coupler, and flexible coupling in 2 hrs by myself. I will say that it was a huge pain in the butt without a second person, as you really need to have someone outside the boat pulling back on the shaft for clearance. I got creative and managed. With a second person I'm sure I could have installed it in a little over 1 hr.

 

good to know. I generally try to do as much as I can, but really wanted to get MB to warranty it this.

 

BTW, nice boat!

 

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