Transmission trouble

[Lou R]

Hey all, I have a 1996 searay 330 Sundancer with vdrives, as I was coming back from a short ride, the port engine wouldn’t go in neutral, the shifter seems fine but when I shut the engine off and restarted it, it stays in forward gear. Any ideas?
Also wondering what transmission fluid do you all use? Thanks,
Lou

 

[bfernald0]

Yes. If it's stuck in gear, your clutch discs are warped to the point that they cannot separate and the transmission will not go into neutral. Have the trannie oil tested by Blackstone. It will in all likelihood be full of the material making up the clutch discs, which if I recall correctly is high concentration of bronze. You either hit something or the clutches have just worn out. Obviously, check the fluid level etc., but you're likely due for a new transmission. When I had this issue (after hitting something), I was told it was not economical to attempt to rebuild the transmission (ZF 63iv) and so bought a new one from transmission marine (www.marinegears.com) out of Ft Lauderdale. Saved me a couple of grand to buy there and have it shipped to LA.

This guy in Ohio, however, has several videos rebuilding these things. See this one:

It also gives you a good understanding of what went wrong.

Good luck.

 

[bfernald0]

I should add that another cause of the clutch pack locking up is water in the transmission fluid so check for that as well. Given the age of your boat, unless you've had the transmission coolers done previously, if you're going to replace the transmission, the oil cooler should be replaced as well, and irrespective of whether it was leaking. I would also test the oil in the other transmission to see if there's water in it or high concentration of Copper, from the bronze clutch disc material.

My port transmission was already running hot, before I hit something and it locked up entirely. Here was the oil test prior to the lock up.

.

 

[Motoguy2158]

Hey all, I have a 1996 searay 330 Sundancer with vdrives, as I was coming back from a short ride, the port engine wouldn’t go in neutral, the shifter seems fine but when I shut the engine off and restarted it, it stays in forward gear. Any ideas?
Also wondering what transmission fluid do you all use? Thanks,
L

Hey all, I have a 1996 searay 330 Sundancer with vdrives, as I was coming back from a short ride, the port engine wouldn’t go in neutral, the shifter seems fine but when I shut the engine off and restarted it, it stays in forward gear. Any ideas?
Also wondering what transmission fluid do you all use? Thanks,
Lou

Mobil Delvac 1 - Full synthetic. Carry the highest ratings including Allison Transmissions.
Mine have 1150 hours on them and they pure like new.