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1971 F26 paragon vdrive intermittent issues

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 4:46 pm
by James moran
Hello
I have a 1971 trojan f26 that has been repowered with a 360 and paragon pv32r trans with v drive. It runs great and the family loves it. We tool around the long island sound and are comfortable on it for long weekends with 2 kids and the dog. The engine runs real smooth but I have had 3 events with the transmission. The first time we were running at 3200 rpm as that's where my 4 barrel is just opening and delivers the best gas / performance at about 14 knots. It was like a small explosion. I can compare it to the time I blew up a transmission on my F150. But I throttled down and it was a smooth running to the dock. I thought maybe I hit something or maybe it was a backfire. I took it easy on the motor for a few trips keeping it under 2500. After a few trips at 3200 the same thump happened and I backed down with no noticable sound or issue at 2000 rpm. When it happened there was no interruption in rpm on the motor but a big break in power to prop for 1 -2 seconds. I have been running it at 2500 or less since. We just had a instance at 2800 rpm where we had some whirling noise and seemed to be in low gear so I am sure we were slipping. Once again I powered down and it was perfect.
I have checked both fluid levels in trans and vdrive and both are topped and not burned. I dont have temp gauges on the trans and vdrive so I used my thermal camera to determine the trans never gets over 110 degrees and the v drive never exceeds 120 degreed at 3000 Rpm for a while. I am sure is not a fluid or temp issue.

Can anybody give any advice? We have completely refit the interior of this boat and would love to keep her.

Can I pull the trans and v drive without pulling the engine?

Thanks in advace!

Jim Moran

Re: 1971 F26 paragon vdrive intermittent issues

Posted: Tue Aug 21, 2018 10:18 pm
by prowlersfish
Did the engine rev up and speed go down when it felt like it was slipping ? The bang issue sound like something else not the trans .

Re: 1971 F26 paragon vdrive intermittent issues

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2018 1:30 am
by James moran
It seemed to rev like I shifted into a different gear with a slight rattle. I powered down and was able to power up to 2000 rpm with no problem.

Re: 1971 F26 paragon vdrive intermittent issues

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2018 6:33 am
by prowlersfish
Likely slipping , of course prop cavitation of something on the wheel could have done the same

Re: 1971 F26 paragon vdrive intermittent issues

Posted: Wed Aug 22, 2018 1:15 pm
by The Dog House
I never had an explosion with mine. I did have slipping which was caused by low fluid levels in the transmission. When I bought the boat, the seal between the transmission and V drive was leaking allowing fluid from the transmission to migrate to the V drive. The transmission fluid level would go down and the V drive fluid level would go up. I had both the transmission and V drive rebuilt which fixed the problem.

The V drive and transmission can be removed without removing the engine. The combined weight is about 200 pounds. We put a 6 x 6 piece of wood across the door opening and used a hand winch to lift it out. You will need to disconnect the shaft and put a piece of wood under the engine for support before removing the transmission and V drive. You will also need to use a little muscle to move the transmission and V drive into the cabin prior to lifting. Two reasonably strong people can do it.

When you reinstall MAKE SURE THE BOAT HAS BEEN IN THE WATER FOR AT LEAST TWO WEEKS BEFORE ALIGNING THE SHAFT. The hull shape will change on the trailer and aligning the shaft on the trailer will result in a ruined V drive (don't ask me how I know).

Good luck. I have a lot of experience with 1971 Trojan F26s. Feel free to PM me if you want.