Tranny!!!! Help I need some help!!!

[Hardeight]

OK, so now I own a Trojan - 88 mid cabin express. Got the keys and took possession on Friday. She ran great on Saturday in Florida ( first time out ), ran her for about 4 hours - ALL GOOD, all oil, ect at good levels. Monday I moved her 20 miles to Marina for haul out for transport. During that a belt broke on starboard motor and we limped on in to the marina for haul out on port engine. Today I get her here in NC ( put on new belts, zincs and changed a rusted out through bolt) dropped her in the water and the port side tranny is stuck in forward - starts in forward - neutral safety thinks its in neutral so it starts but the tranny is still in gear. When I put her in full back for reverse she dies, but will re-start with lever in neutral ( but still in forward gear). I limped her to her new slip and ran the port side in forward during the move and runs good, BUT SHE IS STILL STUCK IN FORWARD. lets say it made my first time slipping her here real interesting but I got her in. So now what?????? New tranny???? rebuild??? Did something happen in transport??? or is there something I am missing... Any ideas?????

[Stripermann2]

Sounds like clutch plates are sticking. Possibly from overheating. Maybe duck out old fluid, replace fluid and try sofking trans back and forth, reverse to drive. Check your trans cooler too. May be plugged up causing an overheat condition.

[Hardeight]

I will be back on her Saturday and will try any and all ideas... Thanks.

[lakeguy72]

Check to see if the linkage is connected to the tranny and that linkage arm moves when the shift lever is moved. The over the road trip might have loosened it up.
Lakeguy

[aaronbocknek]

check those linkage cotter pins. when i was bringing ENTERPRISE home, the port tranny stuck in neutral and would not move forward or reverse. when mike kulp (thank god he was at the marina) hopped aboard, he discovered the cotter pin that held the linkage to the transmission had rusted away and fallen off. he rigged something up so we could get her in the slip. now i have heavy duty marine stainless pins on both port and starboard engines. i check them once a month too. hope you get the issue solved. keep us posted.
aaron

[Hardeight]

All the linkage appeared to be working and moving the lever on the transmission. The oil in the tranny was brown to black. I will seeking a transmission guy today to see if I can get it fixed because it looks like its done.... ^^&&*(()) hell of a way to start a new relationship with a boat...

[aaronbocknek]

All the linkage appeared to be working and moving the lever on the transmission. The oil in the tranny was brown to black. I will seeking a transmission guy today to see if I can get it fixed because it looks like its done.... ^^&&*(()) hell of a way to start a new relationship with a boat...

ahhhh so it was not the usual bright pink/red color. hmmm. had it ever been changed during the PO tenure? now, when you had the vessel surveyed, was checking the transmission fluid part of it? if it was the 'normal' color prior to your shakedown cruise, i wonder if something went wrong during transport. did you have the fluid checked post launch? i'm just trying to figure out this mess. as for a rough start, well, we've all been there. try running over a crab pot the very first time you bring the boat home. that happened to phil and me when we were bringing ENTERPRISE home in oct 2010. bent port prop right off the bat.
talk about a rough start. so, have a beer and join the crowd. you are in very good company.

[Hardeight]

Yep, all the fluids checked out during the survey, and all levels were good when I ran her in Florida before the transport. Something has just let loose..... I will be back on her Saturday working on her. I am trying to find a good transmission guy to come check it out.... and if I have to rebuild the tranny well so be it. It was very discouraging yesterday needless to say. On the bright side I did get her in the new slip for the first time on 1 engine.... I will try and get some photos up in the next couple of days. I just wish there was something I could do without having to drop a lot of cash right off the bat.

[trojanmanXSagain]

Sorry to hear about that , BUT looking at it from the cup half full you purchased a Trojan boat . Annnnnnd you were able to take a ride in the boat once you got it , Some fools " like me for instance" bought a Trojan boat on the hard , transported it home and have been rebuilding it for going on three years now. Only ride its giving me so far are a couple of pretend ones. Wife actually caught me last night sitting on the flybridge before dark with my hands on the wheel and pretending what a ride feels like , good luck with it and sure you'll be out there soon

[BobCT]

I would be suspect of the oil cooler too, they fail internally. Definitely install a new one (sometimes called a "u" cooler) if you are rebuilding the transmission. The other possibility is the shifter cable adjustment. The cable needs to almost fall onto the trans linkage in neutral. If not, it might have been running partially in gear which overheated the clutches. This is critical, check it a few times. Not that you're looking for more to do but it would be a good time to replace the shifter cables while the transmission is out, especially if they're original and binding up.

The good news is that transmission is easy and relatively cheap to get rebuilt. Access isn't too bad either. I haven't had to pull mine but I've mentally thought it through.

Bob

[aaronbocknek]

Only ride its giving me so far are a couple of pretend ones. Wife actually caught me last night sitting on the flybridge before dark with my hands on the wheel and pretending what a ride feels like , good luck with it and sure you'll be out there soon

trojanman.... has it really been 3 years? wow. how time flies. when your wife caught you on the bridge, i know she understood. or did she just shake her head? it's amazing what must go on in our spouses/partners heads when they see us doing this kind of stuff. phil was down one day this past spring, a rare occasion to say the least, and i had all the engine hatches removed. i was just standing in the engine compartment facing aft, looking at my 3 lovely ladies (engines and genny, can't forget genny!!!). not sure exactly what i was thinking, i was just looking at them. mentally tracing the lines of the exhaust hoses, the spark plug wires and i don't know what else. he looked into the cabin, we locked eyes and he said, ''what in god's name are you doing down there?'' i said, ''nothing. just looking. not sure why, just looking.'' ''is something broken that all the hatches need to be up?" he asked. ''nope, just looking''. he turned around and just went back to sitting on the bridge deck. sometimes i just like to look them over. i think us trojan owners are one of the few that actually LOOK into our boats. some at my marina pay people to look, never really knowing what to do if something goes wrong out on the water. if you all are like me, i know every sound this boat makes and i know what does and does not feel right. it's second nature to me. same holds true when i'm at work. and the aircraft mechanics HATE it sometimes.