OI 41 Drive Trane Growling

lobosolo98 · #1 04-23-2012

Hello. First time on Sail Net.

Bought a project boat a few years ago. This year I replaced the Ford tractor engine with a rebuilt Perkins 4.108. It purrs beautifully, but when we put it in forward or reverse, it starts growling. So I hauled it out, did some unrelated stuff, and changed the cutlass bearing. But when I dropped it, the problem still remained. I am wondering if anyone has ever worn out an intermittent bearing, or had a worn shaft cause a problem, or if anyone has ever heard a growling noise from their OI drive trane.

CaptainForce · #2 05-05-2012

I recently replaced the "carrier bearing" at the same time I replaced my shaft and changed to a Dripless Shaft Seal. Most of my noise abatement was a result of the new carrier bearing. For my 1&1/4" shaft I replaced the bearing with a VXB bearing part number ucf207-20 (code=Kit 11520). I think what I've been referring to as a carrier bearing is the same as you are describing as the intermittent bearing,- on the shaft between the engine coupling and the stuffing box. Take care and joy, Aythya crew

roberttigar · #3 05-06-2012

are you referring to the noise you get at low rpm's? Does it disappate as the rpm pass 1000?

PorFin · #4 05-06-2012

Lobo,

Plenty of possibilities come to mind -- narrowing it down is gonna take some work.

- Bad alignment.
- Worn damper plate.
- Transmission issues.
- Etc.

Can you do a better job localizing the noise? That'll go a long way in fault isolation.

When you dropped in the Perkins, did you have it properly aligned?

lobosolo98 · #5 05-08-2012

Thank you for the replies. Captain Force, I have used carriage bearing and intermittent bearing interchangeably. And I've been corrected. I don't know the difference.

The alignment is the great unknown. Mechanic claims he did an outstanding job aligning new engine. And when I took the shaft lose, there was no spring back.

I solved the noise and vibration problem. First, I loosened the int. bearing from the bulk head and ran it in gear hoping it would find a sweet spot. But that didn't work. Then I loosened the set screws holding the shaft. And BINGO! I never imagined it would run so smooth. The set screws - which were missing and I replaced during the engine change - were pushing the shaft against the far side of the worn bearing and forcing the shaft out of alignment. The wobble in the shaft and the bulk head disappeared completely. Don't know if that bearing will last a week or a lifetime, but I'm going to ride it out until it seizes.

CaptainForce · #6 05-08-2012

I hold my finger to the outer casing of the "intermittent" bearing after running for an hour or so and find it mildly uncomfortably hot, but not painful. This has been my long term standard for acceptable performance. I don't know if this holds up to evaluation of others with more mechanical knowledge, but with this and keeping it greased I've been doing well. Take care and joy, Aythya crew