Lower Unit damaged against a Boulder

[FrankV]

I hit a boulder or something pretty hard with my 2004 Yamaha 150 2 stroke lower unit. The front of the skeg looks like a ginsu knife and has a pretty good bend in it. Aluminum prop tore up pretty good. I was able to make it back into shore at 8 mph and the motor ran fine, no vibration. Steering was off becasue of my skeg. My question. I know I need a new lower unit casing, but I'm thinking my cam shaft and rod might have survived this. I'd like to pull off the lower unit and try to determine what I need so I can repair myself. Can someone tell me if I should attempt this myself and if so, what I should look for?

Does anyone have service manual for lower unit?
Do I need any special tools?
Because my engine is only one season, I prefer to stay away from rebuilts.

[striperman]

I would not take the chance, let a certified yamaha mechanic give it the once over. Its not worth making yourself more of a problem.

[jb123]

the skegs can be rewelded and are QUITE regularly and pull the prop, and spin the propshaft to see if it has bent at "ALL" as you cant have any wobble there...it should be visible to eye if so.

[FrankV]

It didn't look as bad the day after as it did when it happened. Had a prop repair shop look at it and they said the prop shaft is fine. They are recommending a skeggard instead of welding the skeg. They perform both types of fixes depending on severity so I don't get the impression they are taking the easy way out but, does anyone have any suggestions about this skeggard product. I found the manufacturer site at www.skeggardmarine.com

[Ken]

Frank,
From what I have gathered from other boat owners, it is best to NOT use a skeg guard - and the reason is that if you hit something hard enough, you want the skeg to give way, and not the casing itself. It is much cheaper to have the skeg repaired instead of the lower unit casing.
Good luck [img]smile.gif[/img] ,
Ken K

[Bobber]

The skeggard is attached via two bolts designed to shear off on high impact.

[Hamfisted]

SkegGuard's don't shear off as advertised. They transmit 100% of the impact shock energy up into the gear case bullet and that results in substantial (costly) damage. Have your aluminum skeg repaired if you want to, but don't put a stainless steel SkegGuard over it.


Mike........ Miami, FL