Whaler Central - Boston Whaler Boat Information and Photos

Posted by waco72 on 07/01/09 - 6:39 AM

I think I isolated the squeaking noise in my engine to the drive shaft after doing some more research. From what it seems like it needs to be lubricated. What do you think would be the best type of lubricant, just WD40 or silicon or do you think it needs something different? I have seen both recommended in different places. thanks

Posted by CES on 07/01/09 - 7:07 AM

Is the drive shaft exposed to the elements?

Spray some WD-40 on there and see if that helps. When you're done with spraying WD-40 on your drive shaft, spray a little on your fishing worms and hold on tight to the pole because that stuff works great as a fish attractant. ;-)

Posted by RevengeFamily on 07/01/09 - 7:17 AM

Hey WaCo72,

Not sure what kind of or type of engine you have. Cars and trucks have drive shafts. I believe you are speaking of your crankshaft?. The crank on smaller engines has bearings on either end. They should not need external lubrication. If it is the top of the crank I would consider taking it to a certified dealer before more damage is done. However I would not suspect your crank.

Norm

Posted by Mr T on 07/01/09 - 7:39 AM

First off, keep in mind that WD 40 is not a lubricant. I’m not sure either what drive shaft you are referring to either. If you can be more specific as to what shaft you are talking about, that will help.

Posted by jimmyb116 on 07/01/09 - 8:42 AM

If its a new mercury 4 stroke you are correct i hade the same problem with my 60hp took it to the dealer and they said it was the throttle body and ordered a new one (LOL) so i whent home and fixed it myself.
It squeals from the top of the drive shaft where it enters the bottom plate the powere head is mounted to. There is a small metal bushing thast it passes through and that needs lubricating. You need to remove the bottom end and drive shaft as if you are going to change the water pump grease the bushing and shaft and re-install use high presure grease like water proof wheel grease for your trailer.

Posted by waco72 on 07/01/09 - 8:43 AM

thanks for bearing with me, I'm a new boat owner and still trying to find my way around the engine. I guess it would be the crank shaft. When I raise the engine and look directly under the powerhead there is an opening where I can see the shaft spinning into the lower unit. That's where I was getting the intermittent squeaking at medium range rpms. It seems to come and go with no reason. I said in my past post that the performance has not been affected. Other people have said to spray some sort of lube in there and that the sound should go away so I figured I would try that before bringing it into the shop during the middle of summer considering we lost the whole month of June to rain here in the northeast. BTW, this has been a great site, thanks for the help

Posted by theo on 07/01/09 - 8:51 AM

He's got another thread that isolates the sound to the powerhead.

WaCo, here's a thought. It could be that the stator is too close to the flywheel and is rubbing. I'm not sure what a new 4-stroke Merc looks like under there, but someone here will have a clue.

You could use a stethoscope (or a piece of garden hose) to try to pinpoint the source of the sound. HTH