rubber bumper

[dbracela]

There was no rubber bumper on the pto side of my driveshaft, I added one, now when I insert the driveshaft some of the splines are visible. Is this normal? With the plug out it seats all the way in. The old plug is not lodged inside the pto, I checked. Thanks, Dan.

 

[bigJake]

check the parts diagram (at the top of the page) for your boat. some driveshafts have bumpers at both ends, some only at one end.

 

[dbracela]

Diagram says there should be one at both ends. The section of splines sticking out of the pto are the tapered ends. I'll upload a pic from work, it isn't working on my computer. Thanks.

 

[dbracela]

With the rubber boot on those splines are covered. With the old set up I had a lot of play in the shaft (forward and back) and when I greased the pto it would push the shaft forward quite a bit. So, should I leave the bumper in and see? Maybe it has to work its way back in farther. I tried putting the pump back on temporarily and it all went together fine. Your advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[bigJake]

When I pulled my driveshaft last year, the bumper fell off the pump end into the grass. Doc told me to definitely replace it. So if the diagram says you should have one I would leave it in. I can't remember how much of my splines were exposed when the boot was off.

 

[dbracela]

Thanks, they sure are a pain to keep in place. I'm starting to wonder if it being missing was why my shaft seals wouldn't seal and caused the cavitation. I'm replacing everything in there so I guess I'll never know eh? I'll leave it in, maybe they compress over time, or maybe I'm obsessed and am over thinking everything?

 

[dbracela]

What the hell, while I'm at it I may as well ask, how much fore and aft play should the shaft have after everything is installed?

 

[bigJake]

yeah the are a pain. you have to work the nipple on the bumper into the hole in the end of the shaft with a tiny screwdriver or such that you can let the air out of the hole as you work in the nipple. if you just shove it in with the air trapped it just pops off again.

 

[Guest_User]

is the old bumper still in the PTO causing the drive shaft to not insert properly?

 

[dbracela]

no, it's not, I checked. Was hard to get a good look in there though.

 

[Guest_User]

no, it's not, I checked. Was hard to get a good look in there though.

ok, cool. I usually use a small pick, and if it`s in there I just give it a stab and pull it out... not running with one can def help cause cav. and it also depends on how far back your engine is to...

 

[dbracela]

You don't mean I'll have to shift my engine back do you? Please say no...

 

[Guest_User]

You don't mean I'll have to shift my engine back do you? Please say no...

don`t know. put everything back together with all the parts and to spec and see where your at...
even with the bumpers on both ends the driveshaft should still have some forward rearward play. Just a little, not alot.
without the bumper allows it to move more.
after everything is back together check the tension on the carbon seal, if it`s good your golden.
I found out the hard way, My set up was tampered with, so my engines needed to be realigned and set back.
I could use a tad bit more tension, but the carbon seals are doing there job. I will start from scratch when I install new engine mounts for next season...

 

[dbracela]

I finished the right side today and when I went to do the left the splines lined up the exact same way, so I'm guessing that's how they are supposed to be, we'll find out tomorrow. As for getting those stupid bumpers to stay in place, I "borrowed" a 3 cc syringe and a 22 gauge needle from work last night, stuck it though that little hole and sucked the air out, worked awesome.