I Still need tips and advice for a noisy gearbox

[johnny nosh]

A couple of weeks ago I started a topic about the noisy gearbox I have in My Ormelite cabin cruiser.

It is a wortham blake fisher boy mk3 gearbox and it is making some concerning noises when reverse is engaged

Also now a ticking sound is comming from the box when at low revs, forward is engaged.

I would not like to have to break out the oars to get home ! !

Any tips or advice would be more than welcome.

Here are some pictures of the gearbox in question.

[Chewbacka]

Just to let you someone is reading your thread - When I were a lad, naughty boys would put sawdust into their noisy gearbox just before selling it, but that is not going to help you. 

On a more serious note, I can only suggest the noise is due to wear and therefore unless you open it up and replace the worn out bits it will only get worse, as to how long before it fails catastrophically, I don't know.  Maybe time to think about another gear box???? 

[mross]

Are you sure it has the correct oil?  There's a slim chance that replacing the oil could stave off disaster.  But, as said above, the gearbox probably needs a full overhaul or replacement.

Can you take some photos that are in focus?  Or tell us the full model number  

Edited May 9, 2017 by mross

[PhilAtterley]

Having now seen those photo's, the box looks to be direct drive so the suggestion I made about the source of the noise possibly being a chain and sprocket reduction box can be ruled out. I think to get a reliable and definitive answer to your question, you need someone who is familiar with these boxes to look at it and listen to it. 

The ticking could be anything from a chipped or damaged ball or track in a bearing, a loose and/or worn key or keys, worn or loose clutch pins/toggles, or even a bit of fencing wire caught round the propeller boss. The noise that is worrying you when operating in stern gear could be nothing more than the whining/howling that you always get from the straight cut gears in the epicyclic reverse train in this sort of box.

I suggest you call Tony Dunkley on 07553 294325 - he is a first-class marine engineer of great experience and based in Nottingham, but I do know that he is going to be travelling up to the Liverpool area several times over the next few weeks.

[johnny nosh]

Thanks to all for the replies, yes I know the photos are shoddy but I will try harder next time.

The gearbox is a fisher boy mk3 and the gearbox number is mlc5106 and it has two levers.

Short lever is the throttle and the long lever is the gear selector, hope that helps

[PhilAtterley]

12 minutes ago, johnny nosh said:

Thanks to all for the replies, yes I know the photos are shoddy but I will try harder next time.

The gearbox is a fisher boy mk3 and the gearbox number is mlc5106 and it has two levers.

Short lever is the throttle and the long lever is the gear selector, hope that helps

No, it does not help at all. You are not going to get anything like a good, reliable diagnosis of what, if anything, is wrong until someone who knows these boxes, and how they should sound and perform has checked it out and seen/heard it running.

[Tony Brooks]

6 hours ago, PhilAtterley said:

No, it does not help at all. You are not going to get anything like a good, reliable diagnosis of what, if anything, is wrong until someone who knows these boxes, and how they should sound and perform has checked it out and seen/heard it running.

^^^^^^ This.

I agree with Phil that there is a good chance that the noise in reverse is normal and is a feature of nearly all boxes that use sun & planet gears to give reverse BUT as we can not hear the noise we do not know and its only a guess.

I can not remember if these boxes use a drive plate on the flywheel or not. If they do then the ticking may be early signs of wear. I can not think of anything else likely to tick in ahead apart from a chipped bearing or wear in splines or a key/keyway (as you have been told). If you do not know what the problem is you need to get someone who knows these boxes to take a look and more importantly listen. In fact the ticking may not even be coming from the box. In all probability this box is coupled to a petrol engine so the tick MIGHT be timing chain, valve clearances, distributor bob-wights, loose engine mounts etc.

Simply re-asking a question is not likely to get you very far. Have you tries a listening stick/stethoscope to see if you can locate the noises down to a very small area?

[mross]

These people are familiar with Wortham Blake  gearboxes, although not specifically the Fisherboy but might help.  http://www.chertseymeadsmarine.co.uk/hy-drive-gearbox/

Edited May 10, 2017 by mross