Boat Trailer

[MrMarty51]

Boat trailer dog tracking baaaad.
Scuffed off one side of the tires.
Removed tires/wheels, fenders, fender mounts, bearings and hubs and ball hitch to get more accurate measures.
Measuring from the front of the square hitch tube to the center bolts is perfect both sides. 144-1/4”.
Measuring from each lower corner of the square tube hitch to the center of the axle stubs is 145-3/8ths right side and 146-1/4” left side.
Next in the list is to remove the axle, set up a jig that it can be rotated in and then see if the tube is bent.
I do have some pics but at the moment they dont seem to want to load 100%. More to come.

 

[SnowDrift]

All measurements must be taken from the center where the ball mounts. Does one side of the axle, springs or whatever the setup is have some sort of eccentric that can be turned for alignment purposes? Might need to knock a weld tack off if that's the case then reposition.

 

[dbrannon79]

Could the hub be bent at or just outside the spring perches. might happen if someone did a curb check!

 

[MrMarty51]

No eccentrics to this axle.
Only a solidly bent tube.
Probably going to take a new tube or a ready made axle.
Maybe the trailer repair shop can cut off the stubs and weld them to a new tube.
This is the RH side so some curb appeal must have been added to it, @dbrannon79

 

[MrMarty51]

Left side I think would be good to go on.
It is straighter than I could hold the camera/phone for.

 

[SnowDrift]

I imagine a new axle could be had for less than the cost of a repair. Those little axles are not very expensive.

 

[Will L.]

New axle.
Cheaper to buy it pre made than pay someone to cut it apart, and rebuild it.
If this was diy- yes because your labor is free.

 

[MrMarty51]

This axle is a 2000 pound unit.
New axle be here tomorrow. It is a 3500 pound unit so it should be much more suited to the weight of the boat.
No new spring bushings in town. The trailer shop has the exact matching springs with bushings for $60.00 the pair.
Kelly went ahead and ordered the whole kahuna. Slightly less than $400.00 for everything.
Next I’ll mount the new springs and cut the spring perches that will be welded to the axle. A crown in the New axle so we will have to make sure we get that marked and held straight to the top.

 

[dbrannon79]

How recent was this axle bent? just thinking about the amount of force it took to bend it hitting a curb. you might want to check the boat hull for any damage from it bouncing on the trailer runners that cradle the boat!

 

[MrMarty51]

How recent was this axle bent? just thinking about the amount of force it took to bend it hitting a curb. you might want to check the boat hull for any damage from it bouncing on the trailer runners that cradle the boat!

Yup. Hull has been totally inspected and appears to be ok.
One slight leak on the Right Rear corner that we have not been able to find.
After I get the hitch tongue back together I’ll lift the right rear corner and see if there is anything that the cradle board might be hiding.
Thanks for mentioning that.

 

[dbrannon79]

if it does have some damage, you might do well to have a claim on your insurance? maybe it could have been hit in a parking lot when it was out being towed?

 

[dbrannon79]

Almost forgot... is your boat an outboard? check the trasom and it's mounts. also at the hull corners at the rear. even if it's an inboard, check the mounting there too. fiberglass boats with inboards sometimes have the engine mounted with lag bolts into the wood runners.

 

[dbrannon79]

On outboards I know your supposed to use those braces to keep the motor tilted saving the transom, but the weight of the engine still pulls on the rear a lot. I have always had the notion to use some ratchet straps around the motor pulling the top in to the boat a bit to releive the outward stress on them when towing. expecially at a boat ages the transom can weeken and you'll never know it until the day you literally see the rear flex or the "Oh Krap" moment happens

 

[MrMarty51]

Old boat is an outboard. 70 horse 3 cylinder Force engine.
Recently rebuilt by Me. Bored 0.040 over new gaskets and bearings, etc. rebuilt the lower unit too.
Got the axle installed and all the components bolted back to the trailer. Took it for a pull and it seems to be tracking straight and true. Looking in the mirrors it appears there is about equal amounts of the trailer and boat visible in both sides.
Had the boat at the Mercury Marine dealer in Glasgow Montana several weeks ago. He said it has a bit of a misfire. Could be the stator or the switch box(CDI CONTROL BOX) so Kelly replaced both of those and misfire still existed. Took it to the lake where the engine had died and got a tow back to our cabins dock.
Got it into the garage for the axle problem.
Checked for spark and there is none.
Yesterday morning changed out the switch box and now have the spark back.
Kelly had three new coils for it. Installed the new coils.
After removal from the garage hooked the muffs and hose tonit. Fired it up. It now is running so nice and smooth. I think them coils must have created too much resistance and took out that new switch box. Now with the original switch box and the new coils the engine is running smoother than it ever has without a load. No more misfires at an idle and the engine is idling at a little faster pace.
We will get it into the water today or tomorrow and spinnit around some and see just how well it is running.

 

[dbrannon79]

Sounds like ya need to load up the pull behind innertube and the kids for some fun and to put a load on the engine for a test run HAHA!

 

[MrMarty51]

Sounds like ya need to load up the pull behind innertube and the kids for some fun and to put a load on the engine for a test run HAHA!

Here is the test run.

Yes it is functioning better than it ever has and I’m sure the kids would now have a blast behind this unit.
Engine is bored 0.040 over and completely gone through, lower unit too.
I believe that with the bad coils and the way it was misfiring, possible that the bad coils was causing preignition issues and wiped out the piston on that center cylinder. Old 70 horse Force is a 3 cylinder.
I believe that it now is probably running better then it did when the engine was new.
With the panel removed along side the transom/fuel tank box, I crawled back there with the flashlight and found where water was seeping into the boat. Always dampening and sometimes soaking the carpet in a small area behind the right rear seat.
The son told Me that I aint going to mess around trying to fix that leak. I start removing the trim to get to it and something is going to break then we be without the boat for the rest of the year. The boat is going to the cabin and it will stay there until this fall, then it will come home for the maintenance and any needed repairs.

 

[dbrannon79]

That looks fun, I miss the days of getting out on the water cruising with the wind and some splash in the face! engine sounds good and strong too! way back in the day I remember my grandfathers bass fishing boat he had with a 70 or 75 evenrude. I would get in it when he would let me, running up and down the Guadalupe river. seems like I recall that boat had a speedometer with me hitting 65mph. I recall that thing seemingly hovering over the water at those speeds on a calm lake as if the only thing under the water was the lower unit with the prop! LOL as a youngster I was pretty good at driving it, just couldnt quite grasp the right technique of parking it into the boat slip without going at it 3-4 times. HAHA.

where it's seeping in, is that in the corner where the transom meets the side hull? or even through the meaty transom, water will get into the meet of the transom and begin the dreaded rot. the bad part is there is no where for the water or moisture to escape once it gets into the transom.

the last boat I had, the only way to get in there to dry it and do repairs was to remove all of the rivets holding the trim and rubber "bumper" from the entire boat, then spit the hull from the top. lift the top off and get busy gutting all the wood from the lower hull. That was no a fun job at all. Of course mine was way beyond any feasible repair. the wood inside the transom around where the motor mounted was non existent. in your case I would suggest having an old school boat specialist have a look at it. good precautions too, checking anywhere there is a tie-down or hole drilled though the transom for drains or other, make sure both inside and out are well sealed keeping water from getting in-between the fiberglass and wood.