We have a ZF transmission and lately when in gear idling forward there is a
pretty noisy clatter that set up. So worried about a dampner plate I
decided to pull the transmission and have a look...
Remember I was talking about the sun cover. Here's a great picture of the
deck cover lifted up and acting as a sun shade. The starboard side is south
so I have it leaning over more to that side
Sun Covers!
Unfortunately at the moment the boom is off Grace getting worked on as we do
our re-rig modifications.
So... transmission... Sam and I took out the drive shaft and the
transmission to look at the dampner plate to make sure it was ok.
it was brand new. So I called a ZF/Hurth distributor where we purchased the
transmission. Harbor Marine in Washington state is a wonderful place with
great people and amazing customer service. I talked to Mike over there and
he sent me a document from ZM/Hurth about this model and gear clatter.
He spent nearly 30 min on the phone with me discussing the problem. So Sam
and I put it all back together and re-aligned it. The clatter is not gone but
it is significantly improved. There is more we need to do. Like put in the
proper dampner plate recommended by Hurth and also working with my one weak
cylinder that has a tick to it. But at the end of the day ZF/Hurth says it
does not damage the transmission because it's not under load at idle. So we
feel much better. It was a long day and we had the entire boat taken apart
it seemed. But we know now how to replace the transmission on this boat and
we have a 2 year warranty on the transmission is if something happens we're
ok. Anyway, we had egg burritoes for dinner, Sam cooked and Potato salad
for lunch. Hannah will be home soon and tomorrow we talk to some canvas
folks about new bimini and dodger.
Nite nite!