Rookie needs help with OMC Cobra

[The Rookie]

Hello all! I am new to this board. I actually found you by accident. I hope to learn quite a bit here and get some guidance. Here is my current dilema....

3 summers ago I purchased my first boat. It is a 19' open Bow WellCraft. It has the 4.3L V6 and the Cobra (I believe) 400 drive. Last summer I noticed towards the end of the season that when at low RPM through "No Wake" sections of different lakes, that it would stutter or slip, but not all the time. I was told by a friend that the drive was starting to go out. I then decided that if it were going out, I would wait until it got a little worse before I would fix it. It just wasn't that bad and It never would do it at 1500 RPM or more.

So this year comes along and I get her out a few times and then about a month ago as I am cruising along the lake with my Brother and my brother-in-law, BAM!! It acts like it went into neutral! I thought oh Sh!t I hit something and lost the prop! But to my surprise it was still there. Being in the middle of the lake I tried to ease it into drive and it slowly caught. If I went over 2500 RPM's it would go into "Neutral" again. So I limped her into shore, trailered her and went home. I have called a few local shops here in Houston and they said not many people work on boats like mine any more. And they couldn't even give me a lead.

Any ideas? Anybody know of a shop in the Houston area that works on boats like mine at a resonable price?

I also heard that if water got into the lower end or the gear oil is bad, it could be affecting the "Clutch Dog"???? Is this the case? Could this be as simple as changing the fluid to fix it??

This makes some since to me as I have had it 3 years and never changed the fluid in the drive. I have changed the engine oil roughly 5 times, but that is the only fluid I have changed.

Please help a rookie boater. Thanks in advance!

[george allard]

Drain the oil and check for metal cuttings.

[The Rookie]

Ok. I will do it here shortly. Be back to you soon.

[The Rookie]

I drained the lower unit fluid last night. I found small Metal shaving attached to the magnetic drain plug. What next? Someone said it may be a spun prop. What exactly is a spun prop?

[Frosty]

Yes you have spun a prop, This when you have ripped the inner rubber bushing from the alluminium housing of the propellor. You can get the prop rebushed or if you fancy a change of prop now is the time to do it. Nothing to do with the drive at all.