Caught that funny drivetrain sound, here's a sound clip...

[JSTIII]

WA,

All the PCM Vdrive Transmissions are 1:1 transmissions, with a reduction in the vdrive itself to 1.48:1. The only transmissions that we have that are 1.23:1 ratio are a downangle direct drive gear. The new transmission is the correct ratio.

JST

[IDBoating]

All the PCM Vdrive Transmissions are 1:1 transmissions, with a reduction in the vdrive itself to 1.48:1. The only transmissions that we have that are 1.23:1 ratio are a downangle direct drive gear. The new transmission is the correct ratio.

Whew, that's a relief!

I was certain I saw a 1.23 on the original transmission's plate. I thought I remembered telling Acme about both ratios when asking for a prop recommendation, given the size of the boat and the amount of ballast I would be running. Not sure how I could have imagined that, but if you don't make anything but a 1:1 for a v-drive application then that settles it.

Two questions:

1) Are you saying you have a separate, special transmission for use exclusively with your v-drive? I can see how that could be (since it would have to interface with a v-drive instead of a propshaft) but had imagined the v-drive simply presented a "psuedo-propshaft" to the same transmission(s) and then angled its output.

2) Besides the threaded dipstick, what other differences exist between my original 2010#### transmission and this new 2014#### unit?

Thanks!

[JSTIII]

1) Yes, we have our own designed transmission that mates to our own designed vdrive.

2) The threaded dipstick is the only change in the transmissions.

Thanks

[IDBoating]

1) Yes, we have our own designed transmission that mates to our own designed vdrive.

And a separate, 1:23 transmission for inline applications. Got it.

2) The threaded dipstick is the only change in the transmissions.

Awesome, thank you!

[IDBoating]

Finished winterizing today, now that the boat is back from the shop. All is well. The new transmission appears properly installed, all the fittings and hoses and such were reinstalled properly, etc. Obviously an on-water test next Spring will be the final say but I expect all will be well.

The tech installed the new PSS carbon ring with the hose nipple. I'll be plumbing that in the Spring to a source of pressurized water. He did mention that the stainless steel ring against which the carbon ring spins was showing signs of wear and scoring, which is exactly what PSS said would happen if the seal ran dry. I asked for the old carbon ring and it too shows signs of abuse. The tech reversed the stainless ring so the new carbon ring would have a virgin surface against which to break in.

Keep in mind the only reason I even looked at the shaft seal was to find that noise at the start of this thread. It's possible other shaft seals out there are running dry at times, just like mine was, and overheating/scoring/etc. It's awkward on v-drives to get down there, but taking a look (by pulling back on the bellows to see the interface surfaces) might be a good idea from time to time. Better a little inconvenience on your schedule than a cracked carbon ring in the middle of a day on the lake.

I want to wrap up this thread with a great big THANK YOU to PCM for how they handled this transmission problem. Their staff was top-notch professional on the phone, they worked efficiently with my local PCM shop to get the work done, and they didn't give me one bit of the "runaround" you often hear about with lesser manufacturers, especially with intermittent problems.

We often only hear complaints, and I think it's important to give very public mega-props to PCM here for how well they handled this. I can't imagine how they could have done a better job. Thank you!