what on earth is this part?????

The other week I discovered that 2 set screws on the shaft had worked themselves loose and shaft walked back about 1.5 inches. *Laying on the bilge floor I also found this strange part:




It is hard to tell in the picture but it is not solid metal- it is a small spring and it is shaped like a triangle. *It was NOT in there in the bilge prior to a couple of days before as I have been going through it a lot. *I have asked the sole decent diesel mechanic on our lake what it is and he said he had no idea which really is not what I wanted to hear. *
I posted this on boatdiesel but thought someone here might know what it is! *Anyone know what it is?

It looks like some sort of spring retaining clip, but I doubt that something so...well....flimsy, would be involved in the mating of your drive shaft to the engine, so look for something else like maybe an intake filter loose in it's housing. That's me exhausted I'm afraid.
RickB might know?

If I didn't know better I would say it is a deformed O ring

Allan

It looks like the spring from a lip seal.

Did you have a crankshaft or gearbox seal replaced in the past couple of years?



-- Edited by RickB on Monday 4th of October 2010 05:04:09 AM

Ah Yes Rick you could be right at that
Allan

I agree- it's a flimsy spring so doubt it's tied to the set screws on the shaft but it was odd to find it at the same time of the incident when I know it was not there previously. Rick- the previous owner did seem to replace the aft transmission seal a few years ago. However, the transmission is essentially in a separate section of the bilge from the shaft and the set screws. Or stated a better way, there is a bulkhead just at the junction of the shaft and the transmission so if something fell off the transmission it would tend to want to be on the other side of that bulkhead and not under the loose set screws. And when I say loose...I don't mean just loose, I mean both set screws completely worked themselves out and were laying loose on the bilge floor next to the spring.
It's such an odd shape and such an intentionally made part that I kind of feel like it probably ought to go back where it belongs, if only I can find out where that is!

"However, the transmission is essentially in a separate section of the bilge* ..."


Springs have the odd habit of ...*springing. Especially when assaulted with various bits of bent*rod and other odd tools used to remove a seal from an awkward spot.

What a cool game! Whose turn is next??

I can't be certain but I'm pretty sure it's the thermo for the wing wam spider on the shaft coupling. I found a similar wire form in the ER of my boat about 8 years ago and that was the explanation the mechanic gave me. I know, it sounds rediculous but that's what I think it is. (I'm almost positive) There's a similar wire form in the BRT on my boat.





-- Edited by SeaHorse II on Monday 4th of October 2010 03:16:19 PM

SeaHorse II wrote:

I can't be certain but I'm pretty sure it's the thermo for the wing wam spider on the shaft coupling. I found a similar wire form in the ER of my boat about 8 years ago and that was the explanation the mechanic gave me. I know, it sounds rediculous but that's what I think it is. (I'm almost positive) There's a similar wire form in the BRT on my boat.





-- Edited by SeaHorse II on Monday 4th of October 2010 03:16:19 PM

Click to expand...

Are you about to send me snipe hunting??? *

*