Damper Plate Replacement

[74corvette]

I am going to tackle replacing the damper plate in my boat and was wondering if anyone has some step by step instruction on it or some suggestions? I didn't think I saw a service manual on the homepage but I could be wrong. 2001 Super Air with the GT40. Thanks in advance for any help.

[crobi2]

There might be some info on here if you search, otherwise check correctcraftfan.com and search there. There's an inexpensive one that you can get plus hints on getting it all back together.

[jjrowe]

I just did this. Here is the quick and dirty list. You will need a hoist of some sort. I purchased one at harbor freight and attached with lag bolts to the header over my garage door.

- Remove seats and cover over fuel tank
- Drain fuel tank using a siphon of some sort
- Disconnect fuel lines and mark each line and location
- Remove the brackets holding the fuel tank down
- Prop up fuel tank out of the way (or remove all hoses and get it out of the boat)
- Disconnect vdrive hoses
- Unbolt the shaft coupling under the vdrive
- Support under vdrive with a few blocks of wood or support the drive using a hoist, don't let it fall on your shaft
- Remove the vdrive mounts and unbolt from transmission, make sure the drive is supported and slide back the drive and remove (its probably close to 100 lbs so get help)
- Remove pylon and support frame (may not be necessary but it makes it easier)
- Put some blocks of wood under the bell housing to support it
- Unbolt the transmission mounts
- Lift the motor slightly using a hoist
- Remove the transmission mounts
- Unbolt the transmission and carefully slide back and off.
- Remove starter
- With Motor suspended, remove bell housing, there are the 5/8 bolts on the front and two smaller bolts on the bottom rear you have to feel for
- Unbolt damper plate
- Replace damper plate and torque to 35 ft/lbs I believe
- Replace everything is opposite order
- Check shaft alignment

I have some pictures I can post as well. Its a tough job!

[74corvette]

jjrowe,
Thanks so much for the reply, wednesday is when we are going to attempt this and your post will help greatly. Is it ok to pm you with my email for the pictures? Thanks again for the help.

[jjrowe]

Sure, no problem. My boat is a 2000 SAN but I assume the are pretty much the same.

[crobi2]

Can you post the pictures? It would make an incredible DIY thread with the great description.

Also, if one of you would tell us about the symptoms you had.

Thanks!

[74corvette]

The symptoms I had were at idle when I would put it into gear, I would get what I would describe as a rattle from the tranny. When I accelerated over idle, the sound either went away or was covered up by the engine noise. The boat ran great without any other problems. I spoke with the people from Fantastic Finish Marine, who were very helpful, and they believed the damper plate was at vault.

[jjrowe]

Here I am propping up the fuel tank after removing the fuel. The level sender has to be removed and I taped over the opening with masking tape. I put a 2x4 under the tank to keep it tilted up.

[jjrowe]

Here is the vdrive after I removed the nuts holding it to the transmission. The vdrive should be supported at this point. I think I just had some wood blocks under it. Looking back I should have had it supported by the hoist at this point.

[jjrowe]

Coupler separated under the vdrive. It is tough to get under there and hold two wrenches.

[jjrowe]

vdrive removed. I spent a lot of time cleaning



Here is the transmission removed. I forgot to mention that you need to disconnect the cooler lines. I unbolted the mounts from the transmission and slid it out that way. You could also remove the mounts with the trans.

[jjrowe]

Here is everything removed. The original damper plate is kind of a triangle shape and the new one is round. Part number for the new one is R140016A if you have the PCM transmission. in this photo I am supporting the engine with some wood and a few of the damper plate bolts because I had to move the boat out of the garage. In this picture I still have the pylon and frame in so it can be done without removing that. Once I saw how easy it was to take that out I probably would have removed it first to have more room to work. In this photo the coupler is removed because I replaced my transmission with a velvet drive. If you are just changing the drive plate you would not need to remove the coupler.

[Day-cation]

Hello, I'm new to the site but I have owned a 1996 SS turned into a poor man's SAN since 2011. I started hearing some metallic rattle sound when in reverse at idle speed, if I accelerate the noise goes away, I have about 1130hrs on the meter and the damper plate has not been replaced to my knowledge, so I suspect that is the problem. I had to have my Walter V-drive out a few of years ago to have a leak fixed. I got my V-drive out by unbolting the fuel tank and pushing it away from the V-drive a couple of inches to give me enough room to pull the V-drive out.
Question: If I can get the V-drive out w/out trouble from the gas tank, will I still need to unbolt the motor mounts and jack the motor up to get the transmission and bell housing off, or does the motor only need to be lifted up for those who can't get the V-drive out?

[Scooter G]

74corvette, that looks like a great Wednesday before work project, and Thursday, and Friday, and...
Best of luck, let us know what new cuss words you come up with. Remember, it's just nuts & bolts, pulling and yanking. Would love to hear how it comes out, good luck.