Borg Warner Velvet Drive 71c stuck in gear

Yeah - private party who used to live in the boat, just broke up with his girlfriend, and was moving to Spokane with his dog, maybe to sleep in his van.

Nope - not going that route - so any advice and recommendations on the repairs would be most helpful.
I did not pay very much for the boat AND 3-axle trailer. I have a pretty wide margin to get it all nice and beautiful - and - operational.

 

You have been given advice to start off with. Get that borgwarner out and strip it. Pressure test the oil cooler as well. Then I would pull the prop shafts and check them and the stern glands and tubes .

 

Yep! I sure have, and I thank you!
I was out looking at it today - there is only one dipstick - it is in the V-drive portion. There seems to be a fill nipple on the BW itself, but I could not find a dipstick - should there be one for each, or does the oil flow between the V-drive and the transmission?

Now, to solve the next problem: How to get in there through the tiny hole.

It looks like I will need to support the engine when pulling the trans - there appear to be 2 large bolts (one on each side) holding the engine on mounts bolted to the stringers - and nothing else from there to the mounts for the V-drive - so I am guessing put something solid (some wood) under the rear of the motor to avoid undue stress on the engine mounts? Am I correct in this assumption, or should I just unscrew the transmission mount after I take off all the bolts holding it to the torque converter?

I got the part about disassembling the prop shaft from the V-drive before anything else. Not an easy task - due to the placement and cramped access - but I'll get on it.

 

You can prop the back of the engine with some blocks. Otherwise the forward mounts may break. Normally the V-drive does not share the oil with the transmission. You should buy the shop manual. It is not very informative on details, but does have an exploded view and tolerances. Some dipsticks are part of that fill nipple. Unscrew it and see.

 

Only 1 dipstick on the VDrive. The oil is shared between the transmission itself and the v drive. It fills through the dipstick tube. If you need to drain it, there's a cooler line (or a plug) that comes in at the bottom of the V Drive that is the lowest point. Download the manual as others have recommended. I bought my last boat with a blown 71 series v drive. Replaced it with a 72 series as it was a 454. they're not complicated at all to wrench on but you need the book for the specifics. Good luck!