Propeller Rattle with Mercury VENGEANCE 18

Repair or modification of Boston Whaler boats, their engines, trailers, and gear
polk1726
Posts: 1
Joined: Tue Apr 24, 2018 10:02 am

Propeller Rattle with Mercury VENGEANCE 18

Postby polk1726 » Tue Apr 24, 2018 10:18 am

I am experiencing propeller rattle in gear at idle with my Vengeance 18P propeller on my Mercury 90-HP two-stroke-power-cycle engine.

Is there a way to tell what FLO-TORQ hub I have?

To tell if I even have a FLO-TORQ hub currently?

I have read that the FLO-TOR III will fix the [propeller rattle]. I am not versed at all in the propeller world.

Thanks,
Polk

jimh
Posts: 11673
Joined: Fri Oct 09, 2015 12:25 pm
Location: Michigan, Lower Peninsula
Contact:

Postby jimh » Wed Apr 25, 2018 10:50 am

polk1726 wrote:[Is there a way to] tell if I..have a FLO-TORQ hub currently?


You can identify if your present propeller is a FLO-TORQ hub propeller by visual examination. Mercury has been using FLO-TORQ hubs for many years. Because the VENGEANCE propeller is a more recent product, I suspect that all VENGEANCE propeller use FLO-TORQ hubs, including yours.


polk1726 wrote:...Is there a way to tell what FLO-TORQ hub I have?


If you discover your propeller is a FLO-TORQ hub propeller, you can determine which model FLO-TORQ hub is in use by visual examination.

Perhaps the best resource found on the web for aiding you will be an article from the archives of the forum on CONTINUOUSWAVE. Please visit

FLO-TORQ ADAPTORS
http://continuouswave.com/ubb/Forum4/HTML/005155.html

The article shows many components in the FLO-TORQ system.

polk1726 wrote:I have read that the FLO-TOR III will fix the [propeller rattle].


The FLO-TORQ III and IV adaptors are intended to help suppress propeller rattle.

Before investing the the more expensive FLO-TORQ adaptors, you should inspect the present adaptor--probably a FLO-TORQ II--to make sure its resilient plastic bushing is in good condition and that the propeller nut has been tightened to the recommended torque specification given in the installation instructions.

If you find any deformation of the resilient plastic bushing, you can buy a replacement bushing. If you need to replace the bushing, I would just by an entire new FLO-TORQ kit. The whole kit is priced about $10 more than just the bushing as a separate part. Buying an entire new kit will give you spare parts for the other components like the propeller nut, washer, thrust bearing, and so on.

Using a FLO-TORQ III or FLO-TORQ IV adaptor may also mitigate the enormous CLUNK that occurs with older Mercury outboard engine gear cases when they are shifted to Forward from Neutral or to Reverse from Neutral.