Carver Owners Forum

I'm embarrassed to post this but here goes anyway. I didn't realize my old Voyager had transmissions. I thought the V-Drives were the transmissions and I've been diligent about checking the fluid levels in them and I've changed the fluid in them in the past. I'm not a boat mechanic but I can handle basic stuff like that along with oil changes, tune-ups, and winterization except for winterizing the closed loop cooling system. Since the boat has to be out of the water for that and I'm 2.5 hours away from the marina, I just have my marina take care of that at the end of the season when they pull it. This year though, the marina told me when they went to move it out of the slip to take it to the boatlift, the port side transmission wouldn't engage unless the RPMs were high. The marina said they added a quart of transmission fluid and then they were able to drive it to the lift. I'll probably be getting to the boat later this week and I'm just wondering if the transmission wasn't damaged from the lack of fluid. Toward the end of the summer when I was trolling, my speed would surge and then drop back down so I'm guessing it may have been slipping then. With a quick Google, it sounds as though the transmissions are located at the rear of each engine? I've been all over these engines changing spark plugs and water pumps and whatnot but I can't say that I've ever seen a dipstick other than for the engine oil. If I have a leak, apparently it's not a gusher but is there anywhere I should be looking? I'm just trying to get another couple of years out of this poor old thing before I upgrade. Is there anything I should be doing or should be concerned about? I'm just hoping someone out there has a similar rig and a similar situation. Thanks for any help!

Welcome to the forum.

Are your engines blue ( Crusaders ). The marina added oil so they can show you exactly where the dipstick/oil add is. They are at the back, yes, a bit buried and the short shaft that goes to the v drive ( reversing gear ) starts there if crusader version.

There are a few here with that exact model still in service, hopefully they can help a bit, I had one years back, but the memory geez..

Thanks for the quick reply. Engines are small block Mercruisers. I wasn't present when the marina added the fluid but I saw it on my bill so I called and they told me what they had to do to get it to go forward.

If double check the fluid level to make sure it was not overfilled.
Then I would consider checking cable stretch.
A couple years ago I hit sand going to the marina from my slips. During that event, my knee transmission would not go into forward. Thought I blew the trans.
Turns out hitting the sand and not shifting was just a coincidence. Turns out the cable stretched and couldn't get it into gear. Changed both shifter and throttle cables and all is well.

I'm hoping to get up there sometime this week for some final spring cleaning/waxing/bottom painting but the weather isn't looking good. I guess at this point it's just going to be a wait and see situation. Fingers crossed…

The transmission is mounted on the back of the engine and is the assembly that the jackshaft is attached to. The dipstick will be on top of the transmission off to one side and should have a plastic or metal T handle. It would have been nice if they took a sample of the fluid in the transmission before they added some, its condition could tell you a lot.

Unless there is a noise coming from the transmission itself, the only other thing you can check besides the condition of the fluid is to see if there is any shaft creep. That's where the shaft rotates while the transmission is in neutral which could be due to fused clutch plates. Start the engine, leave it in neutral and check to see if the shaft is turning. If it is, the next step is to confirm it's actually in neutral by detaching the shift cable at the transmission and ensuring the shift lever on the transmission is centered in the neutral detent. If the creep stops, adjust your cable, if it doesn't stop, chances are it's a clutch issue. Having said that, there are varying degrees of shaft creep, some more serious than others. Minor creeping isn't bad and I wouldn't worry about it too much.

FYI....be aware, the dipstick cap may be the kind you have to hold and tighten to seal it. Be sure to fasten it properly kind of like how a hull drain plug expands or there can be fluid leakage.