Trolling Motor Vibration?

[tombiosis]

Hi all
Just a quick Q...My Minn Kota Maximizer (bow mount) seems to have developed a nasty vibration/wobble at certain RPMs...
Could it be that I just need to replace the prop?
I'm worried that the actual shaft is bent...if so, can it be fixed? where?
Thanks in advance for the replies
Cheers!

[cprince]

Hi all
Just a quick Q...My Minn Kota Maximizer (bow mount) seems to have developed a nasty vibration/wobble at certain RPMs...
Could it be that I just need to replace the prop?
I'm worried that the actual shaft is bent...if so, can it be fixed? where?
Thanks in advance for the replies
Cheers!

It is likely the prop... but it might also be the shear pin that is not quite shattered but off balance enough to mess up the whole Kit and Kaboodle!

Craig

[HaZarD]

Ahh good ole shear pins.. gotta love em and hate em at the same time!

[moonshine]

that makes perfect sense, Craig. i would never have thought of the shear pin

[Wallyboss]

Mine did the same and it was a cracked prop. Had to torque with my hands to see the crack.

[tombiosis]

hmmmm
shear "pin"?
mine has a sort of wing nut that holds the prop on, not a pin.
?

[lifeisfun]

The pin is hidden, remove the prop to find the pin.

[toobinator]

It could be line or weeds built up on the shaft as well. If it does need service, the Minn Kota service depot is J & S service 2506 Innes rd in Blackburn Hamlet 613 841 6745

Ed

[cprince]

If you take the prop off and try to service it yourself (And I encourage you to do so... you wont be clueless if something happens to the unit on the water and you need to fix something...), be careful. I think (I might go out and confirm on my motor...) that the prop nut might be a reversed thread.

The more I think about it, the more I believe that it is a normal thread...

But like Ed said, weeds and fishing line are also a good possibility. If there is fishing line, you might need to redo (or have done) the seals. I purchased all the seals (two sets for next time), points for about $50 delivered. When water penetrates the seals and gets into the motor housing, the points get rusted to heck and will make a grinding noise and not work dependably... like the battery is going dead prematurely. Found this out the hard way on an electric only lake about two hours paddle from the dock!!!

Craig

[tombiosis]

thanks for the replies...
I think it must be the seals, because I did get a bit of grinding noise. When I pulled the prop off there was some line in there too, so I guess I need new seals...
Is Blackburn hamlet the only service place? I heard they were really good from a guy tonight on the Rideau. I guess I will have to make the trek out there...
Unless...are the seals hard to change yourself Craig? and where did you order yours ?

[cprince]

thanks for the replies...
I think it must be the seals, because I did get a bit of grinding noise. When I pulled the prop off there was some line in there too, so I guess I need new seals...
Is Blackburn hamlet the only service place? I heard they were really good from a guy tonight on the Rideau. I guess I will have to make the trek out there...
Unless...are the seals hard to change yourself Craig? and where did you order yours ?

It is hard to say if it is easy or not... I had a bit of a hard time and I made some mistakes, but it am impetuous at times and not patient enough. The mistakes I made were avoidable... but at least they weren't expensive, just a PITA!

It really is not a complicated thing. You just need to pay attention to what you are doing and be organized in your approach. I encourage every one to at least get familiar with how the internal workings of major components work to better understand what is going on if something goes wrong on the water.

Here is the link to where I ordered my stuff. Check out the schematics section first to see if looks too complex for you or not.

http://www.mikesreelrepair.com/index.ph ... a2a39b75c3

Good luck with whatever you decide to do!

Craig