checkmate DOH!!

i posted this problem but i think i put it in the wrong forum----doh!!! it was in the general discussion area but this seems more appropriate for technical advice. sittin still floatin and waiting for a friend to enter the channel we were going down and was going to follow him---he takes off and i start to accelerate----get about 5 feet and the worst slam bang crunch i ever heard is followed by a burning popcorn/rubber smell and the boat has no forward thrust-----it just revs like in neutral-----at idle in gear it putted us into the dock ok and after getting it out of the water found my skeg snapped off cleanly, the aluminum prop destroyed, but no cracks in case or outdrive it seemed. got at the motor and where the driveshaft goes into the flywheel area i feel around and get like melted rubber that stinks bad on my hands----i pulled the drive out and can see in there the damage----is this the gimbel bearing i broke??? can i replace it with the engine in my boat?? its a 470 mercruiser 4cyl with an alpha 1 gen 1 outdrive setup in a 1985 checkmate diplomat-----also i found a repacement skeg cone for the lower unit for cheap---under 20 bucks----are these good???---if i use alumalloy to attach it can i leave the gears and bearings inside the lower case when i do the repair or will the heat damage things?? any and all help would be great----as a longtime auto mechanic i see no problem in doing the work just need to get terminology straight and want to avoid yanking the motor out if i dont need to----thanx so much for any advice. steve

excursion

Sounds like your coupler is shot, it mounts on the flywheel. It would do what you described, idles but under a load slips. Is the input shaft splines straight? The gimbal bearing should spin smooth, if you feel and rough spots while turning, replace it. I would weld the new skeg on.
Hope this helps.

checkmate DOH!!

thanx for the reply james----the splines do look straight but after 22 years of waterskiing and havin at it thay do show some wear on the thrust side-----maybe reuse and check after this season again??? also too is there any way to replace the coupler with engine in boat??? the gimbal seems to float nicely with no rough spots so maybe i can leave it alone for now----any rough ideas on pricing for that coupler assembly???

excursion

Sorry to tell you but NO, you have too remove the motor to replace the coupler. I have seen some on ebay for $329.00 but make sure you get an OEM replacement. Some of the aftermarket one are not as good. Mercruiser list is $450.00
You can leave the gimbal bearing, if smooth.

cuda

If you smelled rubber burning, it's definetly the coupler, and yes, the engine must come out to replace. Don't ask how I know.