Hurth tranny, 4 years old, kaput

[jen1722terry]

Hey CDers

Nice to see some of you sailing by last week near Tennants Harbor. We were heading the other way way heading for NYC but have now decided to stay in coastal Maine thru October.

Why, you may wonder?

Well, the cruising here is fabulous but the real reason is our brand new (100 hours) ZF transmission. We changed the fluid at 25 hrs and it was gray and cloudy. Same thing at 100 hours. Cable adjustment was checked twice. It just went off warranty, but when it dies, it will be our last ZF for sure.

Hopefully, it will make it to haul-out but we're not planning on it. We are planning to follow Maine Sail's sage advice and order a new Stanley to replace it.

Enough of moaning. This will be our first chance to really poke around midcoast Maine and we're already delighted to stay here.

Any suggestions for the best area for coastal foliage?

Happy and safe sailing to all!

Jenn and Terry

[David van den Burgh]

We changed the fluid at 25 hrs and it was gray and cloudy. Same thing at 100 hours.

Jenn and Terry,

I read your earlier posts with interest when our Hurth died this summer, and I even bought a gear from Stanley rather than invest in a ZF. Turns out the TMC 60 gear wouldn't fit without re-engineering the engine foundation - something I wasn't prepared to do in the midst of a summer cruise while anchored in a faraway port. (Stanley was absolutely fantastic, by the way, and given more time, I'd buy the TMC60 and get the sucker in some way, somehow). Anyway, I went with the ZF 12M and got Ariel back to cruising. I did the first oil change at a little less than 25 hours and noticed a sort of metallic sheen to the fluid. Is that what you see during your fluid changes too? Is that what you mean by "gray and cloudy"? I was shocked that the fluid wasn't as clear as it went in, especially after less than 25 hours. I was hoping that maybe it was just "break in," but your experience even at 100 hours doesn't instill much confidence.

Sorry I can't tell you anything about the foliage in Maine, but thanks for the info about the ZF.

David

[jen1722terry]

Thanks for the thoughts, David

I didn't notice a metallic sheen in the old fluid, but it may have been there. I was just shocked to see the gray, unclear fluid come out after less than 100 hours.

I plan to email Hurth/ZF and complain. The tranny is still undernarranty (just barely) and if it can be saved somehow, I'd like to try.

Noted on the Stanley fit . I'll have to check with some mechanics to see it would fit in our 31. Beta is another option and I know of at least 2. 31s with that tranny as a Retro fit.

As I may have said earlier, we have a friend in Nova Scotia who put in a new 10MR and it died 6 months later on their way back from Florida.

Depressing, but such is life in old boats.

Have a great August

Jenn and Terry

[jen1722terry]

Well, it appears our almost brand new (100 hours) ZF-10-M-R transmission is dead, due to the very suspect dark fluid at the most recent fund change.

We're sad and disgusted with this model of tranny, as is another of our friends over in Nova Scotia who replace two of these wishing 5 months. Somethings wrong with these trannys.

We're making a warranty claim but may just take the new unit and sell it. It's time for something else.

So, has anyone installed a new Beta transmission or a Stanley Techno-Drive TMC-40 which is also known as the Twin-Disc MG-340 in a CD 31? We know fit is an issue so we're hoping to find another owner who has installed one of these. We know Jim Walsh has installed a new Beta engine/tranny in his 31, but just replacing the tranny may be more problematic.

Any advice or thoughts would be most welcome.

And if any of you are near Northeast Harbor, ME in the next few weeks, we'll be here trying to get this problem solved. Email us, as our cell phone doesn't work here.

Jenn and Terry