So the transmission on my 2002 Catalina 28 died last week. The shaft would not turn in either forward or reverse after I heard some horrible screeching noise. Had to get towed to my marina. The mechanic tells me it needs to be rebuilt and that my transmission is no longer made. The rebuild shop may need to find substitute parts. Estimated cost is $5,000 for removal, rebuild, reinstall and realign the shaft. Today he calls to say the input shaft that goes into the damper plate needs to be replaced and the rebuild shop is having a hard time finding one. If he can't find one I will need a new transmission which is a different size and the engine will need to be raised and perhaps some other modifications made to fit the new trans. Obviously costing more money. I know nothing about transmissions. I am at his mercy. Does all this sound right? Any advice will be appreciated.
2002 Catalina 28 transmission
- Thread starter JoeK
- Start date
The Hurth HBW50 trans has a history of such failures, found on many Catalinas. A friend had his rebuilt about 10 years ago for about $1700 and it has been trouble free since then. That being said problems were often reported with rebuilds also. The replacement in most cases was a ZF10 which was 1" longer but not generally a problem to install. Not sure about the current availability of replacements.
I was able to confirm it was a Hurth HWB trans. Will find out Tuesday about a possible replacement.
Also had a problem with my C30 Hurth transmission. Rebuilt it myself but, in the end, I purchased a new Twindisc transmission for the same price ($1100+/-) . I went with the new option because it was such a chore to get the transmission out and in and I wanted to sail with minimal risk. There was a small dimensional change on the in/out shafts that required a shift in the engine/alignment. I would recommend that you include this option in your eval. $5k is absurd.