Posts: 3480
Location: Elk River, Minnesota | Hiya,
I believe that the shaft is always spinning, which is why you would hear it at all times. When you shift into gear, the shifting occurs with a different shaft that goes down to the lower unit which engages the gears there.
The bearing will act quite similarly to when you get the squeal on a car that comes from the belt. When you get that squeal in your car, it is from a bearing in one of the tensioners, air conditioning pump, alternator, etc. that is going bad. It never stops spinning until it locks up, but the squeal is the sign of a bearing that is going bad and it should be replaced. You might be able to get away with it for a while, but at some point in time, it's gonna freeze and then you have a much bigger problem to deal with...
Steve |
