you know what, I had this happen as well, not as badly, but my mounts got soft and ended up making the gears slip, grinding the gears down to nothing. Looks like a great opportunity to switch to direct drive. or just buy new mounts and gears.

Sucks man, have you lit your villain on fire yet, you've got to join the club, nothing like smoke pouring out through the hatch from an electric boat.

Whatever you do, dont try salvaging the mounts, chuck em, even if it looks ok, your gears will not mesh properly.