No prop puller necessary here.

If your prop was actually wobbling it makes sense that it was the cause of some vibration. One would expect the bra$$ to wear before the ssteel, but who knows. Key's are not hard to find. Here's one from skidim.

marine grease...it's not hard to find or super expensive. Find it any place you buy marine parts. I've even seen it at walmart. good luck.

862001: Consider me ignorant and please insult my intelligence. I've never replaced a prop before and know nothing about it.

Hopefully my prop will arrive Wednesday and be on the boat by that night.

Thomas

tleed;
this is the way I was told to install a prop.
I would recommend buying or borrowing a prop puller.

1st. Make sure you start with a clean shaft (emery cloth works well).

2nd. step is to take new prop and slide it on the shaft as as hard as you can by hand, (no keyway).
After prop is on shaft take a sharpie pen and trace a line onto shaft opposite the treads.

3rd. Now remove prop and install keyway.
reinstall prop and make sure it is seated all the way on the shaft. As long as your prop is lined up with the mark you made you are all set to go.

4th. Use a new nylock nut, the oem castle nut and pins like to fall out/off.

5th enjoy your new found pulling power.

Why shouldnt you grease the shaft? I used an antiseize compound on mine. Should I redo it?

doessn't hurt I guess but some types of grease could react with the prop material and SS shaft making it worse.

The castle nut that you should have ordered with the prop! You can get a nylon type or one to use with the cotter pin...in bra$$. No need for lock washers.

A castle nut was original equipment. It got its name because the cut outs/notching on the end were you place the cotter pin looks similair to the top of a castle.
A stainless steel nylon lock nut is the best way to go. I have an OJ 4 blade and I can not use a cotter pin either. It have had my prop for 5 years and it has never loosened up on me.

Chuck, good one.

I like how 79 even gives instructions on what size sharpie to use. Nobody gets slip shod advice here!

All I can say is: WOW!

The new ACME 540 is so quiet, powerful, smooth. My boat is scary now! It just digs on takeoff and the flies. Still no speedometer, but I'm estimating I gained 5-8 mph over my previous prop. In fact, my niece yesterday was telling me NOT to give it full power on takeoff when getting up on one ski.

I had no idea my previous prop was so bad. If you read above, you'll note some installation issues with the previous prop, which I'm now sure contributed to the horrific vibration. I just thought that was the way the boat was. And, to be clear, I'm talking about BEFORE I hit the rock. There was no visible damage before that, but the prop sure vibrated and made a ton of noise.

Not so the ACME 540. And the 540 is substantially bigger, but fits just fine. I can't believe how much of a difference it makes. And this is behind a freshly-rebuilt Chrysler 318 with some significant hp mods. I'm sure I'm making upwards of 250 hp when stock was 225. The prop really takes advantage of it.

BTW, I ordered it from Delta Propeller (Ohio) Monday and had it UPS in Virginia Wednesday evening. A job well done deserves some credit.

I did notice one strange thing now. At the top end, the boat did some slight porpoising sometimes. Is that a sign that I'm at the limits of the hull design?

Thomas

Just got back from the lake today. Pulled my niece & brother skiing again, then tossed them out and went drag racing.

This thing really flies! And the sound turns heads. With no weight I felt like I was doing another 3-5 mph. I tried to find a jet ski to pace me, but couldn't find one with a speedo.

With no weight there was no porpoising. Hmmm. Maybe it was small waves starting it yesterday.

Thomas

T

I believe the porpoising to be due to weight distribution. If I am in my boat by myself I can put hte hammer down and run full speed anywhere on teh lake although waves and even ripples take advantage of you.
If I add a body inthe rear I can only make about 34 MPH before I start to porpoise and at 37 it is dangerous.
Initially when I got the boat this year it would porpoise with only me in it. I attribute this change to keeping the boat dry for the most part this year. I think I have some water in the foam and may have lost some of it over the course of the year.
In any event, congrats on your new found speedster...