Shaft support Bearing

There's two ways to do it, you can pull the strut and replace the bushing on the work bench, or pull the shaft and do it while it's still on the boat. I did the latter to avoid having to realign the strut and fight with 21 year old 5200 adhesive. Unfortunately, there's no tool to do it with the shaft still running through the strut.

First, you'll have to pull the rudder with either method. If you decide to pull the shaft, you'll need some pieces of threaded rod with nuts and washers to pull the coupling off the shaft to remove the shaft from the boat. Then, using a sawzall with a long blade, cut a big slice in one side of the old bushing. Use a hammer and chisel to curl the old bushing in on itself so it can be removed with a pair of pliers, vice grips, etc. Then, stick the new bushing in the freezer to contract it and tap it into the strut with a hammer. Put the coupling in the gas grill to heat it up as hot as you can. Finally, reinstall the driveshaft and then install the red-hot coupling. Realign the engine and you're done, easy peasy.

Seriously, though, neither method is very fun.

Gary S wrote: There is a tool to do it but it's not cheap might want to look around and see if someone has one near you and have it done. Google cutless bearing removal tool

Wow, I guess I had never looked around much for one. Pretty cool!

http://www.strutpro.com

There may not be 5200 under the strut, especially if it has never been removed. I ended up taking mine off, shimming an re-bedding with 4200.

Another thing I found helpful was using a long socket with the correct outer diameter (the same size as the inner diameter of the strut/outer diameter of the bearing), best if 3/4 inch drive and with a long extension, a hard nylon mallet can help bang the remnants out.